Influence of strain-specific parameters on hydrothermal liquefaction of microalgae

•Eight different algae species were subjected to hydrothermal liquefaction.•The influence of strain-specific parameters on the HTL process were investigated.•The inorganic material in the feedstock directly affects the HTL process.•Strain-specific parameters play less of a role at high hydrothermal...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Bioresource technology 2013-10, Vol.146, p.463-471
Main Authors: López Barreiro, Diego, Zamalloa, Carlos, Boon, Nico, Vyverman, Wim, Ronsse, Frederik, Brilman, Wim, Prins, Wolter
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Algae
Biochemistry
Biofuel production
Biofuels
Biological and medical sciences
Biomass
Biotechnology
Chromatography, Gel
Conversion
Culture Media
Energy
Feedstock
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Hydrothermal liquefaction
Industrial applications and implications. Economical aspects
Liquefaction
Liquefied
Microalgae
Moisture content
Nannochloropsis gaditana
Nitrogen - chemistry
Photobioreactors
Scenedesmus
Scenedesmus - metabolism
Species Specificity
Stramenopiles - metabolism
Temperature
Time Factors
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Summary:•Eight different algae species were subjected to hydrothermal liquefaction.•The influence of strain-specific parameters on the HTL process were investigated.•The inorganic material in the feedstock directly affects the HTL process.•Strain-specific parameters play less of a role at high hydrothermal temperatures. Algae are an interesting feedstock for producing biofuel via hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL), due to their high water content. In this study, algae slurries (5–7wt% daf) from different species were liquefied at 250 and 375°C in batch autoclaves during 5min. The aim was to analyze the influence of strain-specific parameters (cell structure, biochemical composition and growth environment) on the HTL process. Results show big variations in the biocrude oil yield within species at 250°C (from 17.6 to 44.8wt%). At 375°C, these differences become less significant (from 45.6 to 58.1wt%). An appropriate characterization of feedstock appeared to be critical to interpret the results. If a high conversion of microalgae-to-biocrude is pursued, near critical conditions are required, with Scenedesmus almeriensis (freshwater) and Nannochloropsis gaditana (marine) leading to the biocrude oils with lower nitrogen content from each growth environment.
ISSN:0960-8524
1873-2976
DOI:10.1016/j.biortech.2013.07.123