Biofuel production through micro- and macroalgae pyrolysis – A review of pyrolysis methods and process parameters

• Published in: Journal of analytical and applied pyrolysis Vol. 142; p. 104599
• Main Authors: Pourkarimi, Sara, Hallajisani, Ahmad, Alizadehdakhel, Asghar, Nouralishahi, Amideddin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01.09.2019
• Subjects: Algae; anaerobic digestion; biodiesel; bioethanol; Biofuel; biogas; biomass; carbohydrates; carbon dioxide; Catalyst; catalysts; Economic feasibility; energy; fermentation; fossil fuels; fuel production; greenhouse gas emissions; heat; hydrogen; lipids; liquids; macroalgae; Operating parameter; proteins; Pyrolysis; temperature; transesterification; Pyrolysis; Biofuel; Economic feasibility; Operating parameter; Algae; Catalyst
• ISSN: 0165-2370; 1873-250X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jaap.2019.04.015

•With a low CO2 emission, bio-oil from algae is a sustainable alternative for fossil fuels.•Pyrolysis is a potential route for converting algal biomass to liquid fuels.•Temperature, heating rate, and catalyst type are the vital factors in algae pyrolysis.•Compared to the thermal pyrolysis, catalytic route yields higher quality bio-oil. Bio-fuels derived from biomass with zero net CO2 emission seem to be a promising alternative for fossil fuels. Algal biomasses are promising sources of lipids, proteins and carbohydrates which can convert them into energy in the different forms of fuel depend on the type of conversion process. Transesterification, anaerobic digestion, fermentation, thermochemical conversion, and biophotolysis can convert algal biomass into biodiesel, bio-methane, bioethanol, bio-oil and hydrogen biofuels respectively. Among developed pathways for producing biofuel from algal biomass, thermochemical conversion especially pyrolysis is one of the most studied and discussed techniques in recent years. The yield and quality of pyrolysis products strongly depend on the process parameters such as temperature, heating rate, catalyst, etc. The aim of this article is to present a review of bio-fuel production from algal biomasses (micro- and macroalgae) through pyrolysis processes. After an overview of the algae characteristics and their potential as a source of biofuel production, we focus on the pyrolysis process for algal biomass conversion to biofuel in terms of various types of pyrolysis, affecting parameters on algae pyrolysis products, and the economical challenges and opportunities for commercial algal biofuel production through pyrolysis. It was found that pyrolysis processes are potential routes to convert algal biomass to solid, liquid and gaseous biofuels and they can be a good substitute of the unsustainable fossil fuels to meet the growing global energy demand. Additionally, despite the extensive research on pyrolysis of algal biomass which can provide promising information for use in commercial applications, the producing algal biofuel from pyrolysis is not commercially feasible yet and needs to more in-depth studies.