An alternative biorefinery approach to address microalgal seasonality: blending with spent coffee grounds

Pereira, André Prates; Dong, Tao; Knoshaug, Eric P.; Nagle, Nick; Spiller, Ryan; Panczak, Bonnie; Chuck, Christopher J.; Pienkos, Philip T.

doi:10.1039/d0se00164c

Cited by 12 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…Thus, more recent modeling efforts have adopted the wet anaerobic storage approach for mitigating seasonal variability through conversion. Alternatively, algal biomass in low-productivity months may be supplemented with non-algae feedstocks of lower cost and nominally-similar composition such as brown grease and coffee grounds (Pereira et al, 2020;Spiller et al, 2020). These potential feedstocks are less seasonal, but developing a consistent supply chain (especially for spent coffee grounds) to balance the seasonal algae productivity variations is likely to be logistically challenging.…”

Section: Cultivation and Compositionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Enabling Production of Algal Biofuels by Techno-Economic Optimization of Co-Product Suites

et al. 2022

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Recent techno-economic analysis (TEA) has underscored that for algal biofuels to be cost competitive with petroleum fuels, co-products are necessary to offset the cost of fuel production. The co-product suite must scale with fuel production while also maximizing value from the non-fuel precursor components. The co-product suite also depends on algal biomass composition, which is highly dynamic and depends on environmental conditions during cultivation. Intentional shifts in composition during cultivation are often associated with reduced biomass productivity, which can increase feedstock production costs for the algae-based biorefinery. The optimal algae-based biorefinery configuration is thus a function of many factors. We have found that comprehensive TEA, which requires the construction of process models with detailed mass and energy balances, along with a complete accounting of capital and operating expenditures for a commercial-scale production facility, provides invaluable insight into the viability of a proposed biorefinery configuration. This insight is reflected in improved viability for one biorefining approach that we have developed over the last 10 years, namely, the Combined Algal Processing (CAP) approach. This approach fractionates algal biomass into carbohydrate-, lipid-, and protein-rich fractions, and tailors upgrading chemistry to the composition of each fraction. In particular, transitioning from valorization of only the lipids to a co-product suite from multiple components of high-carbohydrate algal biomass can reduce the minimum fuel selling price (MFSP) from more than $8/gallon of gasoline equivalent (GGE) to $2.50/GGE. This paper summarizes that progress and discusses several surprising implications in this optimization approach.

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Section: Cultivation and Compositionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Enabling Production of Algal Biofuels by Techno-Economic Optimization of Co-Product Suites

et al. 2022

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“…However, drying algal biomass is considered economically unviable because of the high capital and operational costs, which can be equivalent to approximately 75% of the total cost of algal biomass harvesting [12]. Pereira et al [13] investigated the blending of algae biomass with spent coffee grounds as a way to ensure a constant feedstock supply, increasing the amount of spent coffee grounds when algae productivity decreases. Although effective for locations where spent coffee grounds resources are proximal to algae cultivation and processing facilities, such an approach may not be practical for every location.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Inoculation with Lactic Acid Bacteria on the Preservation of Nannochloropsis gaditana Biomass in Wet Anaerobic Storage and Its Impact on Biomass Quality

et al. 2022

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Wet anaerobic storage of algal biomass is a promising preservation approach that can ensure a continuous supply of these feedstocks to biorefineries year-round. An effective solution to preservation must ensure minimal dry matter loss and a change in biochemical composition during storage. Therefore, the objective of this study is to investigate the preservation of Nannochloropsis gaditana biomass through wet anaerobic storage and its impact on biomass quality. Prior to storage, the algae sample is inoculated with two different strains of lactic acid bacteria and thereafter stored for 30 and 180 days. Each inoculant limited the dry matter loss to <10% (dry basis) after the storage duration. Final pH values (4.3–4.8) indicate that the biomass samples are properly ensiled, achieving the acidic conditions necessary for preservation. Compositional analysis of the biomass after storage shows a reduction in carbohydrate content, a relative increase in lipid content, and no significant change in the protein fraction. Glucose and galactose were the most prevalent sugar monomers. The low dry matter loss and minimal compositional change indicate that wet anaerobic storage is an effective means of preserving algal biomass and ensuring a constant supply of algal biomass feedstock to a biorefinery.

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“…However, drying algal biomass is considered economically unviable because of the high capital and operational costs, which can be equivalent to approximately 75% of the total cost of algal biomass harvesting [12]. Pereira et al [13] investigated the blending algae biomass with spent coffee grounds as a way to ensure a constant feedstock supply, increasing the amount of spent coffee grounds when algae productivity decreases. Although effective for locations where spent coffee grounds resources are proximal to algae cultivation and processing facilities, such an approach may not be practical for every location.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Inoculation with Lactic Acid Bacteria on the Preservation of Nannochloropsis Gaditana Biomass in Wet Anaerobic Storage and Its Impact on Biomass Quality

Oginni¹,

Wahlen²,

Wendt³

et al. 2022

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Wet anaerobic storage of algal biomass is a promising preservation approach which can ensure continuous supply of these feedstocks to biorefineries year-round. An effective solution to preservation must ensure minimal dry matter loss and change in biochemical composition during storage. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate the preservation of Nannochloropsis gaditana biomass through wet anaerobic storage and its impact on biomass quality. Prior to storage, algae sample was inoculated with two different strains of lactic acid bacteria and thereafter stored for 30 and 180 days. Each inoculant limited dry matter loss to &lt;10% (dry basis) after the storage durations. Final pH values (4.3 - 4.8) indicate that the biomass samples were properly ensiled, achieving the acidic conditions necessary for preservation. Compositional analysis of the biomass after storage showed a reduction in carbohydrate content, a relative increase in lipid content, and no significant change to the protein fraction. Glucose and galactose were the prevalent sugar monomers. The low dry matter loss and minimal compositional change indicates that wet anaerobic storage is an effective means of preserving algal biomass, ensuring a constant supply of algal biomass feedstock to a biorefinery.

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An alternative biorefinery approach to address microalgal seasonality: blending with spent coffee grounds

Abstract: An effective method for the production of fuels and chemicals from microalgae is to ferment the carbohydrate fraction, extract the lipids and convert the resulting solids through hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL).

Cited by 12 publications

References 33 publications

Enabling Production of Algal Biofuels by Techno-Economic Optimization of Co-Product Suites

Enabling Production of Algal Biofuels by Techno-Economic Optimization of Co-Product Suites

Effects of Inoculation with Lactic Acid Bacteria on the Preservation of Nannochloropsis gaditana Biomass in Wet Anaerobic Storage and Its Impact on Biomass Quality

Effects of Inoculation with Lactic Acid Bacteria on the Preservation of Nannochloropsis Gaditana Biomass in Wet Anaerobic Storage and Its Impact on Biomass Quality

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