Water Footprint of Biodiesel Production from Microalgae Cultivated in Photobioreactors
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 142, Issue 12
Abstract
Based on experimental data, this study determined the water footprint of biodiesel production from freshwater microalgae cultivated in photobioreactors. The findings highlighted the necessity of recycling harvest water and applying undiluted wastewater to grow microalgae in efforts to save freshwater resources. Without water recycling, approximately 3,494 kg freshwater was required to produce 1 kg microalgal biodiesel. By contrast, recycling harvest water at the degree of 50 and 100% to regrow microalgae could reduce the water utilization by 39.4 and 93.0%, respectively. The results also showed that using undiluted wastewater to grow microalgae could decrease the usage of freshwater by 93.7%, reaching as low as microalgal biodiesel produced. Factors that affect the water footprint of microalgal biodiesel production were also discussed in this study.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the Kone Foundation in Finland. The authors would like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments and suggestions that greatly improved the manuscript.
References
Abas, N., and Khan, N. (2014). “Carbon conundrum, climate change, capture and consumptions.” J. Util., 8, 39–48.
Alfieri, L., Feyen, L., Dottori, F., and Bianchi, A. (2015). “Ensemble flood risk assessment in Europe under high end climate scenarios.” Global Environ. Change, 35, 199–212.
Bilad, M. R., Discart, V., Vandamme, D., Foubert, I., Muylaert, K., and Vankelecom, I. F. J. (2014). “Coupled cultivation and pre-harvesting of microalgae in a membrane photobioreactor (MPBR).” Bioresour. Technol., 155, 410–417.
Brune, D. E., Lundquist, T. J., and Benemann, J. R. (2009). “Microalgal biomass for greenhouse gas reductions: Potential for replacement of fossil fuels and animal feeds.” J. Environ. Eng., 1136–1144.
Clarens, A. F., Resurreccion, E. P., White, M. A., and Colosi, L. M. (2010). “Environmental life cycle comparison of algae to other bioenergy feedstocks.” Environ. Sci. Technol., 44(5), 1813–1819.
Delrue, F., et al. (2012). “An economic, sustainability, and energetic model of biodiesel production from microalgae.” Bioresour. Technol., 111, 191–200.
Dominguez-Faus, R., Powers, S. E., Burken, J. G., and Alvarez, P. J. (2009). “The water footprint of biofuels: A drink or drive issue?” Environ. Sci. Technol., 43(9), 3005–3010.
Gerbens-Leenes, W., Hoekstra, A. Y., and van der Meer, T. H. (2009). “The water footprint of bioenergy.” Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A., 106(25), 10219–10223.
Guieysse, B., Béchet, Q., and Shilton, A. (2013). “Variability and uncertainty in water demand and water footprint assessments of fresh algae cultivation based on case studies from five climatic regions.” Bioresour. Technol., 128, 317–323.
Huntingford, C., et al. (2015). “The implications of carbon dioxide and methane exchange for the heavy mitigation RCP2.6 scenario under two metrics.” Environ. Sci. Policy, 51, 77–87.
IEA (International Energy Agency). (2014). “World energy outlook 2014, executive summary.” 〈https://www.iea.org/publications/freepublications/publication/WEO_2014_ES_English_WEB.pdf〉 (May 27, 2016).
Islam, A., Chan, E. S., Taufiq-Yap, Y. H., Mondal, M. A. H., Moniruzzaman, M., and Mridha, M. (2014). “Energy security in Bangladesh perspective—An assessment and implication.” Renewable Sustainable Energy Rev., 32, 154–171.
Ji, M. K., et al. (2013). “Removal of nitrogen and phosphorus from piggery wastewater effluent using the green microalga Scenedesmus obliquus.” J. Environ. Eng., 1198–1205.
Katarzyna, L., Sai, G., and Singh, O. A. (2015). “Non-enclosure methods for non-suspended microalgae cultivation: Literature review and research needs.” Renewable Sustainable Energy Rev., 42, 1418–1427.
Murphy, C. C., and Allen, D. T. (2011). “Energy-water nexus for mass cultivation of algae.” Environ. Sci. Technol., 45(13), 5861–5868.
Ozkan, A., Kinney, K., Katz, L., and Berberoglu, H. (2012). “Reduction of water and energy requirement of algae cultivation using an algae biofilm photobioreactor.” Bioresour. Technol., 114, 542–548.
Schnepf, R., and Yacobucci, B. D. (2013). “Renewable fuel standard (RFS): Overview and issues.” 〈https://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R40155.pdf〉 (May 27, 2016).
Slade, R., and Bauen, A. (2013). “Micro-algae cultivation for biofuels: Cost, energy balance, environmental impacts and future prospects.” Biomass Bioenergy, 53, 29–38.
Subhadra, B. G., and Edwards, M. (2011). “Coproduct market analysis and water footprint of simulated commercial algal biorefineries.” Appl. Energy, 88(10), 3515–3523.
U.S. DOE. (2010). “National algal biofuels technology roadmap.” 〈www1.eere.energy.gov/bioenergy/pdfs/algal_biofuels_roadmap.pdf〉 (May 27, 2016).
Van Wagenen, J. V., Pape, M. L., and Angelidaki, I. (2015). “Characterization of nutrient removal and microalgal biomass production on an industrial waste-stream by application of the deceleration-stat technique.” Water Res., 75, 301–311.
Yadala, S., and Cremaschi, S. (2014). “Design and optimization of artificial cultivation units for algae production.” Energy, 78, 23–39.
Yang, J., Xu, M., Zhang, X., Hu, Q., Sommerfeld, M., and Chen, Y. (2011). “Life-cycle analysis on biodiesel production from microalgae water footprint and nutrients balance.” Bioresour. Technol., 102(1), 159–165.
Zhu, L., et al. (2013a). “Nutrient removal and biodiesel production by integration of freshwater algae cultivation with piggery wastewater treatment.” Water Res., 47(13), 4294–4302.
Zhu, L., et al. (2013b). “Scale-up potential of cultivating Chlorella zofingiensis in piggery wastewater for biodiesel production.” Bioresour. Technol., 137, 318–325.
Zhu, L. (2014). “The combined production of ethanol and biogas from microalgal residuals to sustain microalgal biodiesel: A theoretical evaluation.” Biofuels, Bioprod. Biorefin., 8(1), 7–15.
Zhu, L. (2015). “Biorefinery as a promising approach to promote microalgae industry: An innovative framework.” Renewable Sustainable Energy Rev., 41, 1376–1384.
Zhu, L. (2016). “Microalgal culture strategies for biofuel production: A review.” Biofuels, Bioprod. Biorefin., 9(6), 801–814.
Zhu, L., Hiltunen, E., Antila, E., Zhong, J., Yuan, Z., and Wang, Z. (2014a). “Microalgal biofuels: Flexible bioenergies for sustainable development.” Renewable Sustainable Energy Rev., 30, 1035–1046.
Zhu, L., Hiltunen, E., Shu, Q., Zhou, W., Li, Z., and Wang, Z. (2014b). “Biodiesel production from algae cultivated in winter with artificial wastewater through pH regulation by acetic acid.” Appl. Energy, 128, 103–110.
Zhu, L., Huo, S., and Qin, L. (2015). “A microalgae-based biodiesel refinery: Sustainability concerns and challenges.” Int. J. Green Energy, 12(6), 595–602.
Zhu, L., Takala, J., Hiltunen, E., and Wang, Z. (2013c). “Recycling harvest water to cultivate Chlorella zofingiensis under nutrient limitation for biodiesel production.” Bioresour. Technol., 144, 14–20.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 142 • Issue 12 • December 2016
Copyright
© 2016 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jul 28, 2015
Accepted: Apr 25, 2016
Published online: Jul 13, 2016
Published in print: Dec 1, 2016
Discussion open until: Dec 13, 2016
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.