Biofuel production from algae

A variety of fuels can be made from biomassi resources including the liquid fuels ethanol, methanol, biodiesel, Fischer-Tropsch diesel, and gaseous fuels such as hydrogen and methane. Biofuels research and development is composed of three main areas: producing the fuels, applications and uses of the fuels, and distribution infrastructure.
Biofuels are primarily used to fuel vehicles, but can also fuel engines or fuel cells for electricity generation. For information about the use of biofuels in vehicles, see the Alternative Fuel Vehicle page under Vehicles. See the Vehicles page for information about the biofuels distribution infrastructure. See the Hydrogen and Fuel Cells page for more information about hydrogen as a fuel.

1. BIOFUEL PRODUCTION
FROM ALGAE
PRESENTED BY
BIPUL JYOTI DAS
M.ScBIOTECHNOLOGY
2
ND
SEMESTER
ROLL NO: 17
CENTRE FOR STUDIES IN BIOTECHNOLOGY
DIBRUGARH UNIVERSITY
ASSAM,INDIA

2. Less dependence on fossil fuels
Predicted earlier for Alternative
•“ The use of vegetable oil as fuel might seem of no
importance in our times. However, such products can gain
importance in the course of time and reach an equal
status compared with today’s petroleum and these coal-
tar product”, said Dr. Rudolf Diesel in 1912.

3. PROCESSES OF BIOFUEL PRODUCTION

4. Why Microalgae?
•Slow growth of higher plants
•High fresh water requirement of higher plants
•High cost of land for growing higher plants
•No competition with food supply

5. BIOFUEL FEEDSTOCK TREE

6. WHAT TYPE OF ALGAE
•Botryococcus braunii
–Converts 61% of its
biomass into oil
–86% of it is long chain
hydrocarbons
–Drops to only 31% oil
under stress
–Grows best between 22-
25
o
C (71-77
o
F)

7. GENETICALLY ENGINEERED SPECIES OF Botryococcus braunii

8. ALGAL SPECIES AND THEIR OIL
CONTENT
Micro algal species Oil content(% dw)
Botryococcusbraunii 29-75
Chlorellasp. 29
NitzschiaTR-114 28-50
Neochlorisoleoabundans 35-54
Schiochytrium 50-77
ScenedesmusTR-84 45
HantzschiaDI-160 66

9. Steps for the production of algal
Biofuel
1.Sample collection:
TwotypesofAlgae(OedogoniumandSpirogyrasp.,26.5and20.0g)were
recollected.Oilextraction:Algaeweregroundwithmotorandpestleasmuchas
possible.Thegroundalgaeweredriedfor20minat80°Cinaincubatorforreleasing
water.Hexaneandethersolution(20and20mL)weremixedwiththedriedground
algaetoextractoil.Thenthemixturewaskeptfor24hforsettling.
2.Biomasscollection:
Thebiomasswascollectedafterfiltrationandweighted.Evaporation:The
extractedoilwasevaporatedinvacuumtoreleasehexaneandethersolutionsusing
rotaryevaporator

10. 3.Mixingofcatalystandmethanol:0.25gNaOHwasmixedwith24mLmethanoland
stirredproperlyfor20min.Biodieselproduction:Themixtureofcatalystand
methanolwaspouredintothealgaloilinaconicalflask.
4.Transesterification:Thereactionprocessiscalledtransesterification.Theconicalflask
containingsolutionwasshakenfor3hbyelectricshakerat300rpmalcohol+
ester=differentalcohol+differentester
5.Settling:Aftershakingthesolutionwaskeptfor16htosettlethebiodieseland
sedimentlayersclearly.

11. TRANSESTERIFICATION
1.Thetransesterificationisthereversiblereactionoffator
2.oil(whichiscomposedoftriglyceride)withanalcoholtoform
fattyacidalkylesterandglycerol.
3.Stoichiometrically,thereactionrequiresa3M:1Malcoholto
oilratio,butexcessalcoholis(usuallymethylalcoholisused)
addedtodrivetheequilibriumtowardtheproductside.
4.Thereactionoccursstepwise:
a)triglyceridesarefirstconvertedtodiglycerides.
b)thentodiglyceridesareconvertedtomonoglycerides
andfinallytoglycerol.

12. TRANSESTERIFICATION STEPS

13. Advantages
•Bio-based fuel with essentially carbon neutral combustion
•Drop in replacement for petroleum-based liquid fuels
•Inherently renewable
•Absorbs carbon dioxide as it grows
•Both waste CO2 and wastewater can be used as nutrients
•Higher energy per-acre than other bio-fuels
•Can be grown on land unsuitable for other types of agriculture
•Scalable:Studyfound that 17percent of U.S. oil imports could be met with algae
•Investments are being made
•Production is presently scaling up (Navy buying100,000 gallonsthis year)
•Research has been underway for 50 years

14. Disadvantages
•Need to be grown under controlled temperature conditions
•Requires a considerable amount of land and water
•Cold flowissues with algal biofuel
•Some researchers usinggenetic engineeringto develop optimal algae strains
•Requiresphosphorusas a fertilizer which is becomingscarce
•Fertilizer production is carbon dependent
•Relatively high upfront capital costs
•Not clear yet what the ultimatecostper gallon will be. Presently too high.

15. Genetically-Engineered Algae
Regulations
Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)
Plant Protection Act (PPA)
Conflicting Regulatory Agencies –E.P.A. v.
U.S.D.A?

16. Future Aspects
Biofuel Vehicles “Green” Buildings
More Research & Development
Further Private & Government Investment
Clearer Regulatory & Statutory Guidelines
for Algae Businesses

17. •EnhancedBiofuels&TechnologiesLtd.2007.Accessed:
ALGALBIODIESEL:thenextgenerationbiofuelforIndia
A.K.Bajhaiya,S.KMandotra,M.R.Suseela*,KiranToppoandS.Ranade.ASIANJ.EXP.
BIOL.SCI.VOL 1(4)2010:-728-739
•Mumford,T.F.andMiura,A.1988.4.Porphyraasfood:cultivationandeconomics.p.87—
117.InLembi,C.A.andWaaland,J.R.(Ed.)AlgaeandHumanAffairs.1988.Cambridge
UniversityPress.ISBN0521321158
•JohnSheehan,TerriDunahay,JohnBenemannandPaulRoessler,"ALookBackattheU.S.
DepartmentofEnergy'sAquaticSpeciesProgram-Bio-dieselfromAlgae,CloseoutReport",
July1998,NREL/TP-580-24190
•MichaelBriggs,WidescaleBiodieselProductionfromAlgae,UniversityofNewHampshire,
PhysicsDepartment,revisedAugust2004.Sheehan,J.,T.Dunahay,J.Benemann,andP.
Roessler.1998.AlookbackattheU.S.DepartmentofEnergy’saquaticspeciesprogram-
Biodieselfromalgae.USDept.Energy,OfficeofFuelsDevelopment,Nat.RenewableEnergy
Lab.,Golden,CO.
REFERENCES

18. •Websites:
–http://www.ecology.com/dr-jacks-natural-world/most-important-
organism/index.html
–http://journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_yield.html
–http://www.oilgae.com/blog/2008/12/defence-research-laboratory-drl-
tezpur.html
–http://www.oilgae.com/blog/2007/11/algae-bio-diesel-from-sunderbans-
india.html
–http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/biofuel-of-the-future/
–http://www.ebtplc.com/c4c.htm
–http://www.nrel.gov/docs/legosti/fy98/24190.pdf
–http://www.unh.edu/p2/biodiesel/article_alge.html

19. CONCLUSION
•Even with few challenges taken into consideration , algae biofuel’s natural
advantages look to make it one of the foremost players in the clean energy market .
•Algae biofuel production holds future promise for developing countries.
•more jobs
•Energy independence