Bio-fuels

Advances in Bioprocess

Bio-fuels

The term biofuel is referred to liquid, gas and solid fuels

predominantly produced from biomass.

Includes bioethanol, biomethanol, vegetable oils, biodiesel,

biogas, bio-synthetic gas (bio-syngas), bio-oil, bio-char, FischerTropsch liquids, and biohydrogen.

Can be extracted or derived from both living and nonliving (they

were at one point) materials.

Generated through 100% renewable resources.

Examples of renewable resources: forests and crops.

Why??
Depletion of fossil fuels
Increase in population and increase in
demand

Development in bio-fuels
First generation
From sugars, vegetable oils, and oils from crops

Second generation
Biomass plants and microbial

Third generation
Algae based biofuel

Fourth generation
Microbes to produce biofuel that can be used directly
without any processing
Biohydrogen

First generation bio-fuel

Jatropha curcas

Highly unsaturated and fattyacids

Requires less water for growth
Availability is limited
Requires more years to grow

Castor bean
Food distribution issues made it unsuccessful

Second generation biofuel

Produced from agricultural waste, non
edible part of plants
Plants have more lignocelluloses major
disadvantage.
Microorganisms and enzymes to break
lignocelluloses.

Third generation biofuel

From algae biomass
Time consumption is less
Capital investment is less
Efficiency is very low
Process to be optimized

Fourth generation biofuel

Biohydrogen from bacteria and algale
Fuel cells

Bioethanol

Both first and second generation

Three categories of agricultural raw materials: simple sugars, starch

and lignocellulose.

Conversion of lignocellulose to sugars

Lignin and cellulose will be reduced

Presence of lignin residues will reduce the production yield

Pentose sugars are not degraded by bacteria or yeast (only few does)

Genetically modified organisms to increase yield safety issues

Biodiesel

Biodiesel is produced by a mono-alcoholic trans-esterification

process

Triglycerides reacts with a mono-alcohol (most commonly methanol

or ethanol) with the catalysis of alkali, acids, or enzymes

There are three basic methods of biodiesel production from oils and
fats:
Base catalyzed transesterification of the oil.
Direct acid catalyzed transesterification of the oil.
Conversion of the oil to its fatty acids and then to biodiesel.

Production

Transesterification

Algal Biofuel
Green algae
Open raceway
Photo bioreactors
Heterotrophic cultivation
Mixotrophic cultivation

Open raceway ponds

Photo Bioreactors

Biofuel coupled with waste

treatment

Case study

Mechanism and challenges in commercialization of algal

biofuels Anoop Singhe et al., Bioresource technology,
2011, 102, 26-34.
Sustainability of large scale algal biofuel production in India
Chanakya etal., Journal of Indian Institute of Science,
2012, 92 (1), 63-98.
Integrated green algal technology for bioremediation and
biofuel Ganapathy et al., Bioresource technology, 2012,
107, 1-9.