title: Enhanced thermal destruction of toxic microalgal biomass by using CO2.
abstract: This work confirmed that dominant microalgal strain in the eutrophic site (the Han River in Korea) was Microcystis aeruginosa (M. aeruginosa) secreting toxins. Collected and dried microalgal biomass had an offensive odor due to microalgal lipid, of which the content reached up to 2±0.2wt.% of microalgal biomass (dry basis). This study has validated that the offensive odor is attributed to the C3-6 range of volatile fatty acids (VFAs), which was experimentally identified by the non-catalytic transformation of triglycerides (TGs) and free fatty acids (FFAs) in microalgal biomass into fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs). In particular, this study mechanistically investigated the influence of CO2 in the thermal destruction (i.e., pyrolysis) of hazardous microalgal biomass in order to achieve dual purposes (i.e., thermal disposal of hazardous microalgal biomass and energy recovery). The influence of CO2 in pyrolysis of microalgal biomass was identified as 1) the enhanced thermal cracking behaviors of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from the thermal degradation of microalgal biomass and 2) the direct gas phase reaction between CO2 and VOCs. These identified influences of CO2 in pyrolysis of microalgal biomass significantly enhanced the generation of CO: the enhanced generation of CO in the presence of CO2 was 590% at 660°C, 1260% at 690°C, and 3200% at 720°C. In addition, two identified influences of CO2 (i.e., enhanced thermal cracking and direct gas phase reaction) occurred simultaneously and independently. The identified gas phase reaction in the presence of CO2 was only initiated at temperatures higher than 500°C, which was different from the Boudouard reaction. Lastly, the experimental work justified that exploiting CO2 as a reaction medium and/or chemical feedstock will provide new technical approaches for controlling syngas ratio and in-situ air pollutant control without using catalysts.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environment and Energy, Sejong University, Seoul 05006, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jong-Min
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.affiliation: Department of Environment and Energy, Sejong University, Seoul 05006, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jechan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Environment and Energy, Sejong University, Seoul 05006, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jieun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul 04763, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Ki-Hyun
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Science and Technology, Sejong University, Seoul 05006, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Hyung-Wook
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Pukyong National University, Busan 48513, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: youngjaejeon@pknu.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Young Jae
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Jeon
authors.affiliation: Department of Environment and Energy, Sejong University, Seoul 05006, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: ekwon74@sejong.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Eilhann E
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: Kwon
mesh_terms: D018533:Biomass; D002245:Carbon Dioxide / Q000737:chemistry*; D006256:Hazardous Waste / Q000032:analysis; D017745:Incineration; D058086:Microalgae; D046931:Microcystis
chemical_list: D006256:Hazardous Waste; D002245:Carbon Dioxide
keywords: CO(2); Energy recovery; Microalgae; Microcystis aeruginosa (M. aeruginosa); Thermo-chemical treatment; Waste disposal