Charting a development path to deliver cost competitive microalgae-based fuels

Roles, John; Yarnold, Jennifer; Wolf, Juliane; Stephens, Evan; Hussey, Karen; Hankamer, Ben

doi:10.1016/j.algal.2019.101721

Cited by 25 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…The study showed an energy index equal to 4.19 and 4.31 per kilogram of diesel and gasoline, respectively. In this context, the research findings highlight that, since 2011, there has been a tendency to consider, apart from EROEI or EROI, some sustainable indices such as carbon footprint (CF) (Zupko 2019;Manouchehrinejad et al 2020;Roles et al 2020), energy payback time (EPBT) (Perez et al 2011;Bhandari et al 2015;Koppelaar 2017;Pickard 2017;Walmsley et al 2018;Gómez-Camacho and Ruggeri 2019;Goel et al 2020), energy return on carbon invested (EROC) (Liu and Van den Bergh 2020), energy sustainability analysis (ESA) (Gómez-Camacho and Ruggeri 2019) or carbon-equivalent payback time (CPBT) (Perez et al 2011). In fact, 26 documents consider these indices connected with EROEI values, indicating an increasing interest towards both energy efficiency and sustainable aspects of RES.…”

Section: Biomassmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trends in Scientific Literature on Energy Return Ratio of Renewable Energy Sources for Supporting Policymakers

Rana

Lombardi

Giungato

et al. 2020

Administrative Sciences

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The scarcity of fossil fuels and their environmental impact as greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, have prompted governments around the world to both develop research and foster the use of renewable energy sources (RES), such as biomass, wind, and solar. Therefore, although these efforts represent potential solutions for fossil fuel shortages and GHG emission reduction, some doubts have emerged recently regarding their energy efficiency. Indeed, it is very useful to assess their energy gain, which means quantifying and comparing the amount of energy consumed to produce alternative fuels. In this context, the aim of this paper is to analyze the trend of the academic literature of studies concerning the indices of the energy return ratio (ERR), such as energy return on energy invested (EROEI), considering biomass, wind and solar energy. This could be useful for institutions and to public organizations in order to redefine their political vision for realizing sustainable socio-economic systems in line with the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energies. Results showed that biomass seems to be more expensive and less efficient than the equivalent fossil-based energy, whereas solar photovoltaic (PV) and wind energy have reached mature and advanced levels of technology.

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Section: Biomassmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trends in Scientific Literature on Energy Return Ratio of Renewable Energy Sources for Supporting Policymakers

Rana

Lombardi

Giungato

et al. 2020

Administrative Sciences

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“…Operating cost can instead vary from US$ 0.8/kg dry weight (DW) to up to $8/kg DW for various systems and applications. Biofuels in particular have received most attention and are currently not price competitive yet, with production costs at ∼ US$ 3/L compared to <US$ 1/L of producing fuel from fossil oil (Sun et al, 2011;Laurens et al, 2017;Roles et al, 2020). The areal/volumetric productivity is generally one of the largest uncertainties as well as drivers for success (Jonker and Faaij, 2013;Chauton et al, 2015;Panis and Carreon, 2016;Hoffman et al, 2017).…”

Section: Algal Cultivationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Emerging Technologies in Algal Biotechnology: Toward the Establishment of a Sustainable, Algae-Based Bioeconomy

et al. 2020

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Mankind has recognized the value of land plants as renewable sources of food, medicine, and materials for millennia. Throughout human history, agricultural methods were continuously modified and improved to meet the changing needs of civilization. Today, our rapidly growing population requires further innovation to address the practical limitations and serious environmental concerns associated with current industrial and agricultural practices. Microalgae are a diverse group of unicellular photosynthetic organisms that are emerging as next-generation resources with the potential to address urgent industrial and agricultural demands. The extensive biological diversity of algae can be leveraged to produce a wealth of valuable bioproducts, either naturally or via genetic manipulation. Microalgae additionally possess a set of intrinsic advantages, such as low production costs, no requirement for arable land, and the capacity to grow rapidly in both large-scale outdoor systems and scalable, fully contained photobioreactors. Here, we review technical advancements, novel fields of application, and products in the field of algal biotechnology to illustrate how algae could present high-tech, low-cost, and environmentally friendly solutions to many current and future needs of our society. We discuss how emerging technologies such as synthetic biology, highthroughput phenomics, and the application of internet of things (IoT) automation to algal manufacturing technology can advance the understanding of algal biology and, ultimately, drive the establishment of an algal-based bioeconomy.

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“…(The equivalent US costs are about USD 5.65 and USD 56.5 per kg, respectively.) Roles et al [32], in a detailed cost analysis of biodiesel in an Australian context, found that estimated prices would be several times current prices for diesel but could be reduced to current levels given (optimistic) improvements. Although shallow ponds have much lower costs [33] and higher EROI than closed reactors, they have two significant disadvantages.…”

Section: Microalgae For Fuelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

New Energy Technologies: Microalgae, Photolysis and Airborne Wind Turbines

Moriarty

Honnery

2021

Sci

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Because of the near-term risk of extreme weather events and other adverse consequences from climate change and, at least in the longer term, global fossil fuel depletion, there is worldwide interest in shifting to noncarbon energy sources, especially renewable energy (RE). Because of possible limitations on conventional renewable energy sources, researchers have looked for ways of overcoming these shortcomings by introducing radically new energy technologies. The largest RE source today is bioenergy, while solar energy and wind energy are regarded as having by far the largest technical potential. This paper reviews the literature on proposed new technologies for each of these three RE sources: microalgae for bioenergy, photolysis and airborne wind turbines. The main finding is that their proponents have often underestimated the difficulties they face and the time taken for their introduction on a very large scale.

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Charting a development path to deliver cost competitive microalgae-based fuels

Cited by 25 publications

References 30 publications

Trends in Scientific Literature on Energy Return Ratio of Renewable Energy Sources for Supporting Policymakers

Trends in Scientific Literature on Energy Return Ratio of Renewable Energy Sources for Supporting Policymakers

Emerging Technologies in Algal Biotechnology: Toward the Establishment of a Sustainable, Algae-Based Bioeconomy

New Energy Technologies: Microalgae, Photolysis and Airborne Wind Turbines

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