IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/rensus/v187y2023ics136403212300638x.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Life cycle assessment and techno-economic analysis for biofuel and biofertilizer recovery as by-products from microalgae

Author

Listed:
  • Castro, J.S.
  • Ferreira, J.
  • Magalhães, I.B.
  • Jesus Junior, M.M.
  • Marangon, B.B.
  • Pereira, A.S.A.P.
  • Lorentz, J.F.
  • Gama, R.C.N.
  • Rodrigues, F.A.
  • Calijuri, M.L.

Abstract

Although there are several studies on the hydrothermal carbonization of microalgae biomass for value-added products and their potential environmental impacts, the feasibility of scaling-up and the environmental and economic analysis need to be investigated. This study produced solid biofuel and biofertilizer under two operating conditions (170 °C, 10 min, 7 bar; or 130 °C, 50 min, 2 bar, respectively). Also, investigated the environmental performance and techno-economical viability of producing solid biofuel and biofertilizer from microalgae. Scale-up modeling used Aspen Plus software to obtain optimized production processes, energy data, equipment requirements, and costs, which were used to support the economic and environmental analyses. The Recipe Midpoint method showed that the solid biofuel had a higher environmental impact than the biofertilizer, especially in the Freshwater Eutrophication category (almost 7 times higher), Fossil Resource Scarcity (4.2 times higher), Global Warming, and Marine Ecotoxicity (both around 2.7 times higher). The damage assessment results showed that the production of solid biofuel was more impactful, with Human Health impacts 2 times higher, Ecosystem 1.6 times higher, and Resource 4.3 times higher than those caused by biofertilizer production. The biofertilizer production scenario emerged as the most economically viable option for hydrothermal carbonization valorization. The negative net present value and the inability to achieve the return on investment within a 30-year timeframe made the solid biofuel production scenario unviable. Thus, biofertilizer production from hydrothermal carbonization of microalgae biomass cultivated in wastewater is technically, economically, and environmentally feasible, whereas the same cannot be said for the biofuel evaluated.

Suggested Citation

  • Castro, J.S. & Ferreira, J. & Magalhães, I.B. & Jesus Junior, M.M. & Marangon, B.B. & Pereira, A.S.A.P. & Lorentz, J.F. & Gama, R.C.N. & Rodrigues, F.A. & Calijuri, M.L., 2023. "Life cycle assessment and techno-economic analysis for biofuel and biofertilizer recovery as by-products from microalgae," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 187(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:rensus:v:187:y:2023:i:c:s136403212300638x
    DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2023.113781
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S136403212300638X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.rser.2023.113781?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. Chen, Peter H. & Quinn, Jason C., 2021. "Microalgae to biofuels through hydrothermal liquefaction: Open-source techno-economic analysis and life cycle assessment," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 289(C).
    2. Yang, Junwen & Chen, Bin, 2021. "Energy efficiency evaluation of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) based on data envelopment analysis," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 289(C).
    3. Mina Farmanbar & Kiyan Parham & Øystein Arild & Chunming Rong, 2019. "A Widespread Review of Smart Grids Towards Smart Cities," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(23), pages 1-18, November.
    4. Xiao, Chao & Fu, Qian & Liao, Qiang & Huang, Yun & Xia, Ao & Chen, Hao & Zhu, Xun, 2020. "Life cycle and economic assessments of biogas production from microalgae biomass with hydrothermal pretreatment via anaerobic digestion," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 151(C), pages 70-78.
    5. Krishankumar, Raghunathan & Pamucar, Dragan & Deveci, Muhammat & Aggarwal, Manish & Ravichandran, Kattur Soundarapandian, 2022. "Assessment of renewable energy sources for smart cities’ demand satisfaction using multi-hesitant fuzzy linguistic based choquet integral approach," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 189(C), pages 1428-1442.
    6. Wang, Like & Wang, Yuan & Du, Huibin & Zuo, Jian & Yi Man Li, Rita & Zhou, Zhihua & Bi, Fenfen & Garvlehn, McSimon P., 2019. "A comparative life-cycle assessment of hydro-, nuclear and wind power: A China study," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 249(C), pages 37-45.
    7. Hosseini, Seyed Mohsen & Kanagaraj, N. & Sadeghi, Shahrbanoo & Yousefi, Hossein, 2022. "Midpoint and endpoint impacts of electricity generation by renewable and nonrenewable technologies: A case study of Alberta, Canada," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 197(C), pages 22-39.
    8. Barros, Ana I. & Gonçalves, Ana L. & Simões, Manuel & Pires, José C.M., 2015. "Harvesting techniques applied to microalgae: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 1489-1500.
    9. Kumar, B. Ramesh & Mathimani, Thangavel & Sudhakar, M.P. & Rajendran, Karthik & Nizami, Abdul-Sattar & Brindhadevi, Kathirvel & Pugazhendhi, Arivalagan, 2021. "A state of the art review on the cultivation of algae for energy and other valuable products: Application, challenges, and opportunities," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 138(C).
    10. Unrean, Pornkamol & Lai Fui, Bridgid Chin & Rianawati, Elisabeth & Acda, Menandro, 2018. "Comparative techno-economic assessment and environmental impacts of rice husk-to-fuel conversion technologies," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 151(C), pages 581-593.
    11. Marcin Dębowski & Izabela Świca & Joanna Kazimierowicz & Marcin Zieliński, 2022. "Large Scale Microalgae Biofuel Technology—Development Perspectives in Light of the Barriers and Limitations," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(1), pages 1-23, December.
    12. Roy, Poritosh & Dutta, Animesh & Gallant, Jim, 2020. "Evaluation of the life cycle of hydrothermally carbonized biomass for energy and horticulture application," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 132(C).
    13. Marangon, B.B. & Castro, J.S. & Assemany, P.P. & Couto, E.A. & Calijuri, M.L., 2022. "Environmental performance of microalgae hydrothermal liquefaction: Life cycle assessment and improvement insights for a sustainable renewable diesel," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Fazril Ideris & Mohd Faiz Muaz Ahmad Zamri & Abd Halim Shamsuddin & Saifuddin Nomanbhay & Fitranto Kusumo & Islam Md Rizwanul Fattah & Teuku Meurah Indra Mahlia, 2022. "Progress on Conventional and Advanced Techniques of In Situ Transesterification of Microalgae Lipids for Biodiesel Production," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(19), pages 1-32, September.
    2. Yin, Sihua & Yang, Haidong & Xu, Kangkang & Zhu, Chengjiu & Zhang, Shaqing & Liu, Guosheng, 2022. "Dynamic real–time abnormal energy consumption detection and energy efficiency optimization analysis considering uncertainty," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 307(C).
    3. Sofia Dahlgren & Jonas Ammenberg, 2021. "Sustainability Assessment of Public Transport, Part II—Applying a Multi-Criteria Assessment Method to Compare Different Bus Technologies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-30, January.
    4. Salman, Muhammad & Long, Xingle & Wang, Guimei & Zha, Donglan, 2022. "Paris climate agreement and global environmental efficiency: New evidence from fuzzy regression discontinuity design," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    5. Goh, Brandon Han Hoe & Ong, Hwai Chyuan & Cheah, Mei Yee & Chen, Wei-Hsin & Yu, Kai Ling & Mahlia, Teuku Meurah Indra, 2019. "Sustainability of direct biodiesel synthesis from microalgae biomass: A critical review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 59-74.
    6. Lim, Juin Yau & Teng, Sin Yong & How, Bing Shen & Nam, KiJeon & Heo, SungKu & Máša, Vítězslav & Stehlík, Petr & Yoo, Chang Kyoo, 2022. "From microalgae to bioenergy: Identifying optimally integrated biorefinery pathways and harvest scheduling under uncertainties in predicted climate," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    7. Zhang, Xiaoyue & Huang, Guohe & Liu, Lirong & Li, Kailong, 2022. "Development of a stochastic multistage lifecycle programming model for electric power system planning – A case study for the Province of Saskatchewan, Canada," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    8. Wu, Lan & Wei, Wei & Song, Lan & Woźniak-Karczewska, Marta & Chrzanowski, Łukasz & Ni, Bing-Jie, 2021. "Upgrading biogas produced in anaerobic digestion: Biological removal and bioconversion of CO2 in biogas," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).
    9. Lee, Jongkeun & Lee, Kwanyong & Sohn, Donghwan & Kim, Young Mo & Park, Ki Young, 2018. "Hydrothermal carbonization of lipid extracted algae for hydrochar production and feasibility of using hydrochar as a solid fuel," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 153(C), pages 913-920.
    10. Louhasakul, Yasmi & Cheirsilp, Benjamas & Maneerat, Suppasil & Prasertsan, Poonsuk, 2019. "Potential use of flocculating oleaginous yeasts for bioconversion of industrial wastes into biodiesel feedstocks," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 1311-1319.
    11. Severo, Ihana Aguiar & Siqueira, Stefania Fortes & Deprá, Mariany Costa & Maroneze, Mariana Manzoni & Zepka, Leila Queiroz & Jacob-Lopes, Eduardo, 2019. "Biodiesel facilities: What can we address to make biorefineries commercially competitive?," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 686-705.
    12. Yang, Kuang & Liao, Haifan & Xu, Bo & Chen, Qiuxiang & Hou, Zhenghui & Wang, Haijun, 2024. "Data-driven dryout prediction in helical-coiled once-through steam generator: A physics-informed approach leveraging the Buckingham Pi theorem," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 294(C).
    13. Su, Yujie & Song, Kaihui & Zhang, Peidong & Su, Yuqing & Cheng, Jing & Chen, Xiao, 2017. "Progress of microalgae biofuel’s commercialization," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 402-411.
    14. Bagnato, Giuseppe & Boulet, Florent & Sanna, Aimaro, 2019. "Effect of Li-LSX zeolite, NiCe/Al2O3 and NiCe/ZrO2 on the production of drop-in bio-fuels by pyrolysis and hydrotreating of Nannochloropsis and isochrysis microalgae," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 199-213.
    15. Houssem Rafik Al-Hana Bouchekara & Mohammad Shoaib Shahriar & Muhammad Sharjeel Javaid & Yusuf Abubakar Sha’aban & Makbul Anwari Muhammad Ramli, 2021. "Multi-Objective Optimization of a Hybrid Nanogrid/Microgrid: Application to Desert Camps in Hafr Al-Batin," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-24, February.
    16. Abomohra, Abd El-Fatah & Jin, Wenbiao & Sagar, Vikram & Ismail, Gehan A., 2018. "Optimization of chemical flocculation of Scenedesmus obliquus grown on municipal wastewater for improved biodiesel recovery," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 880-886.
    17. Dahai, He & Zhihong, Yin & Lin, Qin & Yuhong, Li & Lei, Tian & Jiang, Li & Liandong, Zhu, 2024. "The application of magical microalgae in carbon sequestration and emission reduction: Removal mechanisms and potential analysis," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 197(C).
    18. Akbari, Maryam & Oyedun, Adetoyese Olajire & Kumar, Amit, 2020. "Techno-economic assessment of wet and dry torrefaction of biomass feedstock," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 207(C).
    19. Esra Kalya & Alper Alver, 2023. "Determining the contribution of the wastewater treatment plant to the sustainable environment with water footprint indicators," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 25(11), pages 12999-13014, November.
    20. Duong Minh Ngoc & Montri Luengchavanon & Pham Thi Anh & Kim Humphreys & Kuaanan Techato, 2022. "Shades of Green: Life Cycle Assessment of a Novel Small-Scale Vertical Axis Wind Turbine Tree," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(20), pages 1-21, October.

    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:eee:rensus:v:187:y:2023:i:c:s136403212300638x. 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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/600126/description#description .

    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.