Exploring alkaline pre-treatment of microalgal biomass for bioethanol production

Razif Harun, W.S.Y. Jason, Tamara Cherrington and Michael K. Danquah

Applied Energy, 2011, vol. 88, issue 10, 3464-3467

Abstract: We have investigated, for the first time, the alkaline pre-treatment of microalgal biomass, from the species Chlorococcum infusionum, using NaOH for bioethanol production. This pre-treatment step aims to release and breakdown entrapped polysaccharides in the microalgae cell walls into fermentable subunits. Three parameters were examined here; the concentration of NaOH, temperature and the pre-treatment time. The bioethanol concentration, glucose concentration and the cell size were studied in order to determine the effectiveness of the pre-treatment process. Microscopic analysis was performed to confirm cell rupturing, the highest glucose yield was determined to be 350mg/g, and the maximum bioethanol yield obtained was 0.26g ethanol/g algae using 0.75% (w/v) of NaOH and 120°C for 30min. Overall, the alkaline pre-treatment method proved to be promising option to pre-treat microalgal biomass for bioethanol production.

Keywords: Alkaline pre-treatment; Microalgae; Biomass; Fermentation; Bioethanol (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2011
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (26)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:appene:v:88:y:2011:i:10:p:3464-3467

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DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2010.10.048

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