Microalgae-based biodiesel, known as third-generation biodiesel, offers a promising path forward by combining efficient carbon capture with high biofuel yields. At the same time, it can address ethical and environmental concerns related to competition with food crops and habitat loss caused by oil crop cultivation, which remain critical challenges for sustainable biodiesel development. However, despite its potential, algal biodiesel production is hampered by several critical limitations, particularly the inherent trade-off between biomass accumulation and lipid synthesis, the low biomass and lipid yields, and the high costs associated with cultivation technologies and downstream processing. This study provides an in-depth review of recent advances in innovative ultrasonic and electrochemical strategies to overcome these bottlenecks into algal cultivation processes. Furthermore, our discussions have covered underlying mechanisms through which these stimuli affect algal metabolism, with the goal of gaining deeper insight into their applicability and long-term potential in sustainable biofuel production systems. The findings of this study demonstrate that ultrasound treatment, external electrostimulation, and the integration of bioelectrochemical systems represent effective tools markedly enhance microalgal biomass productivity and lipid accumulation. Optimization of treatment regimes and their synergistic interaction with other factors provides a robust approach to concurrently stimulating both algal growth and lipid biosynthesis. Additionally, these approaches also streamline downstream processing by improving lipid extraction efficiency, reducing reaction time, minimizing chemical input, and decreasing the number of processing stages. The compatibility of these technologies with waste-based cultivation and remediation further enhances their sustainability profile while simultaneously reducing operational costs on aeration demand, and CO₂ supplementation requirements. Representing promising frontiers in the field, these emerging and insufficiently studied approaches offer both environmental and economic advantages and warrant intensified research efforts to fully unlock their potential for advancing sustainable algal biofuel production.
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