Regional algal biofuel production potential in the coterminous United States as affected by resource availability trade-offs

Venteris, Erik R.; Skaggs, Richard L.; Wigmosta, Mark S.; Coleman, André M.

doi:10.1016/j.algal.2014.02.002

Cited by 15 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…The Eastern states have well developed infrastructure, less water restriction, but lower growth rates. Some studies therefore identified relatively small areas around the Gulf of Mexico and parts of Florida as the optimal sites for algae production, resulting from different constraints [39,42]. While Venteris et al [38] recommended prioritizing freshwater use as a cheaper water source and adding saline water as necessary.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Photobioreactors require high capital investment [53], whereas open pond systems are relatively cheap and easier to clean and maintain [6]. Two studies applied a demand-driven approach: Venteris et al [42] and Venteris et al [41] estimated the required production area to meet the 2022 biofuel target for total non-corn grain biofuel (79.5 BL/ year) and biomass-based diesel and others (18.5 BL/year), respectively, as mandated by the US EISA in 2007 [54] . The spatial resolution of most of the developed models was 30 or 90 m, based on the resolution of available datasets.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Waste CO 2 from power plants is considered a useful source for algal production due to a potential carbon sequestration from these unwanted emissions. Venteris et al [42], Orfield et al [40], and Lundquist et al [44] considered only power plants as sources of CO 2 , whereas Quinn et al [37] also included other industry options such as ethanol and cement plants, manufacturing facilities, and refineries. The average CO 2 required for algae production is about 1.82 kg CO 2 per kilogram of biomass produced [60].…”

Section: Carbon Dioxidementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Five studies considered freshwater for algae growth in ponds [34,[46][47][48][49]. Since obtaining freshwater can be challenging, particularly in arid regions, other studies considered wastewater [40,44] or a combination of freshwater with saline water sources [38,39,41,42], mainly reasoned by the lack of competition with drinking water and crop irrigation. A 90 % reduction in freshwater requirement was estimated if seawater or wastewater was used as a culture medium [62].…”

Section: Water and Nutrientsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Culture temperature and algae productivity was evaluated integrating a reactor thermal model with an algae growth and lipid accumulation model. Venteris et al [38], Venteris et al [42], Venteris et al [39], and Wigmosta et al [34] used stochastically generated 30-year daily weather data for 2600 US locations (Cligen weather generator [58]). The daily weather data was disaggregated to hourly values of temperature, precipitation, solar radiation, dew-point, pan evaporation, and wind speed.…”

Section: Climatementioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Evaluation of Microalgae Biofuel Production Potential and Cultivation Sites Using Geographic Information Systems: A Review

et al. 2015

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Geographic Information System (GIS) tools have been used to strategically locate bioenergy facilities and optimize the relationship between biomass supply and demand, aiming to minimize overall fuel production costs. Microalgae, also termed third generation bioenergy feedstocks, are discussed for their potential to meet future energy demands. This study reviews literature on GIS applications to locate algae cultivation sites and estimate algae biofuel potential. To highlight the diversity of results, a quantitative comparison for the US studies is presented. We found two major assumptions that primarily limited the algae biofuel production potential estimates: (1) the production technology (open pond or photobioreactor), and (2) the number and type of resources considered, such as land type, CO 2 , water source, water quality, etc. All studies used binary (a location is either unsuitable or suitable) suitability models to determine areas for algae production. Most studies considered water, land, and CO 2 resources, while some also accounted for infrastructure, soil properties, and work force requirements. We found that potential cultivation area in the USA is most sensitive to the constraints of CO 2 availability and land cost. This review explains the wide range of algal biofuel potential estimates (from 0.09 to over 600 billion L yr −1 ) by identifying underlying assumptions, methodologies, and data. The highly variable outputs indicate the need for a comprehensive analysis of different criteria individually and in combination to estimate realistic biofuel potential. The results suggest that with models becoming increasingly detailed in considering resources and conversion/production technologies, further decrease in estimated theoretical production potential is expected under available technology.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Carbon Dioxidementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Water and Nutrientsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Climatementioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Evaluation of Microalgae Biofuel Production Potential and Cultivation Sites Using Geographic Information Systems: A Review

et al. 2015

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Modeling water‐energy tradeoffs for cultivating algae for biofuels in a semi‐arid region with fresh and brackish water supplies

Mayer

Tavakoli

Doan

et al. 2020

Biofuels Bioprod Bioref

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We analyze water-energy tradeoffs for hypothetical algae production for biofuel feedstock in the US-Mexico middle Rio Grande watershed with a coupled water, salinity, and algae biomass balance model. Suitable areas for algae cultivation in the region are selected and associated with fresh or brackish groundwater sources. We examine the potential of using two algae species with markedly different energy content and tolerance to salinities. Location-specific water quality and time-varying climate variables were important when analyzing water-energy tradeoffs for each species. In this regional study, water demand rates for the salinity-tolerant species were similar to rates for conventional local crops, whereas the salinity-sensitive species' values exceeded local demand rates. Optimizing the spatial selection of species resulted in water footprint reductions of as much as 18%. Water demand rates and footprints are highly sensitive to salinity and temperature tolerance and thus local variations in water quality and seasonal variations in climate.

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Association of Vampirovibrio chlorellavorus with decline and death of Chlorella sorokiniana in outdoor reactors

Park

Steichen

et al. 2018

J Appl Phycol

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Regional algal biofuel production potential in the coterminous United States as affected by resource availability trade-offs

Cited by 15 publications

References 22 publications

Evaluation of Microalgae Biofuel Production Potential and Cultivation Sites Using Geographic Information Systems: A Review

Evaluation of Microalgae Biofuel Production Potential and Cultivation Sites Using Geographic Information Systems: A Review

Modeling water‐energy tradeoffs for cultivating algae for biofuels in a semi‐arid region with fresh and brackish water supplies

Association of Vampirovibrio chlorellavorus with decline and death of Chlorella sorokiniana in outdoor reactors

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