A perspective on renewable bioenergy from photosynthetic algae as feedstock for biofuels and bioproducts
Abstract
There has been substantial technical progress in developing algae-based bioenergy in recent years and a large part of industry and academic research and deployment projects have pivoted away from a pure biofuels strategy. This letter summarizes the findings of a recently completed, comprehensive report, that represents a collaborative effort of at least 20 co-authors, where we analyzed the prospects for using microalgae and macroalgae as feedstocks for biofuels and bioenergy production. The scope of this report includes a discussion of international activities advancing bioenergy and non-energy bioproducts from algae, progress on the use of macroalgae (both cast and cultivated seaweeds) for biogas applications, distinct biochemical and thermochemical conversion pathways, multi-product biorefining opportunities, as well as a thorough review of process economics and sustainability considerations. It is envisioned that a higher value algal biomass-based bioproducts industry will provide the additional revenue needed to reduce the net cost of producing algae-based biofuels. As such, a biorefinery approach that generates multiple high-value products from algae will be essential to fully valorize algal biomass and enable economically viable coproduction of bioenergy. Furthermore, to accelerate the implementation of algae-based production, minimizing energy, water, nutrients and land use footprints of integrated algae-based operations needs to bemore »
- Authors:
-
- National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1358333
- Report Number(s):
- NREL/JA-5100-68539
Journal ID: ISSN 2211-9264
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC36-08GO28308
- Resource Type:
- Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- Algal Research
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Volume: 24; Journal Issue: PA; Journal ID: ISSN 2211-9264
- Publisher:
- Elsevier
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 09 BIOMASS FUELS; algae; biomass; conversion; biofuels; bioproducts; biorefinery; sustainability
Citation Formats
Laurens, Lieve M. L., Chen-Glasser, Melodie, and McMillan, James D. A perspective on renewable bioenergy from photosynthetic algae as feedstock for biofuels and bioproducts. United States: N. p., 2017.
Web. doi:10.1016/j.algal.2017.04.002.
Laurens, Lieve M. L., Chen-Glasser, Melodie, & McMillan, James D. A perspective on renewable bioenergy from photosynthetic algae as feedstock for biofuels and bioproducts. United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.algal.2017.04.002
Laurens, Lieve M. L., Chen-Glasser, Melodie, and McMillan, James D. Sat .
"A perspective on renewable bioenergy from photosynthetic algae as feedstock for biofuels and bioproducts". United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.algal.2017.04.002. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1358333.
@article{osti_1358333,
title = {A perspective on renewable bioenergy from photosynthetic algae as feedstock for biofuels and bioproducts},
author = {Laurens, Lieve M. L. and Chen-Glasser, Melodie and McMillan, James D.},
abstractNote = {There has been substantial technical progress in developing algae-based bioenergy in recent years and a large part of industry and academic research and deployment projects have pivoted away from a pure biofuels strategy. This letter summarizes the findings of a recently completed, comprehensive report, that represents a collaborative effort of at least 20 co-authors, where we analyzed the prospects for using microalgae and macroalgae as feedstocks for biofuels and bioenergy production. The scope of this report includes a discussion of international activities advancing bioenergy and non-energy bioproducts from algae, progress on the use of macroalgae (both cast and cultivated seaweeds) for biogas applications, distinct biochemical and thermochemical conversion pathways, multi-product biorefining opportunities, as well as a thorough review of process economics and sustainability considerations. It is envisioned that a higher value algal biomass-based bioproducts industry will provide the additional revenue needed to reduce the net cost of producing algae-based biofuels. As such, a biorefinery approach that generates multiple high-value products from algae will be essential to fully valorize algal biomass and enable economically viable coproduction of bioenergy. Furthermore, to accelerate the implementation of algae-based production, minimizing energy, water, nutrients and land use footprints of integrated algae-based operations needs to be a primary objective of larger scale demonstrations and future research and development.},
doi = {10.1016/j.algal.2017.04.002},
journal = {Algal Research},
number = PA,
volume = 24,
place = {United States},
year = {Sat Apr 15 00:00:00 EDT 2017},
month = {Sat Apr 15 00:00:00 EDT 2017}
}
Free Publicly Available Full Text
Publisher's Version of Record
Other availability
Search WorldCat to find libraries that may hold this journal
Cited by: 64 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science
Web of Science
Save to My Library
You must Sign In or Create an Account in order to save documents to your library.
Works referenced in this record:
Microalgae for the production of bulk chemicals and biofuels
journal, May 2010
- Wijffels, Rene H.; Barbosa, Maria J.; Eppink, Michel H. M.
- Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining, Vol. 4, Issue 3
Microalgae as substrates for fermentative biogas production in a combined biorefinery concept
journal, October 2010
- Mussgnug, J. H.; Klassen, V.; Schlüter, A.
- Journal of Biotechnology, Vol. 150, Issue 1
Microalgae biofuels: A critical review of issues, problems and the way forward
journal, May 2012
- Lam, Man Kee; Lee, Keat Teong
- Biotechnology Advances, Vol. 30, Issue 3
Constraints to commercialization of algal fuels
journal, September 2013
- Chisti, Yusuf
- Journal of Biotechnology, Vol. 167, Issue 3
Effect of harvesting methods on the reusability of water for cultivation of Chlorella vulgaris, its lipid productivity and biodiesel quality
journal, March 2015
- Farooq, Wasif; Moon, Myounghoon; Ryu, Byung-gon
- Algal Research, Vol. 8
Life-cycle analysis on biodiesel production from microalgae: Water footprint and nutrients balance
journal, January 2011
- Yang, Jia; Xu, Ming; Zhang, Xuezhi
- Bioresource Technology, Vol. 102, Issue 1
Resource demand implications for US algae biofuels production scale-up
journal, October 2011
- Pate, Ron; Klise, Geoff; Wu, Ben
- Applied Energy, Vol. 88, Issue 10
Algae Grown on Dairy and Municipal Wastewater for Simultaneous Nutrient Removal and Lipid Production for Biofuel Feedstock
journal, November 2009
- Woertz, I.; Feffer, A.; Lundquist, T.
- Journal of Environmental Engineering, Vol. 135, Issue 11
Wastewater treatment high rate algal ponds (WWT HRAP) for low-cost biofuel production
journal, May 2015
- Mehrabadi, Abbas; Craggs, Rupert; Farid, Mohammed M.
- Bioresource Technology, Vol. 184
Acid-catalyzed algal biomass pretreatment for integrated lipid and carbohydrate-based biofuels production
journal, January 2015
- Laurens, L. M. L.; Nagle, N.; Davis, R.
- Green Chemistry, Vol. 17, Issue 2
Microalgae as biodiesel & biomass feedstocks: Review & analysis of the biochemistry, energetics & economics
journal, January 2010
- Williams, Peter J. le B.; Laurens, Lieve M. L.
- Energy & Environmental Science, Vol. 3, Issue 5
Efficient anaerobic digestion of whole microalgae and lipid-extracted microalgae residues for methane energy production
journal, June 2014
- Zhao, Baisuo; Ma, Jingwei; Zhao, Quanbao
- Bioresource Technology, Vol. 161
Process development for hydrothermal liquefaction of algae feedstocks in a continuous-flow reactor
journal, October 2013
- Elliott, Douglas C.; Hart, Todd R.; Schmidt, Andrew J.
- Algal Research, Vol. 2, Issue 4, p. 445-454
Works referencing / citing this record:
FAMEs production from Scenedesmus obliquus in autotrophic, heterotrophic and mixotrophic cultures under different nitrogen conditions
journal, January 2018
- Shen, Xiao-Fei; Hu, Hao; Ma, Lin-Lin
- Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology, Vol. 4, Issue 3
Potential of Microalgal Bioproducts: General Perspectives and Main Challenges
journal, March 2018
- de Souza, Maiara P.; Hoeltz, Michele; Gressler, Pablo D.
- Waste and Biomass Valorization, Vol. 10, Issue 8
Biofuels, Water Footprints, and Green Perspectives
book, December 2019
- Reijnders, Lucas
- Encyclopedia of Water: Science, Technology, and Society
Biogas production from different lignocellulosic biomass sources: advances and perspectives
journal, April 2018
- Martínez-Gutiérrez, Emir
- 3 Biotech, Vol. 8, Issue 5
Bioactive compounds against neglected diseases isolated from macroalgae: a review
journal, September 2018
- Falkenberg, Miriam; Nakano, Eliana; Zambotti-Villela, Leonardo
- Journal of Applied Phycology, Vol. 31, Issue 2
Sustainable bioenergy for climate mitigation: developing drought-tolerant trees and grasses
journal, September 2019
- Taylor, G.; Donnison, I. S.; Murphy-Bokern, D.
- Annals of Botany, Vol. 124, Issue 4
Latest development in microalgae-biofuel production with nano-additives
journal, May 2019
- Hossain, Nazia; Mahlia, T. M. I.; Saidur, R.
- Biotechnology for Biofuels, Vol. 12, Issue 1
Latest development in microalgae-biofuel production with nano-additives
journal, May 2019
- Hossain, Nazia; Mahlia, T. M. I.; Saidur, R.
- Biotechnology for Biofuels, Vol. 12, Issue 1
Emerging Technologies in Algal Biotechnology: Toward the Establishment of a Sustainable, Algae-Based Bioeconomy
journal, March 2020
- Fabris, Michele; Abbriano, Raffaela M.; Pernice, Mathieu
- Frontiers in Plant Science, Vol. 11