Production of algae coupled to anaerobic digestion in a closed vessel system for bio- fuel production In cooperation with

Introduction (only pictures )

Contents renewable and durable energy Biofuel production Composition of algae Advantages and disadvantages Cultivation methods Production process Algae research Manipulation of algae Applications

Renewable and durable energy Renewable energy – Inexhaustible sources Durable energy – Inexhaustible sources – Not detrimental to environment and economy

Biofuel production Obtained from biomass Divided into three generations 1.Food crops  conventional fermentation  chemical processes 2. Crops specially farmed  competition with food crops 3. New developments ( + GM )  algae  no competition with food crops

Composition of algae Eukaryotic photosynthetic organisms Sunlight  biomass (sugar and lipids) Nutrients  nitrogen and phosphorus CO 2  natural oil Rich in oil components  high primary production  saturated fatty acids Oil levels: 20% - 75%

Advantages and disadvantages Advantages – Harvested in all seasons – Rich in fats – Grow fast – On land not suitable for agriculture – CO 2 neutral – Improving quality of waste water

Advantages and disadvantages Disadvantages – Growth  fat production – Separating oil  expensive  polluting – Growth depends on sunlight – Many nutrients needed + aqueous environment

Cultivation methods Open system – Disadvantages Contact with atmosphere  evaporation No stable temperature Contamination Limited algae species

Cultivation methods Closed systems – Advantage No evaporation Stable temperature No contamination Higher biomass and efficient accumulation of CO 2 – Disadvantages Expensive CO 2 injection needed

Production process Biogas – Hydrolisis Break long polymeres – Acidogenesis Fermentation with acidogenic bacteria – Methanogenesis Into methane gas by methane-forming archaea

Production process Biodiesel – Base catalyzed transesterification of the oil Extract oil, drying + adding hexane Distillation  pure algae oil Mixing with catalyst + alcohol Glycerol and biodiesel

Research First industry about 1953 – Two closed bag photoreactors – Food production Past five years – Algae oil production – Replacement for oil AlgaePARC – Research micro-algae cultivation systems – Seven systems

Manipulation of algae Genetic modified – higher yield of biomass or lipids – Increasing number of chloroplasts – Modify metabolism – Only accepted in closed systems Selecting species Adjusting cultivation techniques

Applications Algae Food&Fuel – Just been booted (BioSoil, Tendris and Solarix) – Industrial production of micro-algae – Turbid state, open system – 50kg dry mass/day/Ha Desert regions – Plenty of sunshine – Water unusable for drinking

Thank you for listening Pieter Sas, Elke Knoops, Benjamin Maris and Serpil Dirikan Mouna Tajeddine, Jonathan Wauthier and Christophe Lisbe