A comparative analysis of the environmental impacts of cultivating microalgae in different production systems and climatic zones: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Schade, S.; Meier, Toni

doi:10.1016/j.algal.2019.101485

Cited by 51 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…The impact assessment methodology used in this work is ReCiPe (midpoint (H)) 2014, because it was already proved to be representative on a global scale and therefore suitable for intercountry comparisons [11]. The impact assessment categories were selected according to that used in previous LCA studies [10].…”

Section: Impact Assessment Methodologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…with a non-organic carbon source as CO 2 [5,10]. Both techniques are adopted industrially, but more than 90% of the biomass cultivated globally is produced in ORPs [11]. ORPs are less expensive and easier to operate, but since they are open systems, they are characterized by high evaporation losses, high contamination risks and low volumetric productivity, which causes an energy-intensive downstream process.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Comparative life cycle assessment of astaxanthin production with Haematococcus pluvialis in different photobioreactor technologies

Onorato

Rösch

2020

Algal Research

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Haematococcus pluvialis is one of the most abundant sources of natural astaxanthin when compared with other microorganisms, and has attracted the interest of the market thanks to its health benefits. We investigated the environmental performance of the cultivation of H. pluvialis and the astaxanthin production processes through a comprehensive Life Cycle Analysis (LCA). This study compares the potential environmental impact of three photobioreactors (PBR) available on the market: the flat panel airlift , the green wall panel , and the unilayer horizontal tubular PBR . These systems have different technical settings: the flat panel airlift has a double-sided light emitting diode (LED) illumination system and is placed inside a building; the green wall panel is located outside and equipped with one-side LED lighting; the unilayer horizontal tubular is placed outside without any artificial lighting. Two different functional units were considered: one kg of H. pluvialis (80% dw) and 1 kg of astaxanthin. Where 1 kg of astaxanthin was selected as functional unit, as the content of astaxanthin in the biomass is low, the system expansion method was applied.The LCA results, based on original data from pilot-scale production, indicate that the system design, and the energy mix used have a significant environmental impact, due to differences in algae productivities and energy demand. For indoor systems, even with light-emitting diodes (LED), the energy demand for lighting is the main contributor to climate change. This contribution decreases significantly if the share of renewable energy increases. In the case of the green wall panel another main climate change contributor is the material used for the diode production, including tin and molybdenum. Although the astaxanthin yield is higher in the flat panel airlift and green wall panel, electricity production systems still const tute an environmental burden. For this reason, the system with the lowest environmental impact is the unilayer horizontal tubular, i.e. the photobioreactor where no artificial light is used.

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Section: Impact Assessment Methodologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparative life cycle assessment of astaxanthin production with Haematococcus pluvialis in different photobioreactor technologies

Onorato

Rösch

2020

Algal Research

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“…In particular, cultivation in cold areas of temperate climatic zones has only been investigated in a few studies (Pérez-López et al 2017;Smetana et al 2017). A previous study by Schade and Meier (2019) suggested that photobioreactors (PBRs) are the most suitable for production in cold climates. Moreover, Nannochloropsis sp.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Distinct microalgae species for food—part 1: a methodological (top-down) approach for the life cycle assessment of microalgae cultivation in tubular photobioreactors

Schade

Meier

2020

J Appl Phycol

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Specific microalgae species are an adequate source of EPA and DHA and are able to provide a complete protein, which makes them highly interesting for human nutrition. However, microalgae cultivation has also been described to be energy intensive and environmentally unfavorable in pilot-scale reactors. Moreover, production in cold temperature zones has not been sufficiently investigated. In particular, the effects of tube materials and cultivation season length have rarely been previously investigated in the context of a comparative LCA of microalgae cultivation. A computational “top-down” model was conducted to calculate input flows for Nannochloropsis sp. and Phaeodactylum tricornutum cultivation in a hypothetical tubular photobioreactor. Cultivation processes were calculated according to detailed satellite climatic data for the chosen location in Central Germany. This model was applied to a set of different scenarios, including variations in photobioreactor material, tube diameter, microalgae species, and cultivation season length. Based on these data, a life cycle assessment (LCA) was performed following ISO standard 14040/44. The impact assessment comprised the global warming potential, acidification, eutrophication, cumulative energy demand, and water scarcity. The results showed that a long cultivation season in spring and fall was always preferable in terms of environmental impacts, although productivity decreased significantly due to the climatic preconditions. Acrylic glass as a tube material had higher environmental impacts than all other scenarios. The cultivation of an alternative microalgae species showed only marginal differences in the environmental impacts compared with the baseline scenario. Critical processes in all scenarios included the usage of hydrogen peroxide for the cleaning of the tubes, nitrogen fertilizer, and electricity for mixing, centrifugation, and drying. Microalgae cultivation in a tubular photobioreactor in a “cold-weather” climate for food is sustainable and could possibly be a complement to nutrients from other food groups. The added value of this study lies in the detailed description of a complex and flexible microalgae cultivation model. The new model introduced in this study can be applied to numerous other scenarios to evaluate photoautotrophic microalgae cultivation in tubular photobioreactors. Thus, it is possible to vary the facility location, seasons, scale, tube dimensions and material, microalgae species, nutrient inputs, and flow velocity. Moreover, single processes can easily be complemented or exchanged to further adjust the model individually, if, for instance, another downstream pathway is required.

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“…The energetic requirements for microalgal biomass production have been described in a number of works [17,25,53]. Acién Fernández et al [21] reported an average power consumption of 500 W m −3 for tubular large scale PBRs, which is lower than the consumption identified for H-T PBR (2800 W m −3 ) and MTA PBR (790 W m −3 ) here.…”

Section: Energetic Requirements For Chlorella Productionmentioning

confidence: 67%

Perspective Design of Algae Photobioreactor for Greenhouses—A Comparative Study

et al. 2021

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The continued growth and evolving lifestyles of the human population require the urgent development of sustainable production in all its aspects. Microalgae have the potential of the sustainable production of various commodities; however, the energetic requirements of algae cultivation still largely contribute to the overall negative balance of many operation plants. Here, we evaluate energetic efficiency of biomass and lipids production by Chlorella pyrenoidosa in multi-tubular, helical-tubular, and flat-panel airlift pilot scale photobioreactors, placed in an indoor environment of greenhouse laboratory in Central Europe. Our results show that the main energy consumption was related to the maintenance of constant light intensity in the flat-panel photobioreactor and the culture circulation in the helical-tubular photobioreactor. The specific power input ranged between 0.79 W L−1 in the multi-tubular photobioreactor and 6.8 W L−1 in the flat-panel photobioreactor. The construction of multi-tubular photobioreactor allowed for the lowest energy requirements but also predetermined the highest temperature sensitivity and led to a significant reduction of Chlorella productivity in extraordinary warm summers 2018 and 2019. To meet the requirements of sustainable yearlong microalgal production in the context of global change, further development towards hybrid microalgal cultivation systems, combining the advantages of open and closed systems, can be expected.

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A comparative analysis of the environmental impacts of cultivating microalgae in different production systems and climatic zones: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Cited by 51 publications

References 22 publications

Comparative life cycle assessment of astaxanthin production with Haematococcus pluvialis in different photobioreactor technologies

Comparative life cycle assessment of astaxanthin production with Haematococcus pluvialis in different photobioreactor technologies

Distinct microalgae species for food—part 1: a methodological (top-down) approach for the life cycle assessment of microalgae cultivation in tubular photobioreactors

Perspective Design of Algae Photobioreactor for Greenhouses—A Comparative Study

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