Diatom biorefinery: From carbon mitigation to high-value products

Diatoms are among the opaquest photosynthetic microorganism found in oceans, rivers, and freshwaters. They play a major role in reducing global warming as they fix more than 25% of atmospheric carbon di oxide (CO 2 ). They are a reservoir of untapped potential with the multifaceted application including CO 2 mitigation, play a vital role in the aquatic food web as primary producers, and wastewater remediation by quenching pollutants originating from diverse sources such as industries, agricultural, and human sources. Despite their abundance and diversity in nature, only a few species are currently used for biotechnological applications. Diatom biorefinery has gained importance in recent years as more and more algae are identified and explored as a source for lipids, pigments, and other biomolecules. In this chapter, the role of diatom biorefinery has been elaborated extensively displaying the potential of diatoms in carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) mitigation, lipid production for biofuel, nutraceutical potential, and development of new-age drug molecules for therapeutic applications.