Bio-oil Recovery & CO2 Recycling by Waste Stream Enhanced Microalgal Growth & Low Energy CO2-Related Extraction

增加藻类生物燃料产量的最佳策略不仅取决于光合作用和整体代谢效率，还取决于生物燃料精炼的效率，包括低能量提取技术。对于藻类作为可再生和可持续能源以及二氧化碳封存的平台，必须通过生命周期分析（LCA）证明该技术比能源市场上的其他竞争对手每单位生产的能源排放更少的二氧化碳。发电厂的余热和二氧化碳与城市废水相结合，可用于种植适应寒冷气候的微藻，用于生产生物燃料，同时降低废水处理成本，并隔离大型固定发电机产生的二氧化碳，包括水泥生产设施（占加拿大排放量的0.6%）和燃煤发电厂（16.2%）。我们提出的研究的目的是提出一种新的方法来藻类衍生的生物油生产和回收，这将解决一些技术效率低下，这是目前对该过程的严重挑战。至少有15名研究生（6）和本科生（9）HQP将在这个项目中得到指导。具体来说，我们将研究使用烟道气作为热源和二氧化碳，以及废水和粗甘油，并评估它们在寒冷气候适应藻类中提高生长和石油生产力的能力。我们将测试非常非传统的提取溶剂，这些溶剂将废弃的二氧化碳结合起来提取石油，而不需要干藻类或随后蒸馏溶剂，从而降低能源成本。我们将把这些方法纳入一个综合过程，并通过技术经济和LCA评估，评估使用这些废物流在减少环境足迹和能源使用方面的好处，为这些藻类在加拿大应用中可能带来的好处提供可量化的见解。这项研究将为加拿大带来一系列好处：包括促进可再生能源部门的发展和减少温室气体排放。为这些挑战开发创新解决方案，对市政当局、水泥生产和燃煤发电设施具有巨大的经济潜力。

The best strategy for increased biofuel production from algae not only depends on the photosynthetic and overall metabolic efficiency, but also on the efficiency of biofuel refinement including low-energy extraction technologies. For algae to serve as a platform for renewable and sustainable energy and CO2 sequestration, it must be shown through life cycle analysis (LCA) that the technology emits less CO2 per unit of produced energy than other competitors on the energy market. Spare heat and CO2 from power plants, combined with municipal wastewater, can be used to grow cold-climate adapted microalgae for the production of biofuels, while lowering wastewater treatment costs and sequestering CO2 produced by large stationary generators, including cement manufacturing facilities (0.6% of Canada's emissions) and coal-fired electrical power plants (16.2%). The aim of our proposed research is to present a novel approach to algal-derived bio-oil production and recovery that will address some of the technical inefficiencies that are currently serious challenges for the process. At least 15 graduate (6) and undergraduate (9) HQP will be mentored during this project. Specifically, we will investigate the use of flue gas as a source of heat and CO2, as well as wastewater and crude glycerol, and evaluate their ability to enhance growth and oil productivity in cold-climate adapted algae. We will test very unorthodox extraction solvents that incorporate waste CO2 to extract oil without requiring dry algae or necessitating subsequent distillation of the solvent, reducing energy costs. We will incorporate these approaches in an integrated process and assess the benefits of using these waste streams in terms of reductions in environmental footprint and energy use through techno-economic and LCA assessments, providing quantifiable insights into the benefits that these algae might have in Canadian applications. This research will provide a range of benefits to Canada: including promoting the development of the renewable energy sector and reducing GHG emissions. The development of innovative solutions to these challenges has significant economic potential for municipalities, cement production and coal-fire electricity generation facilities.