Estimation of microalgae resource potential for bio-oil production and sustainable rural development in the climatic conditions of Russia (the Republic of Dagestan)

The work is devoted to the estimation of microalgae resource potential for bio-oil production. We propose a method of climate and infrastructural factors spatial analysis for estimations of resource and the possibility of bio-oil production facilities construction in the study region. The resource potential depends on the area of the territory that can be used to produce biomass as feedstock for biofuel production, and equal to the amount of microalgae biomass that can be obtained on this territory. For the case study we selected the territory of the Republic of Dagestan (Russia) and microalgae Arthrospira platensis and Dunaliella salina. As an infrastructural factors, which may reduce the cost of bio-oil production we considered the following sources of cheap material resources and energy: seawater (as a source of macro- and microelements), geothermal water (as low-temperature heat source), CO 2 emissions of cement plants and combined heat and power plants (as carbon source and to reduce CO 2 emission). The analyses of these factors using the technology of geoinformation systems allowed to find the most suitable territories for microalgae plant allocation and therefore estimate resource potential for biooil production with maximum profit.