Optimisation of Ultrasound Pretreatment of Microalgal Biomass for Effective Biogas Production through Anaerobic Digestion Process

Roshni Paul (), Alla Silkina, Lynsey Melville, Sri Suhartini and Michael Sulu
Additional contact information
Roshni Paul: Faculty of Computing, Engineering and Built Environment, Birmingham City University, Birmingham B4 7XG, UK
Alla Silkina: Swansea University, AlgaeWales Research Group, Bioscience Department, College of Science, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK
Lynsey Melville: Faculty of Computing, Engineering and Built Environment, Birmingham City University, Birmingham B4 7XG, UK
Sri Suhartini: Department of Agro-Industrial Technology, Faculty of Agricultural Technology, Universitas Brawijaya, Malang 65145, East Java, Indonesia
Michael Sulu: Department of Biochemical Engineering, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK

Energies, 2023, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-13

Abstract: The anaerobic digestion, AD, process presents a solution for sustainable waste management, greenhouse gas mitigation and energy production for growing population needs and requirements. Adopting a biorefinery approach that utilises different feedstock may enhance energy production and support optimisation of the anaerobic digestion process. Algae is a promising feedstock that could be used for energy production via the anaerobic digestion process. Microalgal biomass is rich in carbohydrates and lipids; however, many species of algae exhibit tough cell walls that could also be difficult to digest and may influence or inhibit the efficiency of the AD process. This study concentrated on the comparison of AD remediation of two marine algal biomass species, Tetraselmis suecica and Nannochloropsis oceanica . The two species were pre-treated with an ultrasound technique and compared for their methane production using biochemical methane potential tests. For Tetraselmis , a specific methane production of 0.165 LCH4/KgVS was observed; however, for Nannochloropsis , a value of 0.101 LCH 4 /KgVS was observed for the samples treated with ultrasound. The BMP results from this study show that among the two micro-algae species tested, Tetraselmis suecica is found to be a better substrate for methane production potential. Contrary to increasing the specific methane production, ultrasound cavitation caused a slight decrease in the specific methane production values for both Nannochloropsis oceanica and Tetraselmis suecica biomass residues. The pre-treatment of the biomass using ultrasound techniques provided comparable results and can be recommended for effective bioenergy production. However, further research is required for the optimisation of the pre-treatment of microalgae and for the integration of microalgal biorefineries for circular economy.

Keywords: Tetraselmis suecica; Nannochloropsis oceanica; bioenergy production; algal biomass valorisation; ultrasound pretreatment; algal biotechnology; anaerobic digestion (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: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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