MINI REVIEW article
Front. Energy Res.
Sec. Bioenergy and Biofuels
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fenrg.2025.1654079
HYBRID BIOFACTORIES: INTEGRATING MICROALGAE AND ENGINEERED MICROBIOMES FOR ENHANCED BIOFUEL PRODUCTION IN CIRCULAR CARBON SYSTEMS
Provisionally accepted
- Kampala International University, Kampala, Uganda
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With the growing world demand for sustainable and carbon-neutral energy sources, microalgae have surfaced as a promising source of next-generation biofuels based on their high lipid content, fast growth rate, and their ability to grow on wastewater and carbon dioxide (CO2). Nonetheless, other constraints, including nutritional requirements, threats of contamination, and expensive production processes, make up-scaling challenging. Synthetic biology and microbial ecology have recently allowed engineers to develop, design, and grow synthetic microbiomes, custom microbe communities that can increase microalgal biomass yield, support nutrient reuse, and promote metabolic stability. This mini-review examines the synergistic concept of integrative hybrid biofactories, where microalgae are cultivated concomitantly with designed microbiomes in regulated photobioreactor cultures to realize better biofuel production and environmental sustainability. A particular focus is put on pathway modeling with the help of AI, co-metabolic interactions, and overall system optimization. Putting this discussion into the context of the greater circular carbon economy, the review shows new advances, techno-economic considerations, and prospects on how to scale hybrid systems up to industrial scale.
Keywords: Microalgae biofuels, Synthetic microbiomes, Hybrid biofactories, Circular carbon economy, AI-driven metabolic optimization
Received: 25 Jun 2025; Accepted: 17 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 UGWU, Ogenyi, Ugwu and Ugwu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: CHINYERE NNEOMA UGWU, Kampala International University, Kampala, Uganda
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