Algal biodiesel
- 1. From Algae To Presented by : Anas Saied Microbiology department , Faculty of Science, Suez University , Egypt. [email protected] +201065589083
- 2. Contents Introduction to Biofuels Energy Crisis Why Algae? Microalgae for biodiesel production Cultivation Systems Harvesting Methods Oil Extraction ( chemical and mechanical) Biodiesel production ( transesterification) Challenges for algal fuel commercialization Future perspective Summary
- 3. Biofuels – the green alternative • Derived form biological materials through biomass conversion • Renewable • covers approximately 10% of the total world energy demand • Can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions • Release CO2 when burning • Biofuel production consumes it back • Types: • Ethanol • Biodiesel • Bio gasoline • Bio butanol • Methane • Jet fuel
- 4. Evolution of Biofuel Production
- 5. Diesel Biodiesel Non-renewable Renewable Highly toxic Essentially non-toxic Poor biodegradability Biodegrades readily Extracted from Crude oil Extracted from plant oils – animal fats Non-environment-friendly Environment-friendly Non-carbon-neutral carbon-neutral Diesel vs Biodiesel
- 6. Combustion of biodiesel and petroleum diesel
- 7. Biofuel production Production Trend Of The World
- 8. Biodiesel production Production Trend Of The World
- 10. It’s only a matter of time! There are 3 different types of fossil fuels Oil Gas Coal Clearly, our reserves of these are finite - it's a matter of when they run out - not if. So when will our fossil fuels run out? Energy Crisis
- 11. Oil will run out by 2052 Gas will run out by 2060 Coal will run out by 2088 Graph showing future energy reserves for coal, gas and oil
- 12. Depletion of fossil fuels Rising prices of fossil fuels Environmental impacts The problem
- 14. Why Algae? Fast growing (have a harvesting cycle of 1–10 days) CO2 Consumption (1.8 to 2 tones of CO2 per tone of algal biomass) algae can be cultivated on land, fresh water, or seawater Can be grown on marginal lands useless for ordinary crops High oil yield per acre ( 10:30 times higher per area of land compared to terrestrial oil crops ) Can convert a much higher fraction of biomass to oil than conventional crops, e.g. 60% versus 2-3% for soybean
- 15. Contents Microalgae for biodiesel production
- 16. Microalgae The production of biodiesel is mainly achieved from "Microalgae" The preference for microalgae is due largely to their less complex structure, fast growth rates, and high oil- content (for some species) Main producing species
- 17. Microalgal species used in biofuel production
- 19. Cultivation Systems A wide variety of open and closed reactor systems have been proposed for microalgal cultivation. Open systems Closed systems
- 20. Open systems Historically, the vast majority of commercial production has been carried out in open ponds. Open systems include 1) Circular ponds 2) Raceway ponds
- 21. Closed Systems They are more expensive to build and run than open systems Photobioreactor (PBR) • It is much easier to control contamination • Biomass concentrations obtained are higher than in open systems • Growing a wider range of species
- 22. Parameter open systems Photobioreactor Required space High Low Water loss Very high may cause salt precipitation Low Co2 loss High Low Temperature Highly variable More stable (Cooling is often required) Cleaning No issue Required (dirt reduces light intensity) , but causes abrasion Contamination risk High ( limiting the number of species that can be grown) Low Biomass concentration Low, between 0.1-0.5 g/l High 0.5-8 g/l Control Limited possible Start-up 6-8 weeks 2-4 weeks Comparison between open and closed cultivation systems
- 23. Contents Harvesting And Drying Methods
- 24. Harvesting Methods Numerous physical methods for microalgae harvesting processes have been used to retrieve the microalgae cells from their liquid suspension. These can be divided into three categories Biofloccularion Centrifugation Filtration
- 26. Drying Of Microalgae Drying is required to 1) Achieve high biomass concentrations Solar Drying 2) Prevent microbial spoilage
- 27. Contents Oil Extraction ( chemical and mechanical)
- 28. Oil Extraction Mechanical extraction Dried algal biomass Chemical Extraction Oil expeller Microwave Solvent extraction Enzymatic extraction Oil Extraction
- 29. Mechanical extraction methods Oil Expeller well suited for feedstocks having more than 30% oil content. The working principle of this machine is introducing pressure for crushing and breaking the cells, followed by squeezing out the algal oil. Microwave The use of microwaves to disrupt cells and increase the efficiencies of algal lipids. Microwaves are electromagnetic radiation of frequencies that are used to assist in the heating of algal biomass to facilitate the breakdown of the material in a more uniform manner
- 30. Chemical Extraction Methods Solvent extraction It is well suited for lipid recovery from materials with low oil content produces oil cake with low residual oil content Enzymatic extraction Extract lipids from microalgae using a 72 h cellulase hydrolysis pretreatment The lipids yield has increased only from 52 to 54% (g lipid/g dry weight).
- 31. Contents Biodiesel production ( transesterification)
- 32. Synthesis Of Biodiesel From Microalgae The production of oil per unit area of land from selected microalgae is around 30 times greater than that of terrestrial plants. Microalgae Cultivation Harvesting Drying Lipid/Oil Extraction Triglycerides and Free Fatty acids Biodiesel Transesterfication
- 33. Biodiesel Production Parent oil used in making biodiesel consists of triglycerides in which three fatty acid molecules are esterified with a molecule of glycerol In making biodiesel, triglycerides are reacted with methanol in a reaction known as transesterification alkalis such as sodium and potassium hydroxide (NaOH & KOH) are commonly used as commercial catalysts Triglyceride Ester ( biodiesel)
- 34. Transesterfication Transestrification produces methyl esters of fatty acids, that are biodiesel, and glycerol Transesterification requires 3 mol of alcohol for each mole of triglyceride to produce 1 mol of glycerol and 3 mol of methyl esters
- 35. Reaction takes about 90 mins to complete Transesterification is carried out at approximately 60°C under atmospheric pressure. Other alcohols can be used, but methanol is the least expensive Biodiesel is recovered by repeated washing with water to remove glycerol and methanol.
- 36. Processing Of Algal Residuals This includes the anaerobic digestion of algal residuals to produce biogas Further processing could convert them into animal fertilizer
- 37. Contents Challenges for algal fuel commercialization
- 38. Challenges for algal fuel commercialization Making algal growth & harvesting more efficient Improving oil extraction Land use Water use Competition with petroleum: getting the price right (US$300–2600 per barrel based on current technology (twofold higher than petroleum),price competitive with fossil fuels by 2020, survey finds)
- 40. Future Perspective Genetically modified organism could definitely serve better for further improvement of the strain Identify algal species that have desired traits (e.g. high lipid content, growth rates and growth densities)
- 41. Egypt's Initiatives for Biodiesel Production The First Egyptian Scientific Research Conference held on March , 24-25 , 2018 This could be achieved by the establishment of microalgae cultivation units PBRs using salt water in the Suez Canal area.
- 45. Summary With the increase of the price of crude oil in the late 00s, blending biodiesel with petrodiesel appears a sustainable solution to reduce the dependency on oil producing countries producing biodiesel from microalgae lipids seems to be a sustainable solution as microalgae could be used to reduce the CO2 emissions Researchers are working to engineer super lipids producing microalgae strain in order to increase the yield of biodiesel.
- 46. Success Story o The UK's first train to run on biodiesel is going into service as part of an attempt to make rail travel more environmentally friendly. o The train uses a blended fuel which is 20% biodiesel (B20) - to reduce CO2 emissions without harming the engine ( From London-to-Llandudno) o The Voyager fleet could run on 100% biodiesel in the future