IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/masfgc/v18y2013i1p113-136.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Algal biofuel production and mitigation potential in India

Author

Listed:
  • H. Chanakya
  • Durga Mahapatra
  • R. Sarada
  • R. Abitha

Abstract

Energy and energy services are the backbone of growth and development in India and is increasingly dependent upon the use of fossil based fuels that lead to greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions and related concerns. Algal biofuels are being evolved as carbon (C) -neutral alternative biofuels. Algae are photosynthetic microorganisms that convert sunlight, water and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) to various sugars and lipids Tri-Acyl-Glycols (TAG) and show promise as an alternative, renewable and green fuel source for India. Compared to land based oilseed crops algae have potentially higher yields (5–12 g/m 2 /d) and can use locations and water resources not suited for agriculture. Within India, there is little additional land area for algal cultivation and therefore needs to be carried out in places that are already used for agriculture, e.g. flooded paddy lands (20 Mha) with village level technologies and on saline wastelands (3 Mha). Cultivating algae under such conditions requires novel multi-tier, multi-cyclic approaches of sharing land area without causing threats to food and water security as well as demand for additional fertilizer resources by adopting multi-tier cropping (algae-paddy) in decentralized open pond systems. A large part of the algal biofuel production is possible in flooded paddy crop land before the crop reaches dense canopies, in wastewaters (40 billion litres per day), in salt affected lands and in nutrient/diversity impoverished shallow coastline fishery. Mitigation will be achieved through avoidance of GHG, C-capture options and substitution of fossil fuels. Estimates made in this paper suggest that nearly half of the current transportation petro-fuels could be produced at such locations without disruption of food security, water security or overall sustainability. This shift can also provide significant mitigation avenues. The major adaptation needs are related to socio-technical acceptance for reuse of various wastelands, wastewaters and waste-derived energy and by-products through policy and attitude change efforts. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2013

Suggested Citation

  • H. Chanakya & Durga Mahapatra & R. Sarada & R. Abitha, 2013. "Algal biofuel production and mitigation potential in India," Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Springer, vol. 18(1), pages 113-136, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:masfgc:v:18:y:2013:i:1:p:113-136
    DOI: 10.1007/s11027-012-9389-z
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1007/s11027-012-9389-z
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11027-012-9389-z?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Brennan, Liam & Owende, Philip, 2010. "Biofuels from microalgae--A review of technologies for production, processing, and extractions of biofuels and co-products," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 14(2), pages 557-577, February.
    2. Escobar, José C. & Lora, Electo S. & Venturini, Osvaldo J. & Yáñez, Edgar E. & Castillo, Edgar F. & Almazan, Oscar, 2009. "Biofuels: Environment, technology and food security," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 13(6-7), pages 1275-1287, August.
    3. Neil Savage, 2011. "Algae: The scum solution," Nature, Nature, vol. 474(7352), pages 15-16, June.
    4. Singh, Sanjay Kumar, 2006. "Future mobility in India: Implications for energy demand and CO2 emission," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 13(5), pages 398-412, September.
    5. Baruah, Debendra C. & Bora, Ganesh C., 2008. "Energy demand forecast for mechanized agriculture in rural India," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(7), pages 2628-2636, July.
    6. Khan, Shakeel A. & Rashmi & Hussain, Mir Z. & Prasad, S. & Banerjee, U.C., 2009. "Prospects of biodiesel production from microalgae in India," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 13(9), pages 2361-2372, December.
    7. Sudhakara Reddy, B. & Balachandra, P., 2012. "Urban mobility: A comparative analysis of megacities of India," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 21(C), pages 152-164.
    8. Victor Smetacek & Stephen Nicol, 2005. "Polar ocean ecosystems in a changing world," Nature, Nature, vol. 437(7057), pages 362-368, September.
    9. Prathima Devi, M. & Venkata Subhash, G. & Venkata Mohan, S., 2012. "Heterotrophic cultivation of mixed microalgae for lipid accumulation and wastewater treatment during sequential growth and starvation phases: Effect of nutrient supplementation," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 276-283.
    10. Kadam, K.L, 2002. "Environmental implications of power generation via coal-microalgae cofiring," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 27(10), pages 905-922.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. J. Pires & A. Gonçalves & F. Martins & M. Alvim-Ferraz & M. Simões, 2014. "Effect of light supply on CO 2 capture from atmosphere by Chlorella vulgaris and Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata," Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Springer, vol. 19(7), pages 1109-1117, October.
    2. Gita Surie, 2017. "Achieving Sustainability: Insights from Biogas Ecosystems in India," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 7(2), pages 1-20, February.
    3. T. S. Amjath-Babu & Pramod K. Aggarwal & Sonja Vermeulen, 2019. "Climate action for food security in South Asia? Analyzing the role of agriculture in nationally determined contributions to the Paris agreement," Climate Policy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(3), pages 283-298, March.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Doshi, Amar & Pascoe, Sean & Coglan, Louisa & Rainey, Thomas J., 2016. "Economic and policy issues in the production of algae-based biofuels: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 329-337.
    2. Joshi, Girdhar & Pandey, Jitendra K. & Rana, Sravendra & Rawat, Devendra S., 2017. "Challenges and opportunities for the application of biofuel," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 850-866.
    3. Jankowska, Ewelina & Sahu, Ashish K. & Oleskowicz-Popiel, Piotr, 2017. "Biogas from microalgae: Review on microalgae's cultivation, harvesting and pretreatment for anaerobic digestion," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 692-709.
    4. Al-Jabri, Hareb & Das, Probir & Khan, Shoyeb & AbdulQuadir, Mohammad & Thaher, Mehmoud Ibrahim & Hoekman, Kent & Hawari, Alaa H., 2022. "A comparison of bio-crude oil production from five marine microalgae – Using life cycle analysis," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 251(C).
    5. Bergthorson, Jeffrey M. & Thomson, Murray J., 2015. "A review of the combustion and emissions properties of advanced transportation biofuels and their impact on existing and future engines," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 1393-1417.
    6. Maity, Sunil K., 2015. "Opportunities, recent trends and challenges of integrated biorefinery: Part II," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 1446-1466.
    7. Venu, Harish & Raju, V. Dhana & Subramani, Lingesan & Appavu, Prabhu, 2020. "Experimental assessment on the regulated and unregulated emissions of DI diesel engine fuelled with Chlorella emersonii methyl ester (CEME)," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 151(C), pages 88-102.
    8. Milano, Jassinnee & Ong, Hwai Chyuan & Masjuki, H.H. & Chong, W.T. & Lam, Man Kee & Loh, Ping Kwan & Vellayan, Viknes, 2016. "Microalgae biofuels as an alternative to fossil fuel for power generation," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 180-197.
    9. Ji, Xi & Long, Xianling, 2016. "A review of the ecological and socioeconomic effects of biofuel and energy policy recommendations," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 41-52.
    10. Rawat, I. & Ranjith Kumar, R. & Mutanda, T. & Bux, F., 2013. "Biodiesel from microalgae: A critical evaluation from laboratory to large scale production," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 444-467.
    11. Choi, Hong Il & Sung, Young Joon & Hong, Min Eui & Han, Jonghee & Min, Byoung Koun & Sim, Sang Jun, 2022. "Reconsidering the potential of direct microalgal biomass utilization as end-products: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    12. Borugadda, Venu Babu & Goud, Vaibhav V., 2012. "Biodiesel production from renewable feedstocks: Status and opportunities," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 16(7), pages 4763-4784.
    13. Ahmad, A.L. & Yasin, N.H. Mat & Derek, C.J.C. & Lim, J.K., 2011. "Microalgae as a sustainable energy source for biodiesel production: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 15(1), pages 584-593, January.
    14. Zhao, Bingtao & Su, Yaxin & Liu, Dunyu & Zhang, Hang & Liu, Wang & Cui, Guomin, 2016. "SO2/NOx emissions and ash formation from algae biomass combustion: Process characteristics and mechanisms," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 821-830.
    15. Singh, Jasvinder & Gu, Sai, 2010. "Commercialization potential of microalgae for biofuels production," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 14(9), pages 2596-2610, December.
    16. Khan, Shakeel A. & Malla, Fayaz A. & Rashmi, & Malav, Lal Chand & Gupta, Navindu & Kumar, Amit, 2018. "Potential of wastewater treating Chlorella minutissima for methane enrichment and CO2 sequestration of biogas and producing lipids," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 153-163.
    17. Giostri, A. & Binotti, M. & Macchi, E., 2016. "Microalgae cofiring in coal power plants: Innovative system layout and energy analysis," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 449-464.
    18. Ankita Juneja & Ruben Michael Ceballos & Ganti S. Murthy, 2013. "Effects of Environmental Factors and Nutrient Availability on the Biochemical Composition of Algae for Biofuels Production: A Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 6(9), pages 1-32, September.
    19. Enamala, Manoj Kumar & Enamala, Swapnika & Chavali, Murthy & Donepudi, Jagadish & Yadavalli, Rajasri & Kolapalli, Bhulakshmi & Aradhyula, Tirumala Vasu & Velpuri, Jeevitha & Kuppam, Chandrasekhar, 2018. "Production of biofuels from microalgae - A review on cultivation, harvesting, lipid extraction, and numerous applications of microalgae," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 49-68.
    20. Chiranjeevi, P. & Mohan, S. Venkata, 2016. "Critical parametric influence on microalgae cultivation towards maximizing biomass growth with simultaneous lipid productivity," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 64-71.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:masfgc:v:18:y:2013:i:1:p:113-136. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.