Biofuel production from colourless alga: energy balance and thermal characterization

Abstract

The worldwide business sector for biodiesel is balanced for unstable development in the following ten years. Advanced and mature technologies for alternative fuels production must be brought to the energy market getting competitive to a fossil fuel as soon as possible. Algae is outstanding among all the types of biomass sources (wood, energy crops, straw, fungi, etc.) in its ability to respond to the challenges of the future in terms of renewability, sustainability, availability, high growth and production rates, yield per unit area, being most suitable optimal sources for biofuels of the future and valuable co-products within biorefineries. It's well known that the application and benefits of specific algal biomass types are dependent on geographical location and climate conditions. This study is a part of large-scale investigation done by authors on numerous synergistic improvements needed to a 50 MW capacity cogeneration power plant located in a cold and humid climate country that considers a possibility to utilize the heat from industrial flue gases and industrial waste water in cultivation of colourless alga as well as production of algal biofuels and dewatered algal biomass for partial substitution of transportation fuels and fossil coal. Key details for the colourless alga-based carbon capture system have been summarized. It has been calculated that under prescribed conditions, possible substitution of major industrial species of autotrophic algae with heterotrophic P. moriformis, due to its non-photosynthetic–nature–influenced refusal of typically necessary greenhouse Light Emitting Diode (LED) lighting systems, may lead to approx. 1/3 decrease of all electricity needs. Finally, we established the thermal characteristics (Cetane index, boiling point, fuel ignition temperature) of the P. moriformis oil and biodiesel using Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) and Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA) methods that enabled us to evaluate the diesel substitutes or extender fuels prior to engine bench tests.