title: Net energy and greenhouse gas emission evaluation of biodiesel derived from microalgae.
abstract: Biofuels derived from microalgae have the potential to replace petroleum fuel and first-generation biofuel, but the efficacy with which sustainability goals can be achieved is dependent on the lifecycle impacts of the microalgae-to-biofuel process. This study proposes a detailed, industrial-scale engineering model for the species Nannochloropsis using a photobioreactor architecture. This process level model is integrated with a lifecycle energy and greenhouse gas emission analysis compatible with the methods and boundaries of the Argonne National Laboratory GREET model, thereby ensuring comparability to preexisting fuel-cycle assessments. Results are used to evaluate the net energy ratio (NER) and net greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) of microalgae biodiesel in comparison to petroleum diesel and soybean-based biodiesel with a boundary equivalent to "well-to-pump". The resulting NER of the microalgae biodiesel process is 0.93 MJ of energy consumed per MJ of energy produced. In terms of net GHGs, microalgae-based biofuels avoids 75 g of CO(2)-equivalent emissions per MJ of energy produced. The scalability of the consumables and products of the proposed microalgae-to-biofuels processes are assessed in the context of 150 billion liters (40 billion gallons) of annual production.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523-1374, USA.
authors.forename: Liaw
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Batan
authors.forename: Jason
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Quinn
authors.forename: Bryan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Willson
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Bradley
mesh_terms: D056804:Biofuels; D005740:Gases / Q000378:metabolism*; D017752:Greenhouse Effect; D058086:Microalgae / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D056804:Biofuels; D005740:Gases