EUWorkshop LifeCycleAnalysisofAlgalBasedBiofuels 9February2012

"Energybalanceofmicroalgaeculturesin photobioreactorsandponds.
TheenergybalanceandtheNER,calculatedonrealnumbers,areatthebase ofasoundLCAofAlgalbiofuels

Mario R. Tredici Dipartimento di Biotecnologie Agrarie Universit degli Studi di Firenze, Italy

Algae are commercially cultivated in raceways

and in large un-mixed ponds

..in industrial photobioreactors

RoquetteKlotze(Germany)

Performancesofindustrialculturesystems arenotusedinLCAofalgaebiofuels

1.

Acriticalreviewofbiochemicalconversion,sustainabilityandlifecycleanalysis ofalgalbiofuelsbySingh&Olsen(2011) ARealisticTechnologyandEngineeringAssessment!ofAlgaeBiofuelProduction byT.J.Lundquistetal.(2010) Comparativeenergylifecycleanalysesofmicroalgalbiomassproductioninopen pondsandphotobioreactorsbyJorqueraetal.(2010) Lifecycleassessmentandenvironmentalassessment.Deliverable3.3and3.5(EC ProjectAQUAFUELS)byImperialCollege(London).

2.

3.

4.

Singh&Olsen,2011

1. Oilproductionin20072008fromoilseedcropswas592Kgha1 2. Algaecanproduce>150toilha1year1 (i.e.250times) assumingan oilconcentrationof42%andthe365tha1year1 obtainedinAlgaeLink reactors 3. Openponds,with300tbiomassha1year1 and2030%oil,giveanoil outputof60to90tha1year1,whichisonlyfrom100to150times greaterthanoilseedcrops.
Adiscussionfollowsonwaterfootprintandnutrientsusageandonthenecessityof accurateLCA

LETsconsider AlgaeLinkBioreactor

150toilha1year1 5,500GJ ha1year1 tobeincreasedto 9,000GJha1year1 whenalsothe residualbiomassisconsidered.

Withsolarradiationat64,000GJha1year1 (e.g.Tunisia)

PE9000/64000=14.2%

AnyLCAanalysisbasedonthisdataistotally flawedandleadstowrongconclusions!

ALGAEPHOTOSYNTHESIS

Therearelimitations

www.texaseducator.com/.../myourses/chloro3.gif

1mkturin.wordpress.com faculty.ksu.edu.sa/mmi/Pictures%20Library

ALGAEPHOTOSYNTHESIS

Thenumbers(efficiencies)toremember:
Totalsolarradiation(TSR)atsealevel PAR(suitableradiation) Maximumphotosyntheticefficiency(PE)onPAR Maximum(theoretical)PEonTSR MaximumPEunderoptimalconditionsoutdoors MaximumPEunderrealconditions Actualbestaverageinindustrialplants

100% 45% 27% 12% 5% 2.5% 1.5%

With17.4MJm2=13gm2d1 50tha1year1

WeshouldbeverycautiousinusingPE >2%andproductivities>50tha1yr1 forLCAbecausethesefigureshave neverbeenactuallyreachedinlarge scalealgaeplants.

Mass culture of algae for energy farming in coastal deserts - Calabria, Italy, 1979-1983
Balloni W., Florenzano G., Materassi R., Tredici M. R., Soeder C.J. and Wagener K. (1982)

Board mixed ponds

Productivityduringacontinuous cultivationperiodof18months

52tha1 year1
With the marine microalga Tetraselmis

MAMBOproject:algaeoilproduction indifferentcultivationsystems Nanno Lug. 2010

Nanno Ott. 2010

Nanno Dic. 2009

IExperiment Rosignano Livorno

NsufficientvsNstarvation
1.4 1.2 Biomass concentration (g/L ) 1

Biomass productivity (g/L d)

Experimentalperiod:July2006 Location:Rosignano(LI) Starvation: Nitrogen Culturesystem:GWP110L Dilutionrate: 40%(daily) Light: Natural Lightpath:4.4cm Orientation: SWNE Averageirradiance:15.7 MJm2d1 Averageirradianceonthereactor: Averagetemperature(Max Min): 30.5C 25.8C
0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2 0 0 +N

2 -N

4 Day 70
60 50 Lipid % 40 30 20 10 0 0 +N

1 -N

3 Day

0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0 1 +N -N 2 3 4 Day 5 6 7

0.3 Lipid productivity (g/L d) 0.25 0.2 0.15 0.1 0.05 0 1 +N -N 2 3 4 Day 5 6 7

Oil production by Nannochloropsis under nitrogen starvation 5-9 g oil m-2 d-1

raceway pond GWP II in a E-W full scale configuration

13toilha1year1in Tuscany 18toilha1year1in Tunisia

4-5 g oil m-2 d-1

A Realistic TechnologyandEngineering Assessmentof AlgaeBiofuelProduction

by T.J. Lundquist,I.C. Woertz,N.W.T.Quinn, J.R. Benemann(2010)

Oneofthebestrecent reviewsonalgaebiofuel thatdealswithenergy consumptionformixingin largeracewayponds. Powerformixingisa majorrequirementand stronglyinfluencesLCAof algaeproductionin raceways

Lundquistetal.(2010) LCAbasedona4hapond (60x690m)withplasticcoveredberms,butclayfloor

Theheadlossesaresocalledbecauseinfactcultureheight(or depht)isreducedasthe cultureproceedsalongthepondaftertheliftprovidedbythepaddlewheel.

Waterdepth decreasesafter thepaddlewheel. Thisdepth reduction (termedheadloss ordepthchange) determinesthe rateofenergy thatmustbe providedto maintain circulationatthe chosenvelocity

Theheadlosses(energydissipation)dependon: 1 flowaroundthetwo180 curves(bendlosses) 2 frictiononthewetsurfaces(sidewallsandbottom)

Theheadlossesmaybecalculatedasfollows: Headlossaswaterflowsinbends: Frictionlosses:

hb =Kv2/2g
Where hb =headlossinthebend(m) v=meanvelocity(m/s) g=accelerationofgravity,9.81m/s2 K=kineticlosscoefficientforbends(2)

hc =V2 n2 (L/R4/3)
Where hc=channelfrictionheadloss(m) n=roughnessfactor(0.018forclaychannels) R=channelhydraulicradius(m) L=channellenght(m)

Powerformixinginraceway ponds: P= Qgh

P=powerrequirement(Kw) =densityofculture(kgm3) Q=volumetricflowrateofculture(m3 s1) g=gravityacceleration h=totalheadlossorchangeindepth(m)

Powerformixing(andcompensateheadlosses)increasesbythecubeofflowvelocity. Aflowvelocityof0.25ms1isassumedtobeareasonablecompromise.

Lundquistetal. (2010)have selectedasingle loopdesign60x 690m=4ha pondwith plasticcovered berms,clay floor Theenergyconsumptionformixinga4hapondat25cms1 is10 Kw(witha40%paddlewheelefficiency). Itmeansonly0.25Wm2 (i.e.22KJm2day1or5.5%oftheenergy outputasbiomass)

Powerformixinginracewayponds Influenceofsize
Pond size (m2) Head losses (m) hc 100 m2 1000 m2 10,000 m2 0,012 0,031 0,093 hb 0,013 0,013 0,013 htot 0,025 0,044 0,106 Power (W m-2) P 0,18 0,11 0,082 Pr 0.45 0.27 0.20

hb=headlossesinbends hc=frictionheadlosses htot=totalheadlosses

P=hydraulicpower Pr=totalpower(0.4efficiency)

d=20cm V=0.25cms1

WORKDonebyCREAR (UniversityofFlorence)
ComputationalFluid Dynamic wasusedto analyzetheflowfieldinthe racewaypondandevaluate mixingefficiency

Mixingprevailsinand aroundthecurves Inthestraightzonesflux ismainlylaminarwith lowverticalmixing

Thesmallerthepondthe betterthemixing. Almostnomixinginlarge (ha)scaleponds

A Realistic TechnologyandEngineering Assessmentof AlgaeBiofuelProduction

by T.J. Lundquist,I.C. Woertz,N.W.T.Quinn, J.R. Benemann(2010)

Theoutputsusedintheanalysis: 1.22gm2day1(80mtha1yr1)averagebiomass productivity 2.25%recoverabletriacylglycerideinalgaebiomass 3.20,000litersoilha1yr1

Mixingcostcalculatedfor a4hapond Assumedproductivitiesarethoseofmuch smaller,lined,wellcontrolledponds

and large ponds suffer from many other limitations: 1. Limited by low turbulence - Laminar flow. Sedimentation 2. Limited by photoinhibition and low or too high temperature 3. Limited by oxygen build-up 4. Difficult to maintain culture stability for more than one month 5. Need to recycle the growth medium and consequent rise of salinity 6. High energy cost to deliver CO2 and nutrients in large-scale plants 7. Contaminated by pathogens, grazers, invading algae 11.CO2 losses to air by outgassing 12.High energy and capital cost when liners are used 13.Low cell concentration and high costs for harvesting and medium handling 14.High amounts of water lost by evaporation 15.Sediment resuspension and erosion in clay ponds

Algae cultivation is all about water management:

Huge amounts of water need to be handled to produce one kilogram of dry algae biomass

In many countries large-scale algae cultures risk to further enhance an already stressed water situation.

Because of evaporation algae cultures in open raceways need 400 Kg of water per Kg of biomass.

GWP An energy analysis

Bioscan S.A., Antofagasta, Chile

TheGREENWALLPANEL

DevelopedatFlorenceUniversityand commercializedbyFotosintetica&MicrobiologicaSrl

Necton S.A. Olho -Portugal

Archimede Ricerche S.r.l. Imperia, Italy

ENI S.p.A Gela (CL) Italy

Enel S.pA. Brindisi, Italy

Bioscan S.A., Antofagasta, Chile

NER:thenet energyratio

Energyproduced(lipidorbiomass) Energyrequirements*

*Primarynonrenewableenergyformaterials,nutrientsandalloperationsassociatedwiththesystemlifecycle.

Energyanalysisofalgaebiomass productionina1haGWPplant

Energyoutput
ItisthetotalenergystoredintheproducedbiomassofTetraselmissuecica assuminganaveragecaloriccontentof20MJ/Kgdrybiomass Twodifferentlocations: Florence13.4MJwithanaverageproductivityof15gm2d1for210days Tunisia:17.4MJwithanaverageproductivityof20gm2d1for300days

OUTPUT Florence:31.5tha1year1=630GJha1year1 Tunisia:60tonha1year1 =1,200GJha1year1

Energyinputsforalgaebiomass productionina1haGWPplant
Definitionofthesystemboundariesandthefunctionalunit.
1.1 haproductionplant 2.productionofwetbiomass(datathatareavailabletous highdegreeofcertainty) 3.evaluationoftheNERasmonetaryindependentindex. 4.Outputenergy:energyintheproducedbiomass 5.Inputenergy:embodiedenergyofrawmaterials,machinary(cradletogateapproach),buldings(150 m2),fertilizersandchemicals(N,PandK)consideringtheiraverageenergycost 6.Energyoflabor(metabolicactivity):threeworkersfor300days 7.Energyforoperations(waterpumping,airCO2 distribution,cooling,harvesting). 8.Plantdecommissioning:3%ofmaterials 9.Lifespan(datafromproducers)e.g.25yearsforcentrifuges,30forbuildings

8GWP modules madeby50 mlong reactors spaced1m

(Florence-Italy) (GJ ha yr ) OUTPUT TOTAL INPUTS E.E materials GWPII reactor piping+fittings machinery buildings 0ther Fertilizers N P-P2O5 K2O Operation Energy mixing cooling medium pumping harvesting centrifugation labor plant decommissioning 661 1151 504 409 45 13 12 24,6 204 175 21,72 6,6 443 160 134 12 4 113 5 12,8
-1 -1

(Tunis-Tunisia) % 100 100 44 0,36 0,04 0,01 0,01 0,02 18 0,15 0,02 0,01 38 0,14 0,12 0,01 0,00 0,10 0,00 0,01 (GJ ha yr ) 1260 1496 504 409 45 13 12 24,6 388 334 41 12,58 604 228 174 12 6 162 7 14,8
-1 -1

% 100 100 34 0,27 0,03 0,01 0,01 0,02 26 0,22 0,03 0,01 40 0,15 0,12 0,01 0,00 0,11 0,00 0,01

Net Energy Ratio (NER)

0.57

0.84

Can we reduce the embodied energy?

(without losing reliability & productivity)

2003

GWP-I :
250 KJ m-2 d-1

GWP-II :
120 KJ m-2 d-1

2008

GWP-? :
< 50 KJ m-2 d-1

Can we reduce energy for operations?

1. Photosyntheticefficiencyoutdoorsis:1.52% 2. Mostofthesolarenergyisnotusedforproducingbiomass 3. WhydonotuseitforGWPoperations?

Example: 1.In a summer day our reactor absorbs 20.000 kJ m2. 2.A photovoltaic element is placed in front of the reactor so as to intercept 50% of the impinging photons (10.000 KJ) 3.The photovoltaic element converts the absorbed solar energy to electric energy with an efficiency of 15% and generates 1,500 KJ of electric energy (enough to supply all the energy required to mix, thermoregulate, harvest the culture and even dry the produced biomass).

The SOLO: a stand-alone photovoltaics photobioreactor

a photovoltaic panel (in the form of a net or grid) captures 50% of global (full spectrum) irradiance.. or uses only part of the solar spectrum for photovoltaics, leaving red (and blue) wavelenghts for photosynthesis. Experiments carried out in the summer 2011 in Florence showed that 50% of the impinging photons can be captured without decreasing productivity.

NOCONCLUSIONSS

Whatistherealproductivityinlargescaleclayponds? Canweproducealgaefuelinasustainableway? CanwedeviseaPBRwithaNER>5? Willeveralgaefuelscompetewithfossilfuels?

Thank you very much for your attention!