Circular Economy Potential of Microalgal Refinery

Saranya, G and Ramachandra, TV (2023) Circular Economy Potential of Microalgal Refinery. [Book Chapter]

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Abstract

The concerns of escalating greenhouse gas (GHG) footprint and fast dwindling stock of fossil fuels have given impetus to the alternate sources of energy and production processes by adopting a circular economy, optimally utilizing all aspects of wastes. The microalgal refinery can use the complete waste stream, secondary recycled products, and co-products while producing biofuel. Unutilized biomass can be converted into electricity through combustion. Biofuel from microalgae is emerging as a viable liquid fuel to satiate the growing demands of the transportation sector. Microalgae are metabolically versatile microorganisms with the scope of viable feedstock in the biofuel, nutraceutical, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industries. Microalgal refineries have the potential to mitigate waste through efficient biomass processing for energy, polymers, food additives, nutraceuticals, bioactive compounds, co-products, etc. The objectives of this chapter are to (i) assess the economic viability of decentralized microalgal refineries along the Indian west coasts and (ii) audit algal refineries considering all possible pathways for microalgal biomass. The analyses considered costs associated with (i) cultivation, (ii) harvesting, (iii) processing and extraction of biofuel, and (iv) processing of residues towards minimizing waste and ensure circular economy with the extraction of value-added products. The techno-economic (TE) analysis results demonstrated an estimated yearly profit ranging between 35, 296 INR/ha and 209, 190 INR/ha, depending on the level of external inputs during algal cultivation. The production cost of biodiesel with crude glycerol and biogas as the value-added products varied between INR/kg and 59.52 INR/kg of biodiesel with an estimated payback period of 0.98-2.97 years. The last section of the chapter presents the scope for a diverse mix of products towards a circular economy.

Item Type:	Book Chapter
Publication:	Biofuels in Circular Economy
Publisher:	Springer Nature
Additional Information:	The copyright of this article belongs to Springer Nature.
Keywords:	Biodiesel; Biofuels; Biorefinary; Circular economy; Extraction; Microalgae
Department/Centre:	Division of Biological Sciences > Centre for Ecological Sciences Division of Interdisciplinary Sciences > Center for Infrastructure, Sustainable Transportation and Urban Planning (CiSTUP) Division of Mechanical Sciences > Centre for Sustainable Technologies (formerly ASTRA)
Date Deposited:	16 May 2023 06:12
Last Modified:	16 May 2023 06:12
URI:	https://eprints.iisc.ac.in/id/eprint/81762

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