This chapter describes several contrasting pathways that lead from algae cultivation to fuel production. Making algal biofuel production more efficient, less. These characteristics make algae a platform with a high potential to produce costcompetitive biofuels. They provide viable feedstock for fermentation to ethanol. Then, this biomass is subjected for pretreatment, which is followed by transesterification reaction of lipid fractions with alcohols. They are considered as the safer, noncompetitive and rapidly growing organisms among those could be used for biodiesel production. The biodiesel will be produced from algae because its production capacity is much higher than other crop species used in the production of biodiesel like corn. Less dependence on fossil fuels predicted earlier for alternative the use of vegetable oil as fuel might seem of no importance in our times. Algal companies specialized in biodiesel production the following is a list of companies developing processes for the production of biodiesel from algae oil. Algal biofuel production is neither environmentally nor.
Algae have a clear potential to be used as a source for the production of renewable energy. The set of processes that lead from algae cultivation to collection and harvest, and finally to fuel conversion is termed the pathway for algal biofuel production. The variety of technologies and production processes under development is wideranging and difficult to. When used for the production of biofuel, algae is often classed as a socalled thirdgeneration biofuel. Both macroalgae and microalgae are involved in the production of biofuel. Algae fuel, algal biofuel, or algal oil is an alternative to liquid fossil fuels that uses algae as its source of energyrich oils. The production of microalgae for high value products like nutritional products is established and australia is hosting some of the bigger algae plants due to the favourable climatic and investment conditions it has to offer. During the last decades, algae received increasing interest as potential source of advanced biofuels production resulting in a considerable attention from research, industry and policy makers. Promoting algal production in wastewater treatment high rate algal ponds hraps by co 2 addition enables cost effective near tertiarylevel wastewater treatment to be achieved and the harvested algal biomass byproduct can be used for biofuel production. The biofuel production from renewable sources can reduce fossil fuel. Algae advantages and drawbacks should be considered without excessive enthusiasm of prejudices but exclusively with a scientific approach. Like plants, algae carry out photosynthesis, using sunlight to convert carbon dioxide, water and nutrients to oxygen and biomass carbohydrates, oils and proteins. When made from seaweed macroalgae it can be known as seaweed fuel or seaweed oil several companies and government agencies are funding efforts to reduce capital.
The total annual world production of algae biomass is about 12 million t dry basis around 16 million t wet basis for macroalgae, and about 9200 t dry basis for microalgae, which were harvested from wild habitats and aquaculture farms. While the basic concept of using algae as an alternative and renewable source of biomass feedstock for biofuels has been explored previously, a scalable, sustainable and commercially viable system has yet to emerge. Algae biofuels production processes, carbon dioxide. This process came about as biofuel companies sought to produce algae faster and more efficiently than they could with pond growth. Algae fuels, feed and more algae biomass organization. Biodiesel production from algae to overcome the energy. First, under special conditions algae produce biomass. The ebt algae process combines a bioreactor with an open pond, both using waste co 2. These oilrich algae can then be extracted from the system and processed into biodiesel, with the dried remainder further reprocessed to create ethanol. Identification of the optimum sites for industrial scale microalgae. The main focus of most current interest in algae biofuels is the production of algae oils, e. Recently, technological advancements have brought microalgae biodiesel closer to.
The first step typically is the dewatering of algae. Algae produces upto 300 times more oil per acre than conventional food crops, such as. The potential for biofuels from algae algae biomass summit san francisco, ca. Comprehensive evaluation of algal biofuel production. Biodiesel has gained much attention in recent years due to its ecofriendly nature, nontoxic characteristics, biodegradability and lower net carbon cycle compared to conventional diesel fuels. In order to utilize algae for this purpose, the most common systems for cultivating them are investigated. The book looks at how biomass, specifically sugars, nonedible plant materials, and algae which. On top of those advantages, algae at least in theory. Assessment of algal biofuel resource potential in the united states. Ichen hu, in biofuels from algae second edition, 2019. Learn more about the types and manufacture of biofuels as well as their economic and environmental considerations. Current status and potential for algal biofuels production. As the search for alternatives to fossil fuels continues, microalgae have emerged as a promising renewable feedstock for biodiesel.
A multitude of algaebased biofuel abb pathways are possible and need to be. Regional production of microalgae and processing into biofuels will provide economic. Another method for growing algae is a vertical growth or closedloop production system. Pdf potential of algae for biofuel production researchgate. The production of biodiesel from micro algal lipids is studied by using newly isolated fresh water algal strains. The algae produced was full of the fats that make it suitable for biodiesel production and fatter than other biofilm reactors have produced. From the type of container open air or closed system to the amount of nutrients and light, engineers must manipulate a.
Biofuel feasibility oil extraction process biological process 3. The idea we start with is a biodiesel production plant with the capacity to meet 10% of demand for the biodiesel catalonia planned for the coming years. Biodiesel production by microalgal biotechnology guanhua huanga, feng chenb,c, dong weic, xuewu zhangc, gu chenc a school of chemical engineering and technology, china university of mining and technology, china bschool of biological sciences, the university of hong kong, pokfulam, hong kong, china ccollege of light industry and food sciences, south china university of technology, guangzhou. In fact, the rate of production from algae growing in the vast ponds required for truly massive production is, for a given area of land, similar to that seen in the most productive areas of. Biofuels production from microalgae can provide some distinctive advantages such as.
Using algae to produce feedstocks for biofuels production could have little impact on the production of food and other products derived from terrestrial crops, but will utilize water resources, which will need a. Collection of oedogonium 25 gm, algae in petri dishesl1,l2,l3 and l4 oil extraction. Biodiesel produced from algae certainly has its benefits, but there are still some major technical. Engineers play a key role in designing methods for optimizing algal growth for biofuel production. Department of biotechnology banasthali vidyapith algal production for biofuel meraj jafri lsmsm15052 2. The production of biofuels from algae is not yet economically competitive with that of petroleumbased fuels.
Algaebased biofuel production in the algenol directto. We quantify the water stress impacts of algal biofuel production in terms of water. Commercialization potential aspects of microalgae for biofuel. Pdf the first generation of biofuels, such as bioethanol, biobutanol, and biodiesels, is usually produced using edible, conventional crops. Algae are presented as a viable alternative because the production of algae for fuel should not compete with the food, preventing the increase in food prices, and is the third generation of biofuels. Algae fuel, algal biofuel, or algal oil is an alternative to liquid fossil fuels that uses algae as its. At the time of this publication, large scale production of algae based biofuel is not yet economically viable enough to displace petroleumbased fuels or compete with other. Whats more, the international energy agency iea has previously stated that algae has the potential to offer high productivity and production of biomass which avoids competition with other. Utilisation of algae in biofuel production directly contributes to pollution control and nvironmental protection. The aspiration for producing algal biofuel is motivated by the desire to. We report on the currentstatus of technology options for the potential exploitation of algae of both macro and microalgae species in the. Biofertilizers contract research, development, and manufacturing algal product research and. Production of biodiesel using algae is shown in fig. Develop a business partnership with companies willing to commercialize the activity.
Production of biodiesel from algae has been recognized as the most efficient way to make biofuel. Postnote 384 july 2011 biofuels from algae page 2 algae for fuel algae are a diverse group of aquatic and marine organisms. Feasibility study of algae biodiesel production in the. It is processed in very much the same way as biofuel crops and relys on its high oil and biomass content. Vertical growing places algae in clear plastic bags, which are stacked high and covered as protection from the elements. The algal oil was converted to biodiesel by transesterification with methanol using sodium hydroxide as a catalyst. The water footprint of biofuels from microalgae university of twente. In this article, in addition to the literature revision for biofuels production from microalgae, drawbacks and bottlenecks from microalgae technologies are discussed. Biodiesel production from algae usually involves the conversion of lipids from algae through indirect transesterification in two steps 2te. The range of fuels that can be produced from algae are. Fast algaetobiocrude oil process reduces production costs the energy departments pacific northwest national laboratory is receiving national recognition for developing a process to turn algae into biocrude oil in just minutes, potentially creating a substitute for the natural processes that produced fossil fuels over millions of years. Algae production strains also have the potential to be bioengineered, allowing improvement of specific traits 25,26 and production of valuable coproducts, which may allow algal biofuels to compete economically with petroleum. Some can also grow in the dark, by consuming sugars. Nevertheless low value algal products for biofuel, need a massive boost in.
However, historical efforts in this field have been inadequate to facilitate the development of a. There are many possible biofuel feedstocks, and there are several that are currently getting much more funding and attention than algae, but we chose algae because it seems to be the best hope for producing a fuel that might one day be cost competitive with petroleum fuels. Algae have shorter growth cycle as compared to other plant, hence the algae is a very promising source of biomass for the production of. Algae can grow in salt water, freshwater or even contaminated water, at sea or in ponds, and on land not suitable for food production. Apart from the algal cultivation another major technological and economic barrier. Composition, properties and challenges of algae biomass. The basic concept of using algae as a renewable feedstock for biofuels production has been known for many years. Identification of algal biofuel production sites using gis model.
In the first step, oil from algae specie was extracted using nhexane and diethyl. Algae and aquatic plants explores current investigations and application of the fields of biofuel production and bioengineering and considers from a global context the evolving processes of algal biofuel production. This chapter describes several contrasting pathways that lead from algae cultivation to. Also, algae fuels are an alternative to commonly known biofuel sources, such as corn and sugarcane. Algae are capable of absorbing heavy metals from water, metabolise the phenol, cyanide. Deriving biodiesel from algae oil has numerous advantages over any other biodiesel production feedstock since algae have the highest yield peracre. This study evaluates the potential for algaederived biofuel production in the united states us. Biofuel is advocated as a costeffective and environmentally benign alternative to petroleum and other fossil fuels.
Archived from the original pdf on 26 september 2006. Many species contain high lipid concentrations and require simple cultivationincluding reduced freshwater and land area needscompared to traditional crops used for biofuels. Pdf biofuel production from algae utilizing wastewater semantic. Since there are many species of algae with varying characteristics, a diversity of options for the production of algaebased energy have been analysed. The major barriers to the commercialization of algae derived biofuel are hugevolume cultivation and high costs for processing. The economics of microalgae production and processing. Naturally occurring algae thrive on wastewater providing the oxygen for aerobic bacteria to break down the waste to ammonia. The algae are now becoming the main source of biofuel production in the world. Biofuels from algae an overview sciencedirect topics. The algal biofuel technology includes selection of. Biofuel, renewable energy source that is derived from plant, algal, or animal biomass. Proteins for human and animal nutrition soil treatment. Worldwide technologies being used for algal biofuel production companies 3. Biofuel production has been estimated to be 35 billion litres o european commission, 2006.
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