TY - JOUR
T1 - Biocrude Oil from Algal Bloom Microalgae
T2 - A Novel Integration of Biological and Thermochemical Techniques
AU - Watson, Jamison
AU - Swoboda, Megan
AU - Aierzhati, Aersi
AU - Wang, Tengfei
AU - Si, Buchun
AU - Zhang, Yuanhui
N1 - Funding Information:
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The authors acknowledge the financial support provided by the National Science Foundation U.S.-China INFEWS grant (NSF# 18-04453 and 1744775), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC 51806243), and the Jonathan Baldwin Turner Ph.D. Fellowship provided by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Funding Information:
The authors acknowledge the financial support provided by the National Science Foundation U.S.–China INFEWS grant (NSF# 18-04453 and 1744775), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC 51806243), and the Jonathan Baldwin Turner Ph.D. Fellowship provided by the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign.
Publisher Copyright:
©
PY - 2021/2/2
Y1 - 2021/2/2
N2 - Algal bloom microalgae are abundant in polluted water systems, but their biocrude oil production potential via hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) is limited. This study proposed a novel process that combined biological (dark fermentation) and thermochemical (HTL) techniques aimed at changing the feedstock characteristics to be more suitable for thermochemical conversion, herein named integrated dark fermentation-hydrothermal liquefaction (DF-HTL). DF-HTL conversion of algae significantly enhanced the biocrude oil yield (wt %), carbon content (mol), energy content (MJ), and energy conversion ratios by 9.8, 29.7, 40.0, and 61.0%, respectively, in comparison to the control. Furthermore, DF-HTL processing significantly decreased the aqueous byproduct yield (wt %), carbon content (mol), nitrogen content (mol), and ammonia content (mol) by 19.0, 38.4, 25.0, and 13.2%, respectively, in comparison to the control. Therefore, DF-HTL reduced the environmental impact associated with disposing of the wastewater byproduct. However, DF-HTL also augmented the nitrogen content (mol) of the biocrude oil by 42.2% in comparison to the control. The benefits of DF-HTL were attributed to the increased acid content, the incorporation of H2 as a processing gas, and the enhancement of the Maillard reaction, which shifted the distribution of reaction products from the aqueous phase to the biocrude oil phase. This article provides insights into the efficacy of a novel integrated biological-thermochemical processing method with distinct environmental and energetic advantages over conventional HTL that heightens the biocrude oil yield for feedstocks with a high carbohydrate and a high protein content.
AB - Algal bloom microalgae are abundant in polluted water systems, but their biocrude oil production potential via hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) is limited. This study proposed a novel process that combined biological (dark fermentation) and thermochemical (HTL) techniques aimed at changing the feedstock characteristics to be more suitable for thermochemical conversion, herein named integrated dark fermentation-hydrothermal liquefaction (DF-HTL). DF-HTL conversion of algae significantly enhanced the biocrude oil yield (wt %), carbon content (mol), energy content (MJ), and energy conversion ratios by 9.8, 29.7, 40.0, and 61.0%, respectively, in comparison to the control. Furthermore, DF-HTL processing significantly decreased the aqueous byproduct yield (wt %), carbon content (mol), nitrogen content (mol), and ammonia content (mol) by 19.0, 38.4, 25.0, and 13.2%, respectively, in comparison to the control. Therefore, DF-HTL reduced the environmental impact associated with disposing of the wastewater byproduct. However, DF-HTL also augmented the nitrogen content (mol) of the biocrude oil by 42.2% in comparison to the control. The benefits of DF-HTL were attributed to the increased acid content, the incorporation of H2 as a processing gas, and the enhancement of the Maillard reaction, which shifted the distribution of reaction products from the aqueous phase to the biocrude oil phase. This article provides insights into the efficacy of a novel integrated biological-thermochemical processing method with distinct environmental and energetic advantages over conventional HTL that heightens the biocrude oil yield for feedstocks with a high carbohydrate and a high protein content.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85099831131&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85099831131&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1021/acs.est.0c05924
DO - 10.1021/acs.est.0c05924
M3 - Article
C2 - 33434016
VL - 55
SP - 1973
EP - 1983
JO - Environmental Science & Technology
JF - Environmental Science & Technology
SN - 0013-936X
IS - 3
ER -