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

提高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新陈代谢效率，还取决于生物燃料提炼效率，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)表明，该技术每单位生产能源排放的二氧化碳比能源市场上的其他竞争对手更少。来自发电厂的余热和二氧化碳，与城市污水相结合，可以用来培养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，并隔离大型固定式发电机产生的二氧化碳，包括水泥制造设施(占加拿大排放量的0.6%)和燃煤发电厂(16.2%)。我们拟议研究的目的是提出一种生产和回收藻类生物油的新方法，以解决目前这一过程面临的一些严重挑战的技术低效问题。在这个项目中，至少有15名研究生(6名)和本科生(9名)HQP将接受指导。具体地说，我们将调查烟道气作为热源和二氧化碳以及废水和粗甘油的使用，并评估它们促进适应寒冷气候的藻类生长和产油量的能力。我们将测试非常非正统的提取溶剂，这种溶剂包含废二氧化碳，可以提取石油，而不需要干燥的藻类，也不需要随后蒸馏溶剂，从而降低能源成本。我们将把这些方法整合到一个综合过程中，并通过技术经济和生命周期评估评估使用这些废流在减少环境足迹和能源消耗方面的好处，为这些藻类在加拿大应用中可能产生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。开发针对这些挑战的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.