Microalgal biomass as a sustainable alternative to bitumen in road construction

沥青是人类所知的最古老的筑路材料之一，它的多功能性是由于它的石油基成分沥青。沥青被认为是不可持续的，因为它依赖于化石燃料，并用于英国，美国和欧洲95%以上的主要道路和高速公路的表面。除了钢铁和水泥，它是建筑行业碳排放量最大的行业。我们能在不久的将来大规模使用生物基沥青来使我们的道路更加绿色吗？在这个项目中，我们在一个强大的合作财团中共同努力，该财团包括CO2CO、谢菲尔德大学、帝国理工学院伦敦和Nanolyse Technologies，它们与价值链有着密切的联系，并得到了英国沥青行业领导者的支持。该合作创新项目的重点是评估通过从微藻生物质中开发生物基沥青来建立可持续的沥青替代品的可行性。这一方案的驱动力是需要通过减少所有道路运营中的二氧化碳排放量以及采用净零方法建造新建道路和道路维护来减轻气候变化的最坏影响。微藻生长速度快，能够吸收氮和磷等营养物质以及其他元素。这种藻类生物质的生产为通过光合作用固碳提供了一种具有成本效益和环境友好的解决方案。生物基沥青（或生物沥青）是通过在氧气有限的环境中对起始藻类生物质进行部分水热碳化来生产的。生物沥青是一种具有粘弹性的粘性材料，含有高脂肪和营养成分，这使得这种材料具有一些独特的特性，使其在不同的工业应用中具有吸引力，包括建筑，废物管理，废水处理，催化和农业。我们将研究从微藻生物质中开发不同等级的负碳生物沥青的可行性。通过用可再生生物沥青取代石油基沥青粘合剂，我们帮助英国道路建设行业变得更加绿色和可持续。我们还将研究生物沥青整个生命周期的技术、经济和环境方面的问题。在早期成功的藻类生物质、大分子及其热转化合作研究之后，项目团队将瞄准潜在的巨大的英国和全球沥青粘合剂市场，这些市场需要可持续、环保、持续和具有成本效益的资源供应。

Asphalt is one of the oldest road-building materials known to man. The great versatility of asphalt is due to its petroleum-based component, bitumen. Bitumen is considered non-sustainable given its reliance on fossil fuels and is used in surfacing over 95% of major roads and highways in the UK, USA and Europe. It is responsible for the biggest carbon emissions in the construction industry, besides steel and cement. Can we use bio-based bitumen at a large scale to make our roads greener anytime soon?In this project, we work together in a strong collaborative consortium involving CO2CO, the University of Sheffield, Imperial College London, and Nanolyse Technologies with strong links to the value chain, supported by leaders of the UK asphalt industry. This collaborative innovation project is focused on assessing the feasibility of establishing a sustainable alternative to bitumen by developing bio-based bitumen from microalgal biomass. This programme is driven by the need to mitigate the worst effects of climate change by reducing CO2 emissions in all road operations and adopting net-zero approaches to building new roads and road maintenance.Microalgae have rapid growth rates and are able to assimilate nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus, as well as other elements. The production of this algal biomass provides a cost-effective and environmentally friendly solution for carbon sequestration through photosynthesis. Bio-based bitumen (or bio-bitumen) is produced by the partial hydrothermal carbonisation of the starting algal biomass in an oxygen-limited environment. Bio-bitumen is a sticky material with viscoelastic properties that contains high lipid and nutrient content, which gives rise to some unique characteristics that make this material attractive for different industrial applications, including construction, waste management, wastewater treatment, catalysis, and agriculture.We will examine the feasibility of developing different grades of carbon-negative bio-bitumen from microalgal biomass. By replacing petroleum-based bitumen binders with renewable bio-bitumen, we help the UK road construction industry become greener and more sustainable. We will also investigate the technical, economic, and environmental aspects of the whole life-cycle of bio-bitumens.Following the successful early collaborative research working with algal biomass, macromolecules, and their thermal transformations, the project team will target the potentially massive UK and global market for asphalt binders where a sustainable, environment-friendly, constant, and cost-effective resource supply is required.