Techno-Economic Feasibility Study for the Production of Microalgae Based Plant Biostimulant

• Main Author: Arnau, Laurent
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: KTH, Skolan för kemivetenskap (CHE) 2016
• Subjects: Biomass; sustainability; photobioreactor; flocculation; centrifugation; sterilization; Chemical Process Engineering; Kemiska processer; Bioprocess Technology; Bioprocessteknik; Bio Materials; Biomaterial
• Online Access: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-206384

Microalgae are considered as a potential feedstock for many promising applications. Some active substances in microalgae have plant biostimulation effects potentially useful in agriculture. However, to produce such a microalgal biomass, specific microalgae cultivation and post-treatment processes must be designed to preserve active substances. A particular focus is provided on cultivation (tubular photobioreactor) and different plausible post-treatment scenarios for microalgae separation (flocculation and centrifugation) and preservation (sterilization and drying). For each step, yield and energy consumption are modeled using data taken from literature or lab and pilot scale experiments. Industrial equipment for scale-up process is also studied by comparing existing systems. These models enable to make an economic evaluation of the whole process and to study its profitability for each scenario. The breakeven price is calculated as a function of the production rate. Several parameters are suggested to improve system efficiency and profitability at the end of this study. However, a better microalgae characterization and more experiments on potential post-treatment systems are required to improve the accuracy of the model.