Assessing the environmental footprint of microalgae biofuel production: A comparative analysis of cultivation and harvesting scenarios

IF 3.7 3区生物学 Q2 BIOTECHNOLOGY & APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY

Biochemical Engineering Journal Pub Date : 2024-11-15 DOI:10.1016/j.bej.2024.109571

Yue Wang, Hao Wen, Meili Wu, Xu Liu, Hongwei Yin, Wei Qin, Xichen Zheng, Jia He, Kemin Wei, Xiaomin Kong, Shuhui Liang

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

This study investigated the impact of fixed combinations of three flocculants and four buoy-beads under two cultivation systems on the harvesting efficiency, as well as the environmental performance in different scenarios. Results showed that the harvesting efficiency exhibited a tendency of initially increasing and then decreasing with rising concentrations of buoy-beads and flocculants, with an optimal harvesting efficiency of 98.03 %. Life cycle assessment (LCA) compared the environmental performance of five scenarios. Ecotoxicity Soil Chronic (ESC) and Aquatic Eutrophication EP(P) (AEP(P)) were major environmental impacts. The scenario employing re-frying oil emulsion (RFOE) and aluminum sulfate flocculation (R+A) contributed significantly to Human Toxicity Water (HTW) and Aquatic Eutrophication EP(N) (AEP(N)) with normalized values of 0.0137 and 0.0147, respectively. In the assessment of Global Warming Potential (GWP), R+A was responsible for a high amount of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions (2.826 kg CO₂ eq/100 g of dry algal biomass in photobioreactor (PBR) and 2.917 kg CO₂ eq/ 100 g of dry algal biomass in open raceway ponds (ORP)). Notably, sodium alginate microspheres (SAMs) and aluminum sulfate flocculation (S+A) was considered a more environmentally favorable option, 0.773 kg CO₂ eq and 0.864 kg CO₂ eq GHG emissions of PBR and ORP, respectively. Furthermore, the less GHG emissions of PBR than ORP, making it a more effective solution for reducing emissions and mitigating global warming trends.

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评估微藻生物燃料生产的环境足迹：种植和收获方案比较分析

本研究调查了两种栽培系统下三种絮凝剂和四种浮标珠的固定组合对收获效率的影响，以及不同情况下的环境绩效。结果表明，随着浮标珠和絮凝剂浓度的增加，收获效率呈现先升高后降低的趋势，最佳收获效率为 98.03%。生命周期评估（LCA）比较了五种方案的环境绩效。生态毒性土壤慢性（ESC）和水生富营养化 EP(P)（AEP(P)）是主要的环境影响。采用重炸油乳剂（RFOE）和硫酸铝絮凝剂（R+A）的方案对人类毒性水（HTW）和水生富营养化 EP(N) （AEP(N)）的影响很大，归一化值分别为 0.0137 和 0.0147。在全球变暖潜势（GWP）评估中，R+A 造成了大量温室气体（GHG）排放（在光生物反应器（PBR）中为 2.826 千克二氧化碳当量/100 克干海藻生物量，在开放式赛道池塘（ORP）中为 2.917 千克二氧化碳当量/100 克干海藻生物量）。值得注意的是，海藻酸钠微球（SAMs）和硫酸铝絮凝（S+A）被认为是更环保的选择，PBR 和 ORP 的温室气体排放量分别为 0.773 千克二氧化碳当量和 0.864 千克二氧化碳当量。此外，PBR 的温室气体排放量比 ORP 少，因此是减少排放和减缓全球变暖趋势的更有效解决方案。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Biochemical Engineering Journal 工程技术-工程：化工

CiteScore

7.10

自引率

5.10%

发文量

380

审稿时长

34 days

期刊介绍： The Biochemical Engineering Journal aims to promote progress in the crucial chemical engineering aspects of the development of biological processes associated with everything from raw materials preparation to product recovery relevant to industries as diverse as medical/healthcare, industrial biotechnology, and environmental biotechnology. The Journal welcomes full length original research papers, short communications, and review papers* in the following research fields: Biocatalysis (enzyme or microbial) and biotransformations, including immobilized biocatalyst preparation and kinetics Biosensors and Biodevices including biofabrication and novel fuel cell development Bioseparations including scale-up and protein refolding/renaturation Environmental Bioengineering including bioconversion, bioremediation, and microbial fuel cells Bioreactor Systems including characterization, optimization and scale-up Bioresources and Biorefinery Engineering including biomass conversion, biofuels, bioenergy, and optimization Industrial Biotechnology including specialty chemicals, platform chemicals and neutraceuticals Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering including bioartificial organs, cell encapsulation, and controlled release Cell Culture Engineering (plant, animal or insect cells) including viral vectors, monoclonal antibodies, recombinant proteins, vaccines, and secondary metabolites Cell Therapies and Stem Cells including pluripotent, mesenchymal and hematopoietic stem cells; immunotherapies; tissue-specific differentiation; and cryopreservation Metabolic Engineering, Systems and Synthetic Biology including OMICS, bioinformatics, in silico biology, and metabolic flux analysis Protein Engineering including enzyme engineering and directed evolution.