Producing transportation fuels from algae: In search of synergy

• Published in: Renewable & sustainable energy reviews 2014-12, Vol.40, p.133-142
• Main Authors: Raslavičius, Laurencas, Semenov, Vladimir G., Chernova, Nadezhda I., Keršys, Artūras, Kopeyka, Aleksandr K.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Algae; Algae biodiesel; BG-11 medium; Cultivation; Economics; Fuels; Lipids; Magnetic impulse cavitation reactor; Renewable energy; Russia; Searching; Temperature control; Transesterification; Zarrouk׳s medium
• ISSN: 1364-0321; 1879-0690
• DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2014.07.176

The study found that promising algae biofuels R&D breakthroughs (hydrothermal liquefaction technology, high-frequency magnetic impulse cavitation reactors, etc.) and industry milestones (technologies of hydrorefining and catalytic selective oxidation among others), in order to move forward, require for implementation of new synergies and further innovations needed to improve economical production of advanced biofuels that are not applicable today. It seems that already viable state-of-the-art findings must be re-examined extensively in all of the different aspects in order to hasten the commercialisation of algal biofuels production in sustainable biorefineries. The same could be said about the feedstock selection for algal biomass production and its cultivation. It is the first step to successful large-scale algae cultivation in new regions of the world. Based on the above mentioned we identified fourteen promising algae species that can successfully grow in various regions of Russia under local climatic conditions. Samples collected during expedition were analysed at Lomonosov Moscow State University. Providing predetermined alternate periods of light and darkness and for temperature control of the different mediums to improve photosynthetic responses we investigated two different microalgal production systems: open ponds of the volume V=500l and closed bioreactors of the volume V=1.0l. Later on, a review on interdisciplinary synergies between biology and technology to open up new avenues of R&D in the field of algae-for-transport was carried out by leading universities of Lithuania, Russia, and Ukraine. In summary, we found that it is already possible to reduce the price of the 3rd and 4th generation biodiesel fuel from algae by applying the synergistic approaches to sustainable energy production highlighted in this paper, and probably some other ones as well.