Implications of pond reliability on the techno-economic and life cycle environmental impacts of algal biofuels

Quiroz, David; McGowen, John; Quinn, Jason C.

doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2024.143178

Implications of pond reliability on the techno-economic and life cycle environmental impacts of algal biofuels

Journal Article · Mon Jul 15 00:00:00 EDT 2024 · Journal of Cleaner Production

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2024.143178· OSTI ID:2447564

^[1]; ^[2]; Quinn, Jason C. ^[3]

Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO (United States); Arizona Center for Algae Technology and Innovation, Arizona State University
Arizona State University, Mesa, AZ (United States)
Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO (United States)

Despite extensive research on algal bioproducts, there is limited understanding of how pond contamination affects their economics and environmental impacts. This work compared the costs and environmental impacts of algal biofuels across different pond failure scenarios. Pond failure was simulated by a reliability model based on pond mean-time-to-failure (MTTF). The reliability model was integrated with a process model to analyze the impacts of pond failure on the operations of algal farms and biorefineries. Process model outputs were used for techno-economic analysis and life cycle assessment to determine the minimum fuel selling price (MFSP), global warming potential (GWP), and freshwater consumption impacts of algal biofuels for five MTTF scenarios of 20, 54, 80,120, and 350 days, assuming an average mean-time-to-reset of 7 days. Results show that higher MTTFs reduce the cost and environmental impact of algal biofuels, but with diminishing returns. The average MFSPs for the 20-day, 54-day, and 350-day MTTF scenarios were $$\$$3.52$, $$\$$2.54$, and $$\$$2.10$ per liter of gasoline equivalent, respectively. The GWP for the same scenarios were 131, 96, and 83 g CO_2eq MJ^–1, respectively. This study highlights the significant impact of larger seed trains, required under low MTTFs, on the costs and greenhouse gas emissions of algal biofuels. Moreover, the work shows that algal biofuels fail to be cost-competitive with conventional fuels, even when productivities are increased from 17 to 35 g m^–2 d^–1. Furthermore, this work is the first to explore the implications of pond failure on the sustainability of algal biofuels and provides valuable insights to algae farmers on how to reduce the costs and financial risks of algal cultivation through process design and pond management strategies.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Arizona State University, Mesa, AZ (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE

Grant/Contract Number:: EE0008902; EE0008906

OSTI ID:: 2447564

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 2404437

Journal Information:: Journal of Cleaner Production, Journal Name: Journal of Cleaner Production Vol. 469; ISSN 0959-6526

Publisher:: ElsevierCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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