Microalgae Oil Production: A Downstream Approach to Energy Requirements for the Minamisoma Pilot Plant

Dhani S. Wibawa, Muhammad A. Nasution, Ryozo Noguchi, Tofael Ahamed, Mikihide Demura and Makoto M. Watanabe
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Dhani S. Wibawa: Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8572, Japan
Muhammad A. Nasution: Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8572, Japan
Ryozo Noguchi: Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8572, Japan
Tofael Ahamed: Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8572, Japan
Mikihide Demura: Algae Biomass and Energy System R&D Center, University of Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8572, Japan
Makoto M. Watanabe: Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8572, Japan

Energies, 2018, vol. 11, issue 3, 1-16

Abstract: This study investigates the potential of microalgae oil production as an alternative renewable energy source, in a pilot project located at Minamisoma City in the Fukushima Prefecture of Japan. The algal communities used in this research were the locally mixed species, which were mainly composed of Desmodesmus collected from the Minamisoma pilot project. The microalgae oil-production processes in Minamisoma consisted of three stages: cultivation, dewatering, and extraction. The estimated theoretical input-energy requirement for extracting oil was 137.25 MJ to process 50 m 3 of microalgae, which was divided into cultivation 15.40 MJ, centrifuge 13.39 MJ, drum filter 14.17 MJ, and hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) 94.29 MJ. The energy profit ratio (EPR) was 1.41. The total energy requirement was highest in the HTL process (68%) followed by cultivation (11%) and the drum filter (10%). The EPR value increased along with the yield in the cultivation process. Using HTL, the microalgae biomass could be converted to bio-crude oil to increase the oil yield in the extraction process. Therefore, in the long run, the HTL process could help lower production costs, due to the lack of chemical additions, for extracting oil in the downstream estimation of the energy requirements for microalgae oil production.

Keywords: microalgae; energy requirement; hydrothermal liquefaction; energy profit ratio (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: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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