Life Cycle GHG Emissions from Microalgal Biodiesel – A CA-GREET Model

Woertz, Ian; Benemann, John R.; Du, Niu; Unnasch, Stefan; Mendola, Dominick; Mitchell, B. Greg; Lundquist, Tryg

doi:10.1021/es403768q

Cited by 72 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…Cultivation systems, which include photobioreactors (PBR) and open raceway ponds, have been used at pilot plant scale to produce biomass, which is typically harvested, preserved, and processed off site. Large-scale systems will integrate on site processing based on environmental and economic benefits (Batan et al, 2010;Lundquist et al, 2010;Davis et al, 2011Davis et al, , 2014Beal et al, 2012;Quinn et al, 2014;Rogers et al, 2014;Thilakaratne et al, 2014;Woertz et al, 2014). Current uncertainties in the structure of a large-scale algal based biorefineries make it possible that microalgae biomass will be temporarily stored in holding tanks based on dewatering processing capacity.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The application of results to microalgae biorefinery systems is limited. Additionally, several techno-economic and life cycle assessments of the microalgae biofuel process do not consider the impact of storage time or preprocessing temperatures on yield as all assume a seamlessly integrated co-located growth and processing facility (Batan et al, 2010;Beal et al, 2012;Sills et al, 2012;Jones et al, 2014;Quinn et al, 2014;Rogers et al, 2014;Thilakaratne et al, 2014;Woertz et al, 2014). Current assessments of the microalgae to biofuels process make simplifying assumption due to the lack of large-scale processing data .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Quantitative Assessment of Microalgae Biomass and Lipid Stability Post-Cultivation

et al. 2015

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Processing of microalgal biomass to biofuels and other products requires the removal of the culture from a well-controlled growth system to a containment or preprocessing step at non-ideal growth conditions, such as darkness, minimal gas exchange, and fluctuating temperatures. The conditions and the length of time between harvest and processing will impact microalgal metabolism, resulting in biomass and lipid degradation. This study experimentally investigates the impact of time and temperature on Nannochloropsis salina harvested from outdoor plate photobioreactors.The impact of three temperatures, 4, 40, or 70°C, on biomass and lipid content (as fatty acid methyl esters) of the harvested microalgae was evaluated over a 156 h time period. Results show that for N. salina, time and temperature are key factors that negatively impact biomass and lipid yields. The temperature of 70°C resulted in the highest degradation with the overall biofuel potential reduced by 30% over 156 h. Short time periods, 24 h, and low temperatures are shown to have little effect on the harvested biomass.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantitative Assessment of Microalgae Biomass and Lipid Stability Post-Cultivation

et al. 2015

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“…Multiple LCAs of microalgae to biofuels processes incorporating various conversion technologies have been performed with results varying dramatically due to simplistic process models, differences in production pathways, and incomplete system boundaries (Adesanya et al, 2014;Azadi et al, 2014;Batan et al, 2010;Brentner et al, 2011;Campbell et al, 2011;Collet et al, 2014;Frank et al, 2013;Frank et al, 2011;Grierson et al, 2013;Handler et al, 2014;Liu et al, 2013;Passell et al, 2013;Ponnusamy et al, 2014;Quinn et al, 2014;Shirvani et al, 2011;Sills et al, 2013;Soh et al, 2014;Vasudevan et al, 2012;Woertz et al, 2014). The majority of the previous studies have focused on traditional lipid extraction systems (Adesanya et al, 2014;Azadi et al, 2014;Batan et al, 2010;Brentner et al, 2011;Campbell et al, 2011;Collet et al, 2014;Frank et al, 2011;Handler et al, 2014;Passell et al, 2013;Quinn et al, 2014;Shirvani et al, 2011;Sills et al, 2013;Soh et al, 2014;Vasudevan et al, 2012;Woertz et al, 2014). Other LCA studies surveyed utilized thermochemical conversion, secretion or supercritical water bio-oil recovery technologies (Brentner et al, 2011;Frank et al, 2013;Grierson et al, 2013;...…”

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confidence: 99%

The potentials and challenges of algae based biofuels: A review of the techno-economic, life cycle, and resource assessment modeling

Quinn

Davis

2015

Bioresource Technology

396

228

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Microalgae biofuel production has been extensively evaluated through resource, economic and life cycle assessments. Resource assessments consistently identify land as non-limiting and highlight the need to consider siting based on combined geographical constraints of land and other critical resources such as water and carbon dioxide. Economic assessments report a selling cost of fuel that ranges between $1.64 and over $30 gal(-1) consistent with large variability reported in the life cycle literature, -75 to 534 gCO2-eq MJ(-1). Large drivers behind such variability stem from differences in productivity assumptions, pathway technologies, and system boundaries. Productivity represents foundational units in these assessments with current assumed yields in various assessments varying by a factor of 60. A review of the literature in these areas highlights the need for harmonized assessments such that direct comparisons of alternative processing technologies can be made on the metrics of resource requirements, economic feasibility, and environmental impact.

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“…Drying can account for more than 80% of the energy consumption [9]. Previous researchers reported the mass balance and life-cycle assessment of microalgae; for example, using an open raceway pond for the cultivation [10][11][12] or using a photobioreactor for the cultivation stage [13]. Using the total biomass enables the utilization of fast-growing species because there is no need to wait for lipid production [14], and the HTL process utilizes biomass more efficiently than lipid extraction [15].…”

Section: Energy Requirementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microalgae Oil Production: A Downstream Approach to Energy Requirements for the Minamisoma Pilot Plant

et al. 2018

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This study investigates the potential of microalgae oil production as an alternative renewable energy source, in a pilot project located at Minamisoma City in the Fukushima Prefecture of Japan. The algal communities used in this research were the locally mixed species, which were mainly composed of Desmodesmus collected from the Minamisoma pilot project. The microalgae oil-production processes in Minamisoma consisted of three stages: cultivation, dewatering, and extraction. The estimated theoretical input-energy requirement for extracting oil was 137.25 MJ to process 50 m 3 of microalgae, which was divided into cultivation 15.40 MJ, centrifuge 13.39 MJ, drum filter 14.17 MJ, and hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) 94.29 MJ. The energy profit ratio (EPR) was 1.41. The total energy requirement was highest in the HTL process (68%) followed by cultivation (11%) and the drum filter (10%). The EPR value increased along with the yield in the cultivation process. Using HTL, the microalgae biomass could be converted to bio-crude oil to increase the oil yield in the extraction process. Therefore, in the long run, the HTL process could help lower production costs, due to the lack of chemical additions, for extracting oil in the downstream estimation of the energy requirements for microalgae oil production.

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Life Cycle GHG Emissions from Microalgal Biodiesel – A CA-GREET Model

Cited by 72 publications

References 26 publications

Quantitative Assessment of Microalgae Biomass and Lipid Stability Post-Cultivation

Quantitative Assessment of Microalgae Biomass and Lipid Stability Post-Cultivation

The potentials and challenges of algae based biofuels: A review of the techno-economic, life cycle, and resource assessment modeling

Microalgae Oil Production: A Downstream Approach to Energy Requirements for the Minamisoma Pilot Plant

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