Development of cost models of algae production in a cold climate using different production systems

Abstract

Research into the potential use of microalgae to produce biofuels is receiving significant attention. In the cold climates of countries like Canada, algae cultivation in open raceway pond (ORP) systems is limited to a short period of the year when pond surface water temperatures and ambient light conditions enable optimal culture growth. In this study we develop techno-economic assessment models to predict, evaluate, and compare the techno-economic results from three autotrophic algae cultivation scenarios to produce algae biomass. The first is a modeled ORP site located in the southern USA, which has a minimum biomass selling price (MBSP) for algae of $541 tonne −1 (T −1 ). The second scenario models an identical ORP system co-located at a site near Fort Saskatchewan, a northern city in the province of Alberta, Canada. The resulting MBSP is $1288 T −1 . A third scenario models a photobioreactor (PBR) cultivation system co-located at the same northern Alberta site and shows algae production with an MBSP of $550 T −1 . Each system is scaled to produce 2000 T day −1 ash-free dry weight (AFDE) algae biomass. The study concludes that PBR systems deployed at this scale have the potential to reduce production costs significantly ($ T −1 ) compared to similarly sited ORP systems in Canada, despite climatic factors and high initial capital costs associated with PBR construction. Furthermore, the modeled PBR system required 0.3% of the water required by the ORP cultivation platforms (153 × 10 3 versus 59 527 × 10 3 m 3 ) and 0.04% of the land (32 versus. 82 038 ha).

Pigment Production under Cold Stress in the Green Microalga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

“…Nevertheless, many microalgal products, especially oil for biofuels, are still far from commercial realization due to the cost of production. Moreover, for countries situated in the Northern Hemisphere, a major factor that hinders algal growth in open raceway ponds is a seasonal limitation for optimal growth [30][31][32]. If cultivation can be performed under sub-optimal temperatures by shifting to a different product that accumulates better under this condition, there will be a better use of facilities and land area.…”

The Perspective of Large-Scale Production of Algae Biodiesel

“…While photobioreactor dries mass concentrations with peak values only slightly above 3 g/L, the heterotrophic processes easily reach ten to twenty times higher cell densities. Pankratz et al [36] think that by applying photobioreactor technology, over five years, it is possible to increase the average biomass productivity from 5 to 8 g/L/day.…”

“…The estimated selling price of biodiesel produced from waste frying oil, jatropha, and soybean was $0.73/L [68], $1.4/L [81], and $1.35/L [82], respectively, which is higher than petrol-diesel ($0.7/l), but lower than algal biodiesel. Pankratz et al [36] consider that, over five years, it is possible to triple the size of PBR and increase the average biomass productivity from 5 to 8 gL −1 day −1 . With a 25% reduction in capital investment, this would lower the algal biomass price below $0.2 kg −1 .…”

A Comparative Technoeconomic Analysis of Algal Thermochemical Conversion Technologies for Diluent Production

“…[72] Pankratz et al developed a robust model for production of algae and used it to develop cost of algae production in cold climate. [18,108] These differences mean that there is a need to develop robust methods for algal cultivation and harvesting technologies and seek more efforts to determine the market competitiveness of algae.…”

“…The growing interest in algae in the scientific and academic communities suggests the feasibility of producing various desired products from microalgae. [14][15][16][17][18][19] Microalgae has applications in the energy sector as biofuel and in nonenergy sectors as feed supplements, pigments, chemicals, aquaculture, and polyunsaturated fatty acids. The worldwide interest in microalgae can be realized from the fact that its projected market volume in 2004 was %5000 tons dry weight year À1 .…”