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Microalgal biomethane production integrated with an existing biogas plant: A case study in Sweden

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  • Wang, Xiaoqiang
  • Nordlander, Eva
  • Thorin, Eva
  • Yan, Jinyue

Abstract

Microalgae are considered as potential sources for biodiesel production due to the higher growth rate than terrestrial plants. However, the large-scale application of algal biodiesel would be limited by the downstream cost of lipid extraction and the availability of water, CO2 and nutrients. A possible solution is to integrate algae cultivation with existing biogas plant, where algae can be cultivated using the discharges of CO2 and digestate as nutrient input, and then the attained biomass can be converted directly to biomethane by existing infrastructures. This integrated system is investigated and evaluated in this study. Algae are cultivated in a photobioreactor in a greenhouse, and two cultivation options (greenhouse with and without heating) are included. Life cycle assessment of the system was conducted, showing that algal biomethane production without greenhouse heating would have a net energy ratio of 1.54, which is slightly lower than that (1.78) of biomethane from ley crop. However, land requirement of the latter is approximately 68 times that of the former, because the area productivity of algae could reach at about 400t/ha (dry basis) in half a year, while the annual productivity of ley crop is only about 5.8t/ha. For the case of Växtkraft biogas plant in Västerås, Sweden, the integrated system has the potential to increase the annual biomethane output by 9.4%. This new process is very simple, which might have potential for scale-up and commercial application of algal bioenergy.

Suggested Citation

  • Wang, Xiaoqiang & Nordlander, Eva & Thorin, Eva & Yan, Jinyue, 2013. "Microalgal biomethane production integrated with an existing biogas plant: A case study in Sweden," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 478-484.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:112:y:2013:i:c:p:478-484
    DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2013.04.087
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    5. Mendez, Lara & Mahdy, Ahmed & Ballesteros, Mercedes & González-Fernández, Cristina, 2014. "Methane production of thermally pretreated Chlorella vulgaris and Scenedesmus sp. biomass at increasing biomass loads," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 238-242.
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    12. Azadi, Pooya & Brownbridge, George & Mosbach, Sebastian & Smallbone, Andrew & Bhave, Amit & Inderwildi, Oliver & Kraft, Markus, 2014. "The carbon footprint and non-renewable energy demand of algae-derived biodiesel," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 1632-1644.
    13. Baena-Moreno, Francisco M. & Pastor-Pérez, Laura & Zhang, Zhien & Reina, T.R., 2020. "Stepping towards a low-carbon economy. Formic acid from biogas as case of study," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 268(C).
    14. Xie, Yujiao & Björkmalm, Johanna & Ma, Chunyan & Willquist, Karin & Yngvesson, Johan & Wallberg, Ola & Ji, Xiaoyan, 2018. "Techno-economic evaluation of biogas upgrading using ionic liquids in comparison with industrially used technology in Scandinavian anaerobic digestion plants," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 227(C), pages 742-750.
    15. Czyrnek-Delêtre, Magdalena M. & Smyth, Beatrice M. & Murphy, Jerry D., 2017. "Beyond carbon and energy: The challenge in setting guidelines for life cycle assessment of biofuel systems," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 436-448.
    16. Xie, Yujiao & Ma, Chunyan & Lu, Xiaohua & Ji, Xiaoyan, 2016. "Evaluation of imidazolium-based ionic liquids for biogas upgrading," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 175(C), pages 69-81.
    17. Xiao, Chao & Liao, Qiang & Fu, Qian & Huang, Yun & Chen, Hao & Zhang, Hong & Xia, Ao & Zhu, Xun & Reungsang, Alissara & Liu, Zhidan, 2019. "A solar-driven continuous hydrothermal pretreatment system for biomethane production from microalgae biomass," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 236(C), pages 1011-1018.
    18. Budzianowski, Wojciech M., 2016. "A review of potential innovations for production, conditioning and utilization of biogas with multiple-criteria assessment," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 1148-1171.
    19. Chowdhury, Raja & Freire, Fausto, 2015. "Bioenergy production from algae using dairy manure as a nutrient source: Life cycle energy and greenhouse gas emission analysis," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 154(C), pages 1112-1121.
    20. Ziolkowska, Jadwiga R., 2014. "Optimizing biofuels production in an uncertain decision environment: Conventional vs. advanced technologies," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 366-376.
    21. Zhu, Liandong & Hiltunen, Erkki & Shu, Qing & Zhou, Weizheng & Li, Zhaohua & Wang, Zhongming, 2014. "Biodiesel production from algae cultivated in winter with artificial wastewater through pH regulation by acetic acid," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 128(C), pages 103-110.
    22. Yu, Xinhai & Yang, Jie & Lu, Haitao & Tu, Shan-Tung & Yan, Jinyue, 2015. "Energy-efficient extraction of fuel from Chlorella vulgaris by ionic liquid combined with CO2 capture," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 160(C), pages 648-655.

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