Growing Algae for Biofuel

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Growing Algae for Biofuel

• Søren Laurentius Nielsen

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Biofuel

• Fuel derived from biological material
• CO2 neutral (or at least nearly so)
• 1st generation
• 2nd generation
• Beyond 2nd generation

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1st generation biofuel

• Made from sugar, starch, oils, fats
• Using conventional technology
• Direct use of oils
• Transesterification
• Fermentation
• Source often seeds or grain

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Problems

• Taking up arable land, that could be used for
  food production
• Diverting food away from the human food chain
• Food shortages
• Rising prices
• May use fertilizer and pesticides in the
  production

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2nd generation biofuel

• Made from non-food crops, waste biomass etc.
• Utilizing cellulosic ethanol production
• Does not divert food away from the human food
  chain

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Problems

• Production of ethanol from cellulose not
  tecnically straightforward
• May still compete for arable land with food
  production if based on crops grown for fuel

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3rd generation biofuel

• Enter the algae!
• Fast growth several 100 per day
• Oil content comparable to oilseeds
• Very high yields, 100 times that of oilseed

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Advantages of using algae

• Uses 1st generation technology (transesterificatio
  n) for biofuel production
• No diversion of food from the human food chain
• No competition for arable land
• The use of marine microalgae means no need for or
  pollution of potable water
• No need for pesticides
• Necessary nutrients can come from sewage,
  cleansing it in the process

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Potential problems

• Will it be possible to achieve sufficient cell
  densities?
• Will it be possible to achieve sufficiently fast
  growth rates under natural light in these
  latitudes?
• Will it be possible to find species that fulfill
  these criteria and have a high oil content?

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AGEPS consortium

• ZCD d.o.o. (biodiesel production)
• Active Pool GmbH (pool engineering)
• Uljarice d.o.o. (algal cake production)
• University of Nova Gorica (algal knowledge)
• Roskilde University (algal knowledge)
• University of Ljubljana (animal nutrition)
• Current application EU FP7, Research for SMEs,
  570.000 (total budget 740.000)

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CO2
O2
Harvested algae
Water return
Algal oil
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• However, the use of algae for biodiesel is not
  unique for this project
• Estimate that 500.000 will take us from lab to
  pilot production (biological feasibility)
• Lab tests of the suitability of various algae
• Bioreactor production
• Initial field production tests

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• More information nielsen_at_ruc.dk