How is microalgae used for biofuel?
How is microalgae used for biofuel?
In addition to biodiesel, microalgae can also be used to generate energy in several other ways. Some algal species can produce hydrogen gas under specialized growth conditions. The biomass from algae can also be burned similar to wood or anaerobically digested to produce methane biogas to generate heat and electricity.
What is algae biofuel technology?
Algae fuel, algal biofuel, or algal oil is an alternative to liquid fossil fuels that uses algae as its source of energy-rich oils. Also, algae fuels are an alternative to commonly known biofuel sources, such as corn and sugarcane.
Can we use microalgae to produce biofuels?
Microalgae-derived biomass can supply a wide range of biofuels such as biodiesel, bioethanol, biohydrogen, biomethane, and bioelectricity. Among all projected applications, microalgae-derived oils are the most promising for the production of biofuel (Shuba and Kifleb, 2018).
What is microalgae biofuel production?
1.1. Biofuel Production. Bio-oil from microalgae can be used directly as fuel or chemically transesterified into biodiesel. Other microalgae biofuels such as ethanol and methane are produced as organic substrates and can be fermented by microbes under anaerobic conditions.
Which algae used in the production of biofuel?
oleoabundans (fresh water microalga) and Nannochloropsis sp. (marine microalga) proved to be suitable as raw materials for biofuel production because of their high oil content (29.0% and 28.7%, respectively). Both microalgae, when grown under nitrogen shortage, showed a great increase (»50%) in oil quantity.
Why algae should be used as biofuel?
Advantages for Biofuels A significant advantage of using algae for biofuels is that it need not displace farmland used for growing food sources. The Department of Energy reports that algae have the potential to yield at least 30 times more energy than land-based crops currently used to produce biofuels.
What are the benefits of algae biofuels?
Pros of Algae Biofuel
- A Renewable Resource. Unlike fossil fuels, algae are completely renewable.
- Carbon Dioxide Neutral.
- Extremely Productive.
- Environmentally-Friendly.
- Produces Numerous Byproducts.
- Versatile Fuel Source.
- Not Enough Information.
- Large Water Demand.
Why should we not use algae as biofuel?
Algae require a significant water source available to maximize growth. Temperature levels for the best growth cause water to evaporate, so algae biofuel uses much more water than other resources. This means that agricultural water resources may have to be diverted and used.
What are microalgae and why are they good sources of biodiesel?
As shown in Table 2 [49], microalgae grow rapidly, resulting in higher biomass productivity and oil yield compared to other oil crops. Microalgae with high oil content have the potential to produce an oil yield that is up to 25 times higher than the yield of traditional biodiesel crops, such as oil palm.
Is algae biofuel sustainable?
Algae are considered as clean renewable energy source as they do not cause pollution to the ecosystem. Biofuels, currently produced through algal biomass are bioethanol, biomethanol, biobutanol, biodiesel, biomethane, biohydrogen, and bio-oil.
What is microalgae used for?
A range of microalgae species are produced in hatcheries and are used in a variety of ways for commercial purposes, including for human nutrition, as biofuel, in the aquaculture of other organisms, in the manufacture of pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, and as biofertiliser.
Is biofuel from algae sustainable?
Our research has found that the production of algal biofuels is neither commercially nor environmentally sustainable.
Why might algae be the best option for biofuels?
Algae have a reduced impact on the environment compared with terrestrial sources of biomass used for biofuels [9]. They can be grown on land that would not be used for traditional agricultural, and are very efficient at removing nutrients from water.
Why are algae considered a very good biofuel resource?
Why algae should not be used as biofuel?
Why is algae good for making renewable fuel?
Algae are believed to be a good source of renewable energy because of its rapid growth rate and its ability to be cultivated in waste water or waste land. Several companies and government agencies are making efforts to reduce capital cost and operating costs and make algae fuel production commercially viable.
Why are microalgae good sources of biodiesel?
Due to their relatively high lipid accumulation, the microalgal species are considered as a promising feedstock for biodiesel production [17]. The lipids obtained from microalgae are chemically similar to the conventional vegetable oils and so have been considered as a promising source for biodiesel [18].
What are the advantages of using algae to make biofuel?
Can microalgae be used as a biofuel?
Microalgae have been experimented as a potential feedstock for biofuel generation in current era owing to its’ rich energy content, inflated growth rate, inexpensive culture approaches, the notable capacity of CO2fixation, and O2addition to the environment. Currently, research is ongoing towards the advancement of microalgal-biofuel technologies.
What are the challenges in processing microalgae?
However, the key challenge to processing microalgae is the need for dewatering prior to conversion, which requires high amounts of energy and constitutes a significant processing cost, accounting for 20–30% of the total production cost [32].
How to evaluate the energy sustainability of microalgae biodiesel?
Life cycle energy balance analysis is usually used to evaluate the energy sustainability of microalgae biodiesel production. Microalgae cultivation, lipid extraction, biomass harvesting and drying, carbohydrate hydrolysis reaction and transesterification all of these process included in the system boundary of the life cycle energy balance [70].
How is biodiesel produced from algae oil?
For biodiesel production, oil of algae is sent to transesterification reactor. Transesterification is a chemical reaction between alcohol and triglycerides to produce biodiesel and glycerol is produced as byproduct. Fig. 10. Process flow chart for biodiesel production.