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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Article
A Biorefinery Concept for Energy Intensive Industries Focusing on Microalgae and Anaerobic Digestion
Author(s)
Katie E.H. Suominen, Suvi Ojanen and Pekka Ahtila
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DOI:10.17265/2159-5275/2014.03.008
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ABSTRACT
The biorefinery concept will be important to the energy industry as it allows a multi-process, multi-product biomass based industry. Continued increases in the prices of fossil fuels, the uncertainty of their availability and the environmental impacts of their extraction are favouring the implementation of sustainable energy production. This article provides a literature review of algal biomass utilisation, process utilisation, technological and economic factors when applying the biorefinery concept to energy intensive industries (whether retro-fitting or new buildings). This report focuses on opportunities in Finland for innovation, process integration and the development of supply chains whilst using flue gases as a feedstock for the microalgae. Currently, most research is on thermal combustion technologies. Microalgae provide an excellent opportunity to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by mitigation in such industries as pulp and paper. However, a beneficial driver would be feed-in tariffs or green trade certificates but are not necessary for the potential success within the industry. Reducing the overall economic costs with process integration and efficient technologies is beneficial for commercialisation of microalgae biorefineries. Microalgae biorefinery with a high efficiency could help improve the cost effectiveness of microalgae derived biofuels. The remaining algae after harvesting could be used for biogas production, which could be upgraded for vehicle fuel or the production of heat and power. An economically viable microalgae biorefinery with appropriate technologies and integrated for optimum efficiency is therefore possible.
KEYWORDS
Anaerobic digestion, biorefinery, energy efficiency, flue gas, microalgae
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