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    A Unified Modeling Framework to Advance Biofuel Production from Microalgae
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    • Shijie Leow
      Shijie Leow
      Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana−Champaign. Newmark Civil Engineering Laboratory, 205 N. Mathews Ave., Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
      Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Colorado School of Mines. 1500 Illinois St., Golden, Colorado 80401, United States
      More by Shijie Leow
      Orcidhttp://orcid.org/0000-0002-9276-0618
    • Brian D. Shoener
      Brian D. Shoener
      Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana−Champaign. Newmark Civil Engineering Laboratory, 205 N. Mathews Ave., Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
      More by Brian D. Shoener
    • Yalin Li
      Yalin Li
      Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Colorado School of Mines. 1500 Illinois St., Golden, Colorado 80401, United States
      More by Yalin Li
      Orcidhttp://orcid.org/0000-0002-8863-4758
    • Jennifer L. DeBellis
      Jennifer L. DeBellis
      Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana−Champaign. Newmark Civil Engineering Laboratory, 205 N. Mathews Ave., Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
      More by Jennifer L. DeBellis
    • Jennifer Markham
      Jennifer Markham
      National Bioenergy Center, National Renewable Energy Laboratory. 15013 Denver West Parkway, Golden, Colorado 80401, United States
      More by Jennifer Markham
    • Ryan Davis
      Ryan Davis
      National Bioenergy Center, National Renewable Energy Laboratory. 15013 Denver West Parkway, Golden, Colorado 80401, United States
      More by Ryan Davis
    • Lieve M. L. Laurens
      Lieve M. L. Laurens
      National Bioenergy Center, National Renewable Energy Laboratory. 15013 Denver West Parkway, Golden, Colorado 80401, United States
      More by Lieve M. L. Laurens
      Orcidhttp://orcid.org/0000-0003-4930-3267
    • Philip T. Pienkos
      Philip T. Pienkos
      National Bioenergy Center, National Renewable Energy Laboratory. 15013 Denver West Parkway, Golden, Colorado 80401, United States
      More by Philip T. Pienkos
    • Sherri M. Cook
      Sherri M. Cook
      Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder. 4001 Discovery Drive, Boulder, Colorado 80309, United States
      More by Sherri M. Cook
      Orcidhttp://orcid.org/0000-0002-7648-4596
    • Timothy J. Strathmann
      Timothy J. Strathmann
      Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Colorado School of Mines. 1500 Illinois St., Golden, Colorado 80401, United States
      National Bioenergy Center, National Renewable Energy Laboratory. 15013 Denver West Parkway, Golden, Colorado 80401, United States
      More by Timothy J. Strathmann
    • Jeremy S. Guest*
      Jeremy S. Guest
      Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana−Champaign. Newmark Civil Engineering Laboratory, 205 N. Mathews Ave., Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
      *Phone: (217) 244-9247; e-mail: [email protected]
      More by Jeremy S. Guest
      Orcidhttp://orcid.org/0000-0003-2489-2579
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    Environmental Science & Technology

    Cite this: Environ. Sci. Technol. 2018, 52, 22, 13591–13599
    Click to copy citationCitation copied!
    https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.8b03663
    Published October 25, 2018
    Copyright © 2018 American Chemical Society
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    Abstract

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    Modeling efforts to understand the financial implications of microalgal biofuels often assume a static basis for microalgae biomass composition and cost, which has constrained cultivation and downstream conversion process design and limited in-depth understanding of their interdependencies. For this work, a dynamic biological cultivation model was integrated with thermo-chemical/biological unit process models for downstream biorefineries to increase modeling fidelity, to provide mechanistic links among unit operations, and to quantify minimum product selling prices of biofuels via techno-economic analysis. Variability in design, cultivation, and conversion parameters were characterized through Monte Carlo simulation, and sensitivity analyses were conducted to identify key cost and fuel yield drivers. Cultivating biomass to achieve the minimum biomass selling price or to achieve maximum lipid content were shown to lead to suboptimal fuel production costs. Depending on biomass composition, both hydrothermal liquefaction and a biochemical fractionation process (combined algal processing) were shown to have advantageous minimum product selling prices, which supports continued investment in multiple conversion pathways. Ultimately, this work demonstrates a clear need to leverage integrated modeling platforms to advance microalgae biofuel systems as a whole, and specific recommendations are made for the prioritization of research and development pathways to achieve economical biofuel production from microalgae.

    Copyright © 2018 American Chemical Society

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    Supporting Information

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    The Supporting Information is available free of charge on the ACS Publications website at DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.8b03663.

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    Cited By

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    This article is cited by 34 publications.

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    Environmental Science & Technology

    Cite this: Environ. Sci. Technol. 2018, 52, 22, 13591–13599
    Click to copy citationCitation copied!
    https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.8b03663
    Published October 25, 2018
    Copyright © 2018 American Chemical Society
    Request reuse permissions

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