Chapter 4
Process Intensification of Biofuel
Production from Microalgae
Saurabh Joshi and Parag Gogate
Abstract A tremendous increase in population has also led to a significant increase
in the demand for energy leading to search for alternatives which can match up with
the current requirement quantitatively and also qualitatively as a green energy
carrier. Fuels derived from algal biomass can be one of the potential alternatives, as
microalgae possess higher nutrients, required lipids and CO 2 uptake capacity and
can be grown quickly on nonarable land throughout the year without their interference in food supply chain. The quantum of biodiesel produced from microalgae
can be about 10–20 times higher than that obtained from terrestrial plants.
Microalgae also help in reducing global warming by capturing CO 2 . The cost of
production of biofuels from microalgae is the current setback which can be overcome by taking into consideration a biorefinery approach which can give multiple
products with same expenditure as well as using some process intensification
approaches. Process intensification plays a major role in reducing the cost and also
can lead to use of less quantum of materials and lower operating temperatures. The
present chapter will focus on analyzing the process intensification aspects applied to
biofuels production from microalgae. The initial sections will cover the details of
the types of microalgae and their harvesting techniques, followed by the discussion
on the different approaches used to extract bio-oil from microalgae, and then the
production of different biofuels. Intensification can be applied to both the extraction
and the actual reaction for production of biofuels. The chapter will also focus on the
mechanism of intensification using different approaches such as ultrasound,
microwave, ultraviolet, and oscillatory baffled reactors. An overview of the literature will be presented so as to give guidelines about the possible reactor designs and
operating parameters also highlighting the process intensification benefits that can
be obtained. Overall, the work is expected to bring out critical analysis of the
different approaches and the expected benefits due to the use of process intensification also enabling understanding of the reactor designs and operating parameters.
S. Joshi Á P. Gogate (&)
Chemical Engineering Department, Institute of Chemical Technology,
Matunga, Mumbai 40019, India
e-mail: pr.gogate@ictmumbai.edu.in
© Springer International Publishing AG 2018
E. Jacob-Lopes et al. (eds.), Energy from Microalgae, Green Energy
and Technology, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69093-3_4
59
Process Intensification of Biofuel
Production from Microalgae
Saurabh Joshi and Parag Gogate
Abstract A tremendous increase in population has also led to a significant increase
in the demand for energy leading to search for alternatives which can match up with
the current requirement quantitatively and also qualitatively as a green energy
carrier. Fuels derived from algal biomass can be one of the potential alternatives, as
microalgae possess higher nutrients, required lipids and CO 2 uptake capacity and
can be grown quickly on nonarable land throughout the year without their interference in food supply chain. The quantum of biodiesel produced from microalgae
can be about 10–20 times higher than that obtained from terrestrial plants.
Microalgae also help in reducing global warming by capturing CO 2 . The cost of
production of biofuels from microalgae is the current setback which can be overcome by taking into consideration a biorefinery approach which can give multiple
products with same expenditure as well as using some process intensification
approaches. Process intensification plays a major role in reducing the cost and also
can lead to use of less quantum of materials and lower operating temperatures. The
present chapter will focus on analyzing the process intensification aspects applied to
biofuels production from microalgae. The initial sections will cover the details of
the types of microalgae and their harvesting techniques, followed by the discussion
on the different approaches used to extract bio-oil from microalgae, and then the
production of different biofuels. Intensification can be applied to both the extraction
and the actual reaction for production of biofuels. The chapter will also focus on the
mechanism of intensification using different approaches such as ultrasound,
microwave, ultraviolet, and oscillatory baffled reactors. An overview of the literature will be presented so as to give guidelines about the possible reactor designs and
operating parameters also highlighting the process intensification benefits that can
be obtained. Overall, the work is expected to bring out critical analysis of the
different approaches and the expected benefits due to the use of process intensification also enabling understanding of the reactor designs and operating parameters.
S. Joshi Á P. Gogate (&)
Chemical Engineering Department, Institute of Chemical Technology,
Matunga, Mumbai 40019, India
e-mail: pr.gogate@ictmumbai.edu.in
© Springer International Publishing AG 2018
E. Jacob-Lopes et al. (eds.), Energy from Microalgae, Green Energy
and Technology, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69093-3_4
59