Algae Cultures to Biofuels

1. Algae Cultures to Biofuels Heather Sommers Molluscan Aquaculture April 25th, 2007

2. Overview • What is Algae • Basics • Types • Importance • Making algae into a fuel source • Biodiesel • History • Hydrogen • History • Biomass • How to Culture

3. What is Algae? • Algae • Simple plant • Most live in water • Photosynthetic • Capture light energy • Convert inorganic to organic matter • Nonvascular • Use lipids and oils to help float in water • Range from small, single-celled species to complex multicellular species, such as the giant kelps

4. Red Algae Benthic Macro Green Algae Chlorophyll a and b Plants Freshwater Brown Algae Benthic Macro Kelp Marine Diatoms Single celled Silica cell wall Blue Green Algae Vertical migration Fix N2 from air Freshwater Dinoflagellates Toxic; suck out O2 Cause red tides Organic matter Types

5. Background • Location • Most habitats • How many • Over 36,000 species • How does it feed? • Photosynthesis • All have chlorophyll • Uses • food, fertilizer, foodstock, pharmaceutical, pollution control, water treatment, dyes, agar, Fuels

6. Biodiesel History • From 1978 to 1996 the U.S. Department of Energy funded a program to develop renewable transportation fuels from algae • The main focus of the program was known as the Aquatic Species Program (or ASP) • Production of biodiesel from high lipid-content algae grown in ponds • Utilized waste CO2 from coal fired power plants (Department of Energy. 1996)

7. Why make it a fuel? • Algae can be used to make biodiesel • Produces large amounts oil • When compared to terrestrial crops grown for the same purpose • Algae contain anywhere between 2% and 40% of lipids/oils by weight • Once harvested, this oil can be converted into fuels for transportation, aviation or heating • High growth rate and easy to grow • Warm Seasons • Amphora sp. • Tetraselmis suecica • Cold Seasons • Monoraphidium minutum • Use of diatoms and green algae

8. Harvesting Biodiesel • Microalgae have much faster growth-rates than terrestrial crops • Algal-oil processes into biodiesel as easily as oil derived from land-based crops • Use microalgae • Less complex structure • Faster growing rate • High oil content • How to harvest • Open-pond systems • Can be difficult • Type of algae has to be hardy • Can be less hardy and grow slower • Use Bioreactor Tubes • Use existing infrastructures • Provides the raw materials for the system, such as CO2 and nutrients • Changes those wastes into resources. (Solix BioFuels. 2006)

9. Factories (Enhanced Biofuels & Technologies Ltd. 2007)

10. How to get oil • Expeller/Press • Algae is dried • Oil content can be "pressed" out with an oil press • Extracts 70-75% of the oils out of algae • Hexane Solvent Method • Uses chemicals (such as hexane and methanol) • Can be harmful and explosive  • Cold press & hexane solvent = extract 95% of oil • Supercritical Fluid Extraction • CO2 is liquefied under pressure and heated to the point that it has the properties of both a liquid and gas • This liquefied fluid then acts as the solvent in extracting the oil • Can Extract almost 100% of the oils • Expensive equipment 

11. Oil Yield Gallons of Oil per Acre per Year • Corn . . . . . . . 15 • Soybeans . . . .48 • Safflower. . . . . 83 • Sunflower . . . 102 • Rapeseed. . . 127 • Oil Palm . . . . 635 • Micro Algae . .1850 [based on actual biomass yields] • Micro Algae . .5000-15000 [theoretical laboratory yield] Cultivating Algae for Liquid Fuel Production (http://oakhavenpc.org/cultivating_algae.htm); 2005

12. Other Uses • Hydrogen • Algae can be grown to produce hydrogen • Discovered first in 1939 by Hans Gaffrom • Late 1990’s it was found that if sulfur deprived, algae will produce hydrogen • Biomass • Algae can be grown to produce biomass • Burned to produce heat and electricity • Can still produce greenhouse gases

13. Biomass Yield Metric Tons per Hectare per Year • Algae.....51.1 [USA average, 1978] • Sugarcane.....79.2 [Brazilian average, 2005] • Sorghum.....70 [India average, 2005] • Cassava.....65 [Nigeria average, 1985] • Oil palm.....50 [Global average, 2005] Cultivating Algae for Liquid Fuel Production (http://oakhavenpc.org/cultivating_algae.htm); NREL, 2005

14. Importance • Algae is easy to grow • Can produce a high yield of oil • Oil can be processed into biodiesel • Help to solve dependence on fossil fuels • Can be better for the Earth

15. References • Cultivating Algae for Liquid Fuel Production (http://oakhavenpc.org/cultivating_algae.htm); NREL, 2005 • Department of Energy, Office of Fuel Development. “Aquatic Species Program”. 1996. • Enhanced Biofuels & Technologies Ltd. 2007. Accessed: http://www.ebtplc.com/c4c.htm • Guiry, M.D. and Blunden, G. (Eds) 1991. Seaweed Resources in Europe: Uses and Potential. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 0-471-92947-6 • Mumford, T.F. and Miura, A. 1988. 4. Porphyra as food: cultivation and economics. p.87 — 117. In Lembi, C.A. and Waaland, J.R. (Ed.) Algae and Human Affairs. 1988. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0 521 32115 8 • John Sheehan, Terri Dunahay, John Benemann and Paul Roessler, "A Look Back at the U.S. Department of Energy's Aquatic Species Program-Bio-diesel from Algae, Closeout Report", July 1998, NREL/TP-580-24 190 http://www.nrel.gov/docs/legosti/fy98/24190.pdf • Michael Briggs, Widescale Biodiesel Production from Algae, University of New Hampshire, Physics Department, revised August 2004. http://www.unh.edu/p2/biodiesel/article_alge.html • Sheehan, J., T. Dunahay, J. Benemann, and P. Roessler. 1998. A look back at the U.S. Department of Energy’s aquatic species program - Biodiesel from algae. US Dept. Energy, Office of Fuels Development, Nat. Renewable Energy Lab., Golden, CO. • Solix BioFuels, 2006. accessed: http://www.solixbiofuels.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=12&Itemid=26 • Websites: • http://www.ecology.com/dr-jacks-natural-world/most-important-organism/index.html • http://journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_yield.html