Microalgal bioenergy, biosequestration, and water use efficiency for remote resource industries in Western Australia

In 2008-09, the mining sales value in Western Australia (WA) was AUD71.3 billion [1]. The resource industry continues to generate significant infrastructure investment and supply expansion developments in remote and arid regions of the state. The sector is also a major driver of liquid fuel demand growth, and currently represents approximately 40% of total transport fuel use, and around 60% (more than 2,000 ML) of diesel consumption in WA each year [1]. The gas and electricity supply interruptions from the June 3 2008 Varanus Island gas facility explosion led to temporary production cuts in several major resource operations [2], and subsequently lead to a focus on diversifying to an increasingly indigenous clean energy supply portfolio [3]. The potential of microalgae technology to address such energy and carbon (C) emissions issues, within a limited water context in the energy intensive Australian resource industry, is substantial. However, there is much research and development investment required for microalgal bioenergy, biosequestration, and water use efficiencies to be integrated into mineral resource production streams. This work explores microalgal biological capacity in the region, microalgal technological developments to date, and the synergies required for microalgae production developments to generate cost-effective and robust returns in the demanding resource industry in the remote and arid mining context. INTRODUCTION Mining is a major contributor to Western Australia’s (WA) robust economic growth, and the state hosts 513 commercial mineral projects with 893 operating mine sites producing over 50 different minerals [1] (See Figure 1). Due to the energy demand scale and associated costs, a large proportion of the mining transport fuels are supplied from Singapore refineries rather than the local BP refinery in Kwinana, south of Perth [3].