State Of Art

Research In Algae

Non-Conventional Energy Assignment

Presented By

Sambhav Oraon
BE/10465/17
Mechanical
Acknowledgement

I would like to express my special thanks of gratitude to my teacher Mr. Om Prakash

who gave me the golden opportunity to do this wonderful project on the topic State Of
Art Research In Algae, which also helped me in doing a lot of Research and i came to
know about so many new things I am really thankful to them.

Secondly i would also like to thank my parents and friends who helped me a lot in
finalizing this project within the limited time frame.
Content

1. Introduction
2. Algae Biofuel Production Process
3. Comparison with Other Fuel
4. Current Research On Algae As Biofuel
5. Current Experiment For Advance Production
6. Advancement In Field Algae
7. Advance Method For Production
8. Summary
9. Bibliography
 Introduction

What is algae ??

Algae are a very large and diverse group of simple, typically

autotrophic eukaryotic organism.

In general, Algae can be referred to as plant-like organism that are

usually photosynthetic and aquatic, but do not have true roots,
stems, leaves, vascular tissue and have simple reproductive
structure.

The unicellular forms are known as microalgae where as the

multicellular forms comprise macroalgae.
Comparison Of Algae With Other Biofuel
Current Research On Algae Biofuel

1. Pyrolysis of Algal Biomass Obtained from High-Rate Algae

Ponds Applied to Wastewater Treatment.
2. Optimization of Protein Extraction from Spirulina platensis
to Generate a Potential Co-Product and a Biofuel Feedstock
with Reduced Nitrogen Content.
3. Evaluation of Diverse Microalgal Species as Potential
Biofuel Feedstocks Grown Using Municipal Wastewater.
Current Research On Algae Biofuel

4. Quantitative Assessment of Microalgae Biomass and Lipid

Stability Post-Cultivation.
5. Design, Construction, and Validation of an Internally Lit Air-
Lift Photobioreactor for Growing Algae
6. Lipid Extraction Methods from Microalgae
7. Blending Biodiesel in Fishing Boat Fuels for Improved Fuel
Characteristics
 New Research for Advance Production
Washington State University researchers have developed a way to grow algae more efficiently --
in days instead of weeks -- and make the algae more available for several industries, including
biofuels.

- Led by graduate student Sandra Rincon and her advisor, Haluk Beyenal, professor in the Gene and Linda
Voiland School of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering, the researchers developed a unique biofilm
reactor that recycles gass and uses less water and lower light than typical reactors.

Indo- US Workshop on “Cyanobacteria- Molecular Networks to biofuels”

- Cyanobacteria and microalgae as platforms for biofuel production; the molecular mechanisms for carbon
and nitrogen fixation in cyanobacteria; annotation of novel metabolic and genetic networks; conversion of
fixed carbon dioxide to biofuels including drop-in fuels and other high value products; the carbon
concentration mechanism in cyanobacteria; high cell density cultivation; genomic and proteomic studies;
studies on cyanobacterial circadian rhythms; metabolic flux analysis; photosynthetic efficiencies of
cyanobacteria; isolation and characterisation of cyanobacteria and micro algae from diverse and extreme
habitats; photo-regulation and photo-protection mechanisms, and genetic engineering in cyanobacteria
and microalgae.
Advancements in the Field
1. One of the most critical areas of focus in algal biofuels R&D—algal biology—has benefited
from dedicated researchers advancing understanding of the true requirements of
outdoor algae cultivation.
2. The field has recognized that strain robustness, not just lipid content, is critical for large-
scale cultivation.
3. Molecular technologies have been developed to make the necessary improvements in
robustness and productivity, including molecular toolboxes for strain improvement and
advanced genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and phenomics
platforms.
4. Major advances have also been made in feedstock processing and conversion to biofuel
intermediates and finished fuels.
5. Algal oil has been successfully converted to jet and biodiesel meeting the ASTM
standards.
Advance Method For Production

1. RACEWAY
POND PRODUCING DROP-IN HYDROCARBON AND
COPRODUCTS
2. Raceway Pond Producing Fame
3. Photobioreactor With Direct Synthesis Of
Ethanol
 Production Challenges
Three major factors limiting commercial algal production exist: the difficulty of maintaining
desirable species in the culture system, the low yield of algal oil, and the high cost of harvesting
the algal biomass. DOE concluded that there was a significant amount of land, water, and CO2 to
support the algal biofuel technology.
In recent years, algal biofuel production has gained renewed interest. Both university research
groups and start-up businesses are researching and developing new methods to improve the
algal process efficiency with a final goal of commercial algal biofuel production. The research and
development efforts can be categorized into several areas:

1. Increasing oil content of existing strains or selecting new strains with high oil content.
2. Increasing growth rate of algae.
3. Developing robust algal-growing systems in either an open-air environment or an
enclosed environment.
4. Co-product development other than the oil.
5. Using algae in bioremediation.
6. Developing an efficient oil-extraction method.
 Estimate Production Cost & Compared With
Petrol

The production cost of the algal oil depends on many factors such as
the yield of biomass from the culture system, the oil content, the scale
of production systems, and the cost of recovering oil from algal
biomass. Currently, algal oil production is still far more expensive than
petroleum diesel fuels. For example, Chisti (2007) estimated the
production cost of algae oil from a photobioreactor with an annual
production capacity of 10,000 tons per year. Assuming the oil content
of the algae to be around 30 percent, the author determined a
production cost of $2.80/L ($10.50/gallon) of algal oil. This estimation
did not include the costs of converting algal oil to biodiesel, or the
distribution and marketing cost for biodiesel and taxes. At the same
time, the petroleum diesel price was $2.00 to $3.00 per gallon.
 Summary
Microalgae are an ideal biodiesel feedstock, which eventually could replace petroleum-based
fuel due to several advantages, such as high oil content, high rates of production, less land,
etc. Currently, algal biodiesel production is still too expensive to be commercialized. Due to
the static costs associated with oil extraction and biodiesel processing and the variability of
algal biomass production, cost-saving efforts for algal oil production should focus on the
production method of the oil-rich algae itself. This needs to be approached through enhancing
both algal biology (in terms of biomass yield and oil content) and culture-system engineering.
In addition, using all aspects of the microalgae for producing various value-added products
besides the algal fuel, via an integrated biorefinery, is an appealing way to lower the cost of
algal biofuel production. Indeed, microalgae contain a large percentage of oil, with the
remaining parts consisting of large quantities of proteins, carbohydrates, and other nutrients
(Spolaore et al., 2006). This makes the post-oil extraction residue attractive for use as animal
feed or in other value-added products.
Bibliography

Metting, F.B. 1996. Biodiversity and application of microalgae.

Wikipedia.

Chisti, Y. 2007. Biodiesel from microalgae.

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