Microalgae based biorefinery promoting circular bioeconomy-techno economic and life-cycle analysis

Area of Science:

• Biotechnology
• Renewable Energy
• Chemical Engineering

Background:

• Microalgae are a key source for third-generation biofuels due to high lipid productivity.
• Microalgae biorefineries offer a promising approach to reduce biofuel production costs.
• Comprehensive energy balance analyses are lacking for critical microalgae biorefinery pathways.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate three distinct lipid-based microalgae biorefinery routes.
• To assess the economic viability of producing microalgal biofuel and co-products.
• To provide insights into optimizing microalgal biorefinery economics.

Main Methods:

• Technoeconomic assessment of three biorefinery routes.
• Evaluation of biorefinery routes focused on biodiesel, biogas, and bio-hydrogen production.
• Analysis of pigment and animal feed co-product integration.

Main Results:

• Route 1: Biodiesel, pigments, and animal feed production.
• Route 2: Biogas, pigments, and two-stage fermentation.
• Route 3: Bio-hydrogen and pigments production.
• Technoeconomic review of all three routes.

Conclusions:

• Comparative technoeconomic assessment of microalgae biorefineries is crucial.
• Net energy savings and life-cycle costing are key to economizing microalgal biorefineries.
• Optimized biorefinery designs can enhance the economic feasibility of microalgal biofuel production.