Aquatic Resource Biorefineries - Harnessing Aquatic Resources for Sustainable Production

Aquatic Resource Biorefinery provides the first comprehensive, multidisciplinary treatment of the utilization of aquatic biomass within the biorefinery framework. Recognizing aquatic systems as rich yet underexploited sources of renewable materials, this book integrates biological, chemical, engineering, environmental and economic perspectives to establish a coherent foundation for sustainable aquatic bioresource valorization. Structured across four interconnected sections, the book moves from conceptual fundamentals to process-specific applications and assessments. It explores a wide range of feedstocks, algae, aquatic plants, crustacean shells, wastewater, and microbial resources, and their transformation into high value bioproducts such as chitin, chitosan, carotenoids, proteins, polyhydroxyalkanoates, and biohydrogen. Subsequent chapters examine cutting-edge technologies for biomass recovery, biological conversion, and downstream refinement, culminating in techno-economic, environmental, and market analyses that illuminate the feasibility and scalability of aquatic biorefineries. Written by leading experts and enriched with case studies, industrial data, and quantitative analyses, Aquatic Resource Biorefinery bridges the gap between theory and application. It serves not only as a university textbook for students across different disciplines but also as a definitive reference for researchers, engineers, and policymakers engaged in advancing circular, blue bioeconomy strategies.

List of contents

Part I: Introduction to Aquatic Biorefineries
1. The Biorefinery Concept and Its Application in Aquatic Systems

Part II: Feedstocks for Aquatic Biorefineries
2. Aquatic Feedstocks Selection and Sustainability Assessment
3. Wastewater as a Resource: Integration into Aquatic Biorefinery Systems

Part III: High-Value Products from Aquatic Resources
4. Chitin and Chitosan Production from Crustacean Waste
5. Extraction and Applications of Algal Carotenoids
6. Minerals Recovery from Wastewater : Nitrogen and Phosphorus
7. Protein Recovery and Utilization from Aquatic Resources
8. Bioenergy Utilization in Aquatic Biorefineries: Biohydrogen Production as a Case Study
9. Bioplastic Production from Aquatic Resources
10. Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) Production in Wastewater Biorefineries

Part IV: Upstream, Mid-Stream, and Downstream Processing
11. Upstream Processing for Waste Recovery
12. Biological Processes in Aquatic Biorefineries
13. Downstream Processing and Product Refinement in Aquatic Biorefineries

Part V: Analysis and Assessment
14. Techno-Economic Analysis and Market Prospects for Aquatic Biorefinery Products
15. Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment of Aquatic Biorefineries

About the author

Hamid Amiri has a master’s in chemical engineering from the Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan, Iran. He has a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering-Biotechnology from Isfahan University of Technology. Since 2014, he has worked as an Assistant Professor at the University of Isfahan in breaking the chemical and engineering barriers to the production of waste-based biofuels and value-added biochemicals by process design, integration, optimization, and analysis in the way of developing future biorefineries. He has published more than 30 papers on the topics of renewable energy, alternative fuels, waste-to-energy, ABE fermentation, pretreatment of lignocellulose, and resource recovery. He has completed a number of funded research projects and played the leading role in the development of the Environmental Research Institute and Biotechnology Lab Complex in University of Isfahan.Dr. Mohd Ikhwanuddin is a Professor of Environmental Biotechnology (University Malaysia Terengganu, Malaysia). He has completed his Ph.D. in Marine Biology from Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, Malysia. His main area of interest related to Animal and Veterinary Sciences, Molecular Sciences, and Environmental Sciences. His main area of expertise includes Crustacean, Seed production, Scylla, Hatchery technique, Banana shrimp, Crab mating, Enzyme activity, Reproduction, Probiotic, Fisheries, Hormone, White shrimp, Black tiger shrimp, Triploidy, Larviculture, Portunid Crab, Mud spiny lobster, Ovarian maturation, Maturation diets, Natural diet, Population dynamic, Breeding technology, Portunus pelagicus, Live food, Movement pattern, Artificial production, Artificial diet, and Catch information.
Mortaza Aghbashlo is a Professor of Biosystems Engineering at the University of Tehran (Iran) and a Visiting Professor at Henan Agricultural University (China), where he helps lead an international platform for high-profile research collaborations. He has authored more than 300 publications, including papers and reviews in Nature Food, Joule, Progress in Energy and Combustion Sciences, Trends in Biotechnology, Biotechnology Advances, Nano Energy, and Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews. As of June 2025 (Google Scholar), his work has attracted 26,200 citations, with an h-index of 88 and an i10-index of 291. Dr Aghbashlo was named a Web of Science Highly Cited Researcher in the Cross-Field category (2021). He co-edited the Springer Nature volumes Biodiesel: From Production to Combustion and Fungi in Fuel Biotechnology (both 2018). His editorial service includes membership on the boards of Progress in Energy and Combustion Sciences (Elsevier), Biofuel Research Journal (BRJ), and e-Prime (Elsevier), as well as a term as Associate Editor of Cleaner Environmental Systems (Elsevier). He has also guest-edited special issues for the Journal of Hazardous Materials and Environmental Research.
Meisam Tabatabaei is a Professor of Environmental Biotechnology at Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, Malaysia. From 2010 to 2019, he worked closely with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) to promote waste-oriented biofuels in the developing world. Since 2016, he has been the lead collaborator of the Lancet Commission on Public Health and Climate Change (UCL, UK). He has published over 450 works, including original research papers and reviews in leading journals such as The Lancet, Progress in Energy and Combustion Sciences, Nature Food, Trends in Biotechnology, and Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. He currently serves as a Visiting Professor at Henan Agricultural University (China), Visiting Professor & Global Ambassador at the University of Saskatchewan (Canada), and Distinguished Adjunct Professor at Zhengzhou University (China). He has held top editorial roles in journals with impact factors above 30 and is currently Associate Editor of Critical Reviews in Biotechnology and an editorial board member of the International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment. As of June 2025, Prof. Tabatabaei has led and collaborated on 24 research projects with a focus on waste valorisation and biorefineries, sustainable aquaculture, climate change, and food security.

Product details

• Assisted by: Mortaza Aghbashlo (Editor), Hamid Amiri (Editor), Mhd Ikhwanuddin (Editor), Mohd Ikhwanuddin (Editor), Meisam Tabatabaei (Editor)
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Release: 01.06.2026
• EAN: 9780443330346
• ISBN: 978-0-443-33034-6
• Weight: 450 g
• Series: Biomass and Biofuels
• Subjects: Natural sciences, medicine, IT, technology > Technology > Chemical engineering; TECHNOLOGY & ENGINEERING / Chemical & Biochemical, TECHNOLOGY & ENGINEERING / Fisheries & Aquaculture, Chemical Engineering, Biofuels, Biochemical Engineering, Industrial chemistry and chemical engineering, Aquaculture and fish-farming, Fuels and petrochemicals