Catalytic gasification of algae in supercritical water for biofuel production and carbon capture

Stucki, Samuel; Vogel, Frédéric; Ludwig, Christian; Haiduc, Anca; Brandenberger, Martin

doi:10.1039/b819874h

Cited by 207 publications

(114 citation statements)

References 32 publications

(38 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

109

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Alternatively, microalgae grow in freshwater/marine systems and there is no requirement for land, which has been gradually recognized as potential feedstocks for the next generation of biofuels and chemical (Williams and Laurens, 2010;Anastasakis and Ross, 2011;López-González et al, 2014). Several possible pathways for converting microalgae to bioenergy have been investigated, mainly including biochemical conversion like anaerobic digestion and alcoholic fermentation, thermochemical conversion such as combustion, pyrolysis, gasification and liquefaction (Rizzo et al, 2013;Gai et al, 2014;Stucki et al, 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Combustion behavior and kinetics of low-lipid microalgae via thermogravimetric analysis

Gai

Liu

Han

et al. 2015

Bioresource Technology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

h i g h l i g h t sCombustion of low-lipid microalgae C. pyrenoidosa and S. platensis were studied. Chemical functional groups present in two microalgae were investigated via FTIR. Apparent activation energies for combustion of the two microalgae were calculated. C. pyrenoidosa has a higher reactivity compared to S. platensis during combustion. a r t i c l e i n f o t r a c tThermogravimetric analysis and differential thermal analysis were employed to investigate combustion characteristics of two low-lipid microalgae, Chlorella pyrenoidosa (CP) and Spirulina platensis (SP) and isoconversional Starink approach was used to calculate the kinetic parameters in the present study. The results showed that three stages of mass loss, including dehydration, devolatilization and char oxidation, were observed during combustion of both of two low-lipid microalgae. The whole weight loss of combustion of two microalgae was both shifted to higher temperature zones with increased heating rates from 10 to 40 K/min. In the 0.1-0.9 conversion range, the apparent activation energy of CP increased first from 51.96 to 79.53 kJ/mol, then decreased to 55.59 kJ/mol. Finally, it slightly increased to 67.27 kJ/mol. In the case of SP, the apparent activation energy gradually increased from 68.51 to 91.06 kJ/mol.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Combustion behavior and kinetics of low-lipid microalgae via thermogravimetric analysis

Gai

Liu

Han

et al. 2015

Bioresource Technology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Gasification of Spirulina to a methane-rich syngas using supercritical water and ruthenium catalysts has been predicted to yield up to 60-70 % of the heating value contained in the microalgal biomass (Stucki et al 2009). Experimental studies on SCWG at 550 °C of Nannochloropsis found energy conversion of biomass to syngas of up to 60 % (Guan et al 2012a).…”

Section: Gasification Of Microalgaementioning

confidence: 99%

Methods of energy extraction from microalgal biomass: a review

Milledge

Heaven

2014

Rev Environ Sci Biotechnol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…The second technique is via the hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) pathway that produces a water-insoluble bio-crude oil by using treatments at high pressure (5-20 MPa) 57 and at the temperature range of 250-450°C [7,8]. Other techniques, such as pyrolysis [9] and gasification [10,11], were also applied for converting algae to biofuels. However, these techniques have not been extensively studied yet, because of their inherent problems.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Therefore, an integrated biorefinery process for ALU pathway was established [6]. The second technique is via the hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) pathway that produces a water-insoluble bio-crude oil by using treatments at high pressure (5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20) and at the temperature range of 250-450°C [7,8]. Other techniques, such as pyrolysis [9] and gasification [10,11], were also applied for converting algae to biofuels.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Standards and Protocols for Characterization of Algae-Based Biofuels

Yang

Zhang²,

Cui³

et al. 2016

Tr Ren Energy

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Recently, algae have been considered as the third-generation biofuel feedstock, which can be converted to the precursor chemicals of drop-in fuels via either the algal lipid upgrading (ALU) pathway or the hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) pathway. These precursors could be further processed and upgraded to fuels. This article reviews the standards and protocols that are suitable for characterization of drop-in algal biofuels. Applicable ASTM standards and European standards (EN) were summarized. The protocols that have been used by researches and the National Institute of Standards and Technology were also introduced. Keywords: Algae-Based Biofuels; ASTM Standards; European Standards (EN); Drop-in Algal Biofuel; Algal Lipid Upgrading (ALU); Hydrothermal Liquefaction (HTL) IntroductionAlgae are a big variety of photosynthetic organisms, while microalgae are prokaryotic or eukaryotic photosynthetic microorganisms that can grow rapidly and live in harsh conditions due to their unicellular or simple multicellular structure. It is estimated that more than 50,000 species exist, but only a limited number of algal species have been studied and analyzed [1]. Microalgae have the ability to mitigate greenhouse gases, and some species can accumulate oil with a high productivity, thereby having the potential for applications in producing the third-generation of biofuels [2].During the past decade, government agencies and the private sector had shown tremendous interests in algae related studies. Thus, the algal technologies for biofuels production have been greatly advanced [3]. The algal biofuel production cost was significantly reduced, and the advanced process options for the conversion of algal biomass into biofuels and bioproducts have been developed [4]. Currently, there are two approaches that were suggested by the US Department of Energy as the promising technologies for algal biomass conversion. The first approach is call the algal lipid upgrading (ALU) pathway, in which algal oils are extracted from the biomass via highpressure homogenization with hexane [5]. This approach was further improved by combining with a biological conversion route that converts carbohydrates in algae to ethanol. Therefore, an integrated biorefinery process for ALU pathway was established [6]. The second technique is via the hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) pathway that produces a water-insoluble bio-crude oil by using treatments at high pressure (5-20 MPa) 57 and at the temperature range of 250-450°C [7,8]. Other techniques, such as pyrolysis [9] and gasification [10,11], were also applied for converting algae to biofuels. However, these techniques have not been extensively studied yet, because of their inherent problems.The products from ALU and HTL are crude algal oil and bio-crude oil, respectively. Due to the low selectivity of two pathways, both products contain impurities like heteroatoms, oxygenated compounds, and nitrogenated compounds. In order to synthesize algae-based drop-in fuels, it requires upgrading processes (such as crackin...

show abstract

Catalytic gasification of algae in supercritical water for biofuel production and carbon capture

Cited by 207 publications

References 32 publications

Combustion behavior and kinetics of low-lipid microalgae via thermogravimetric analysis

Combustion behavior and kinetics of low-lipid microalgae via thermogravimetric analysis

Methods of energy extraction from microalgal biomass: a review

Standards and Protocols for Characterization of Algae-Based Biofuels

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About