Emma Thrift- Chris Hiner- Calvin Warthen Algal Biofuels Emma Thrift- Chris Hiner- Calvin Warthen CPSG 200 Science & Global Change Semester III “Search for Solution” Project

Why Algae? conservationbytes.com

Algal Growth Convert carbon dioxide and sunlight into energy Double their weight several times in one day Grow in freshwater,seawater, contaminated water, and in lands not suitable for the production of food Physakgakblooms.org www.news.nationalgeographic.com

Algal Oils Algae create oils as they grow They create 15 times as much oil per acre than other biofuels Once refined, oils are a suitable fuel source 50% mass of algae is oil Non-toxic http://2.bp.blogspot.com

What is the Goal? To utilize oils from algae to create a high yield and low cost renewable biofuel source for jet fuel, diesel, and gasoline http://1.bp.blogspot.com autoevolution.com www.perdueagribusiness.com

History of Algal Fuels 1950- Idea of using algae as fuel introduced 1978-United States Department of Energy began research 1996- Aquatic Species program shut down -Oil price at $20/barrel 2009- Oil price rose to $100/ barrel and research began again -$67 million dollars to form National Alliance for Advanced Biofuels and Bioproducts Synopsis (NAABB)

Resource Requirement All algae requires some basic components Water Biggest limiting factor Light Carbon Source Uses Carbon dioxide from the environment Nutrients Often overlooked Phosphorus, Nitrogen, Iron, Sulfur https://qzprod.files.wordpress.com/2015/07/algae.jpg?quality=80&strip=all&w=1600

Growth and Extraction Engineering better systems for growth Photobioreactors Easily controlled closed systems Open pond Cheap open system http://cfnewsads.thomasnet.com/images/sites/3/2013/02/Open-pond-algae-production.-Pacific-Northwest-National-Laboratory-300x190.jpeg http://www.climatetechwiki.org/sites/climatetechwiki.org/files/images/extra/micro-algae_photobioreactor.jpg

Growth and Extraction (Cont’d) There are three main extraction methods Oil press/ extraction Hexane extraction Supercritical CO2 fluid extraction Important: Many of the extracted crude oils are very similar to fossil fuel oils. This means that downstream processing can see collaboration with established oil companies

Current Developments What are some current challenges and known potential in the realm of algal biofuels? Challenges Fossil Fuel competition Production hurdles i.e Where to grow? Potential High growth rate High oil content Decent growth densities The algal biofuels production chain is outlined in Figure 3 and shows that the major challenges include strain isolation, nutrient sourcing and utilization, production management, harvesting, coproduct development, fuel extraction, refining and residual biomass utilization. high growth rates, reasonable growth densities and high oil contents https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3152439/

Land Use To compensate for the amount of oil that the US needs per day alone, an area the size of Louisiana would need to be dedicated completely to algae growth There are two strategies for large scale growth Terrestrial Marine https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c8/Map_of_USA_LA.svg/2000px-Map_of_USA_LA.svg.png

NAABB Goals 1.Supply -Strain development and cultivation 2. Logistics www.prweb.com 1.Supply -Strain development and cultivation 2. Logistics -Harvesting and extraction 3.Conversion/Production -Accumulation of intermediates and synthesis of fuels

After only 3 years, the NAABB reduced algal crude oil prices NAABB Developments After only 3 years, the NAABB reduced algal crude oil prices $240 per gallon $7.50 per gallon (2013) How?

NAABB Developments (Cont’d) New Strains of algae: Chlorella sp. DOE1412 can make oil in high amounts when paired with genetically modified strain Cost Reduction: 85% www.algaeindustrymagazine.com

NAABB Developments (Cont’d) 2. Improved cultivation Method: -Aquaculture Raceway Integrated Design (ARID) uses less energy, extends algae growing period Cost Reduction:16% www.hpdezign.com

NAABB Developments (Cont’d) 3. Low Energy Harvesting Technology - Electrocoagulation uses low energy, commercially available technology to harvest the biofuel Cost Reduction: 14% www.sanjivni.in

NAABB Developments (Cont’d) 4. High yield extraction-conversion technology -Unique hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) system that extracts and converts the oils to bio-crude products without extraction solvents Cost Reduction: 86% http://e2-energy.illinois.edu/images/center.jpg

How This Combats CLIMATE CHANGE: Theoddessy.com

Combatting CLIMATE CHANGE: Doesn’t put extra CO2 into atmosphere Instead of burning off previously sequestered CO2 like in fossil fuels Make use of eutrophic water Highly renewable Since algae is a natural resource that reproduces exponentially

Combatting CLIMATE CHANGE (Cont’d): No toxic byproducts and environmentally friendly No environmentally dangerous chemicals produced (CO2 is still released) Use to treat wastewater and cut subsequent environmental risks The algae make use of any extra substances in the wastewater such as phosphorus, sulfur, etc.

Future Applications COST To make this a viable fuel alternative however, there would need to be algae with those characteristics along with enough economic incentive to produce these fuels on a large scale which currently is not quite the case. COST

Trouble with Commercialization The costs in biofuel production from algal biomass amounts approximately $7.50 per gallon : The building and upkeep of facilities Utilization of land The extensive process, etc. Currently the mass production qualities of algae breeds and the fuel extraction process are not on par with that of fossil fuels. Certain breeds need to be found or engineered to produce a high lipid yield and grow at an efficient rate so that the fuel can be produced more effectively and the process, which at present has high production costs due to the requirements for fuel extraction, needs to be refined to cut production costs.

One Possible Solution The production of algal biomass on wastewater Provides a readily available medium at almost no cost Help prevent environmental pollution Tie into existing infrastructures This could not only help reduce environmental risk but make this production much more commercially viable. The wastewater is already there so less cost would need to go into creating the growing/extraction facility The algae, while it grows, can utilize any unwanted or harmful waste in the water like extra phosphorous, nitrogen, sulfur, etc. thus removing some of those substances from being environmental risks The growing of algae can tie into existing commercialized infrastructures such as coal-fired power plants or sewage treatment facilities, where they provide the necessary materials for the algae from their waste and byproducts and agal biomass production could become as commercially viable as that infrastructure

Summary: Algae produce oils that can be extracted and repurposed to form crude biofuels Process is environmentally friendly and renewable Limits new carbon dioxide being added to the air

Bibliography: University of Virginia. (2008, August 19). Algae: Biofuel Of The Future?. ScienceDaily. Retrieved November 7, 2016 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080818184434.htm Lane, Jim. (2014) Where are we with biofuels. Biofuels Digest. Retrieved November 11,2016 from http://www.biofuelsdigest.com/bdigest/2014/10/13/where-are-we-with-algae-biofuels/ Hannon, M., Gimpel, J., Tran, M., Rasala, B., & Mayfield, S. (2010). Biofuels from algae: challenges and potential. Biofuels, 1(5), 763–784. Murphy, Jerry D., Poonam Singh Nigam, Anoop Singh. 2011. "Mechanism and challenges in commercialisation of algal biofuels". Bioresource Technology: Volume 102, Issue 1 (Links to an external site.), January 2011, Pages 26–34

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