Techno-Economic Study of CO 2 Capture of a Thermoelectric Plant Using Microalgae ( Chlorella vulgaris ) for Production of Feedstock for Bioenergy

Esveidi Montserrat Valdovinos-García, Juan Barajas-Fernández, María de los Ángeles Olán-Acosta, Moisés Abraham Petriz-Prieto, Adriana Guzmán-López and Micael Gerardo Bravo-Sánchez
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Esveidi Montserrat Valdovinos-García: División Académica Multidisciplinaria de Jalpa de Méndez (DAMJM), Universidad Juárez Autónoma de Tabasco (UJAT), Carret. Estatal Libre Villahermosa-Comalcalco Km. 27+000 s/n Ranchería Ribera Alta. Jalpa de Méndez, Tabasco C.P. 86205, Mexico
Juan Barajas-Fernández: División Académica de Ingeniería y Arquitectura (DAIA), Universidad Juárez Autónoma de Tabasco (UJAT), Carret. Cunduacán-Jalpa de Méndez Km 1. Col. La Esmeralda. Cunduacán, Tabasco C.P. 86690, Mexico
María de los Ángeles Olán-Acosta: División Académica de Ingeniería y Arquitectura (DAIA), Universidad Juárez Autónoma de Tabasco (UJAT), Carret. Cunduacán-Jalpa de Méndez Km 1. Col. La Esmeralda. Cunduacán, Tabasco C.P. 86690, Mexico
Moisés Abraham Petriz-Prieto: División Académica Multidisciplinaria de Jalpa de Méndez (DAMJM), Universidad Juárez Autónoma de Tabasco (UJAT), Carret. Estatal Libre Villahermosa-Comalcalco Km. 27+000 s/n Ranchería Ribera Alta. Jalpa de Méndez, Tabasco C.P. 86205, Mexico
Adriana Guzmán-López: Departamento de Ciencias Básicas, Tecnológico Nacional de México en Celaya, Apartado Postal 57, Celaya 38010, Mexico
Micael Gerardo Bravo-Sánchez: Departamento de Ingeniería Bioquímica, Tecnológico Nacional de México en Celaya, Apartado Postal 57, Celaya 38010, Mexico

Energies, 2020, vol. 13, issue 2, 1-19

Abstract: A current concern is the increase in greenhouse gas emissions, mainly CO 2 , with anthropogenic sources being the main contributors. Microalgae have greater capacity than terrestrial plants to capture CO 2 , with this being an attraction for using them as capture systems. This study aims at the techno-economic evaluation of microalgae biomass production, while only considering technologies with industrial scaling potential. Energy consumption and operating costs are considered as parameters for the evaluation. In addition, the capture of CO 2 from a thermoelectric plant is analyzed, as a carbon source for the cultivation of microalgae. 24 scenarios were evaluated while using process simulation tools (SuperPro Designer), being generated by the combination of cultivations in raceway pond, primary harvest with three types of flocculants, secondary harvest with centrifugation and three filtering technologies, and finally the drying evaluated with Spray and Drum Dryer. Low biomass productivity, 12.7 g/m 2 /day, was considered, achieving a capture of 102.13 tons of CO 2 /year in 1 ha for the cultivation area. The scenarios that included centrifugation and vacuum filtration are the ones with the highest energy consumption. The operating costs range from US $ 4.75–6.55/kg of dry biomass. The choice of the best scenario depends on the final use of biomass.

Keywords: microalgae; cultivation; harvest; drying; bioprocess simulation; energy demand; production cost (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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