TECHNICALLY SPEAKING Green wonder


Algae is proving itself as one of the most productive sources of biofuel. Frank Rogalla of Aqualia reveals EU demonstration projects being undertaken to enhance efficiencies in the process


phosphate rock (P2O5 ) – compared with the estimates of 15,000M t of reserves that are economically recoverable with current technology, of which one-third are in Morocco. At the current level of use, not counting growth in consumption, nor resource recovery, there should be enough for more than 350 years. But if all the world’s current consumption of diesel, close to 700Bl/yr, were to come from biofuel, the annual need of phosphorus


C


would triple to 120Mt/yr of P2O5 – reducing the reserves to a mere 100 years. Recovery of phosphorus is therefore critical. Analysis done by Professor Kroiss of the Technical University of Vienna has shown that about half of Austria’s phosphorus needs for agriculture can be found in sewage sludge, and an equivalent amount is lost by run-off through surface waters. To capture the phosphorus, wastewater nutrients could be converted to biofuel – hence the sudden popularity of green algae, which can contain up to 50% in oil, as one of the most promising renewable fuel feedstocks.


Algae adventure


Microalgae are among the fastest growing photosynthetic organisms, with carbon fixation rates significantly higher than those of land- grown plants – allowing a continuous harvest with cycles ranging between one and ten days. The produced oils could be converted into biodiesel and carbohydrates, in turn fermented into ethanol – while the biomass residue can be used for further energy production, such as anaerobic treatment, combustion in combined heat & power applications, or synthetic biofuels via gasification and pyrolysis.


First experiments on small-scale in reactors of 40 Water & Wastewater Treatment June 2011


urrently, world phosphorus consumption is around 40Mt/yr of


200l, in Almeria, Spain, or 100l, in Firenze, Italy, animated by the craving for new, sustainable energy sources, report algae productivity of around 20,000l/ha/yr of oil. This promises a yearly yield three to five times higher than conventional sources of biofuels: nPalm oil – 3000 to 6000 l/ha nSugar cane – 4000 to 7500 l/ha


Algae as a biofuel feedstock were extensively studied in the US from 1978 to 1996, when the US Department of Energy funded a programme to develop renewable transportation fuels. The main focus of the Aquatic Species Program (ASP) was the production of biodiesel from high lipid content algae grown in ponds, utilising


waste CO2 from coal-fired power plants. The conclusions showed that algal biodiesel production cost would be close to around US$1/l, based on the best long-term projections for the performance of the technology. Even


with assumptions of US$50 per tonne of CO2 as a carbon credit, the cost of biodiesel never competes with petroleum diesel, which has a production cost including operations and capital, of about one order of magnitude less, averaging around US$0.1/l, ranging from US$5/barrel in Saudi Arabia and Iraq to US$30- 40/barrel in offshore production in Nigeria or Angola.


While the initial algae-to-fuel research failed to deliver convincing results then, recent concerns for issues such as climate change and the impacts of fuel crops on food production and land use change have broadened the search for alternative feedstocks and rekindled the interest in algae. The EC is participating in the funding of three large-scale industry- led projects aimed at demonstrating the production of algal biofuels along the whole value chain, covering strain selection to algae


cultivation and production, oil extraction, biofuel production and testing in vehicles.


Demonstration projects The Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) for research and technological development provides the structure for reaching the EU goals of growth, competitiveness and employment, with a €51B budget for the seven-year period, of which 5% is earmarked for energy-related projects. The EU has issued calls for demonstration projects that put particular emphasis on biofuel production from lignocellulosic biomass and addresses the complete value chains from raw resources to a final marketable biofuel.


The 2010 call topic of Algae to Biofuels is aimed at large-scale demonstration of biofuels production from algae with ambitious, but achievable targets:


nMinimum plantation area of 10ha nMinimum productivity of 90t dry solid (DS) / ha/yr


Consortia needed to be led by industrial organisations to demonstrate the complete sustainable value chain from algae species selection to biofuel production and use in the market. The call was restricted to only


projects in which the CO2 supply for the algae cultivation was provided by renewable


applications, excluding CO2 generated from fossil fuel installations. The entire system needed to be verified to demonstrate seamless applicability in transportation and to give economic confidence in wider applications, confirming at large scale the three main targets: 1) energy efficiency; 2) economic viability; and 3) environmental sustainability. In total, 14 proposals were submitted by


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