From macroalgae to liquid fuel: Via waste-water remediation, hydrothermal upgrading, carbon dioxide hydrogenation and hydrotreating

Andrew Cole; Y Dinburg; B S Haynes; Y He; M Herskowitz; C Jazrawi; M Landau; X Liang; M Magnusson; T Maschmeyer; A F Masters; N Meiri; N Neveux; R De Nys; Nicholas A Paul; M Rabaev; R Vidruk-Nehemya; A K L Yuen

doi:10.1039/c6ee00414h

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From macroalgae to liquid fuel: Via waste-water remediation, hydrothermal upgrading, carbon dioxide hydrogenation and hydrotreating

Journal article

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From macroalgae to liquid fuel: Via waste-water remediation, hydrothermal upgrading, carbon dioxide hydrogenation and hydrotreating

Andrew Cole, Y Dinburg, B S Haynes, Y He, M Herskowitz, C Jazrawi, M Landau, X Liang, M Magnusson, T Maschmeyer, …

Energy and Environmental Science, Vol.9(5), pp.1828-1840

2016

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/c6ee00414h

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Abstract

This article showcases a proof-of-concept in the production of high quality renewable biofuel from algae. Here, we introduce a path combining a number of approaches that, when integrated as a whole, create a process that takes algae grown in waste-water through to a liquid fuel containing fractions ready for blending with regular gasoline, jet fuel and diesel. With the overarching goal of reducing the nitrogen content invariably associated with whole algal biomass, we apply a number of approaches including (i) nutrient starvation to reduce the internal nitrogen of the freshwater alga Oedogonium (ii) continuous co-solvent (10 wt% n-heptane) hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) to produce a non-polar biocrude containing <1 wt% N; (iii) blending the biocrude with green feed produced from the hydrogenation of CO2 to obtain <0.5 wt% N; (iv) hydrogenation and hydro-isomerization of the blend in two stages over nanodisperse silica-supported Ni2P (achieving 630 ppm N) and acidic zeolite-supported Pt catalysts respectively to produce a synthetic paraffinic mixture (SPM) containing 277 ppm N and 0.12% O. With the incorporation of renewable H2 (which can be from gasification of polar organics produced in the solvent HTL, or other renewable sources) and captured CO2 the process demonstrates a new and technically cohesive approach to the production of renewable, high-quality biofuels for demanding transport applications. © 2016 The Royal Society of Chemistry.

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Title: From macroalgae to liquid fuel: Via waste-water remediation, hydrothermal upgrading, carbon dioxide hydrogenation and hydrotreating
Authors: Andrew Cole (Author) - James Cook University
Y Dinburg (Author) - Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel
B S Haynes (Author) - University of Sydney
Y He (Author) - University of Sydney
M Herskowitz (Author) - Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel
C Jazrawi (Author) - University of Sydney
M Landau (Author) - Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel
X Liang (Author) - University of Sydney
M Magnusson (Author) - James Cook University
T Maschmeyer (Author) - University of Sydney
A F Masters (Author) - University of Sydney
N Meiri (Author) - Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel
N Neveux (Author) - James Cook University
R De Nys (Author) - James Cook University
Nicholas A Paul (Author) - James Cook University
M Rabaev (Author) - Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel
R Vidruk-Nehemya (Author) - Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel
A K L Yuen (Author) - University of Sydney
Publication details: Energy and Environmental Science, Vol.9(5), pp.1828-1840
Publisher: Royal Society of Chemistry (R S C) Publications
Date published: 2016
DOI: 10.1039/c6ee00414h
ISSN: 1754-5692
Organisation Unit: School of Science and Engineering - Legacy; University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; School of Science, Technology and Engineering
Language: English
Record Identifier: 99450707502621
Output Type: Journal article

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Collaboration types: Domestic collaboration; International collaboration
Web Of Science research areas: Chemistry, Multidisciplinary; Energy & Fuels; Engineering, Chemical; Environmental Sciences

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