title: The environmental sustainability of microalgae as feed for aquaculture: a life cycle perspective.
abstract: The environmental sustainability of microalgae production for aquaculture purposes was analyzed using exergy analysis (EA) and life cycle assessment (LCA). A production process (pilot 2012, 240 m(2)) was assessed and compared with two upscaling scenarios (pilot 2013, 1320 m(2) and first production scale 2015, 2.5 ha). The EA at process level revealed that drying and cultivation had the lowest efficiencies. The LCA showed an improvement in resource efficiency after upscaling: 55.5 MJ(ex,CEENE)/MJ(ex) DW biomass was extracted from nature in 2012, which was reduced to 21.6 and 2.46 MJ(ex,CEENE)/MJ(ex) DW in the hypothetical 2013 and 2015 scenarios, respectively. Upscaling caused the carbon footprint to decline by factor 20 (0.09 kg CO2,eq/MJ(ex) DW in 2015). In the upscaling scenarios, microalgae production for aquaculture purposes appeared to be more sustainable in resource use than a reference fish feed (7.70 MJ(ex,CEENE) and 0.05 kg CO2,eq per MJ(ex) DW).
authors.affiliation: Ghent University, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Envoc Research Group, Coupure Links 653, 9000 Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: S E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Taelman
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: De Meester
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Roef
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Michiels
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dewulf
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017756:Aquaculture; D001947:Breeding; D058572:Carbon Footprint; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D005399:Fishes; D057232:Global Warming; D058086:Microalgae / Q000254:growth & development*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D013816:Thermodynamics
keywords: (Exergetic) life cycle assessment; Aquaculture; BF; CEENE; CF; Carbon footprint; Cumulative Exergy Extraction from the Natural Environment; DM; DW; EA; ELCA; IPCC; ISO; Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change; International Organization for Standardization; LCA; Microalgae; PBR; ProviAPT; Proviron Advanced Photobioreactor Technology; Resource footprint; UNEP; United Nations Environment Programme; breeding factor; carbon footprint; dry matter; dry weight; exergetic life cycle assessment; exergy analysis; life cycle assessment; photobioreactor