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I am looking to set-up a microalgae biorefinery. I am interested to know based on 1 acre of land: 1) what species are the best for producing valuable byproducts(based on biodiesel, astaxanthin, petrochemicals, bio-oil, biogas electricity etc) 2) Which is the best VPBR, PBR system available at present? I am trying to set up a biorefinery system which is efficient and produces the most valuable byproducts which is also in demand to the market. Any suggestions are appreciated.... Thanks.
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About kriben
Industry Professional, Kuala Lumpur
International Trading business and will be venturing into Microalgae Biorefinery this year.Looking for interested research partner to work together.
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What species are the best for producing valuable by-products (based on biodiesel, astaxanthin, petrochemicals, bio-oil, biogas electricity etc.
There are many species which could be used for extracting by-products after biodiesel production, however strain selection is a very resource intensive exercise ((http://www.oilgae.com/blog/2010/08/algae-strain-selection-an-intensive-exercise.html).
Researchers and companies are still working on algae strains which can yield considerable amounts of oil while producing high-value useful end products. At the present moment, algae biofuel production could be made possible only by producing co-products which is why some algae companies which initially started with biofuels have shifted to non-fuel products while producing fuels.
Some of the important strains which could be ideal for producing valuable by-products could be Nannochlorpsis salina, D.salina (it has almost equal compostion of lipids, proteins and CHO), Cholorococcum sp, Chlorella.sp and so forth. Details of some more useful strains from here - http://www.oilgae.com/algae/oil/yield/yield.html
The cultivation methods for producing biodiesel will be quite different from the production of Astaxanthin. Generally, strains such as Haematococcus. Pluvalis is used for Astaxanthin production. Are you looking for extracting biodiesel and Astaxanthin other products from the same strain, because cultivation methods for high-value products especially Astxanthin could be entirely different from those used for biofuel production? But you can try out products such as animal feed, fertilizer and even medium value products such as bioplastics.
@ amanda - that was quite useful. what do you think about the prospects of using macroalgae strains for ethanol production and then producing by-products such as chemicals from them.
@kriban - Have you considered using the left-over algae cake as a fish feed, here are some useful strains which could be useful for biofuels as well as for fish feed.
Isochrysis galbana
Nannochloropsis salina
Tetraselmis chui
Tetraselmis suecica
Chaetoceros calcitrans
Chaetoceros muelleri
Skeletonema costatum
Phaeodactylum tricornutum
Thalassiosira pseudonana
Dunaliella sp.
@franc- yes, macroalgae such as Porphyridium species have very high carbohydrate content and can be used to produce ethanol . Research studies prove that these strains can also help producing bioplastics, chemicals, cosmetics and as an animal feed.
Where are you planning to set up the biorefinery? Is it at Kualampur? Have you already done a feasibility study to understand the type of strains that can thrive in your area. Strain selection like Amanda pointed out is a very resource intensive exercise and getting hold of a strain for biodiesel for high value carotenoids could be difficult. Moreover, not sure if there is a huge market for products such as Astaxanthin..
Well,
When you ask about a K.L suitable strain, as blake suggests, i would advise you to go for
Phaeodactylum tricornutum that could very well thrive in tropical rainforest climate
Protein - 56.6%
Lipid - 22.8%
CHO - 11.1%
A good biofuel feedstock in my opinion.
When you Considering other non fuel Applictions, this strain is too good in that aspect as well -
Polyunsaturated fatty acids [eicosapentaenoic fatty acid (EPA), n3 and n6 (PUFAs n3, n6)]
Essential amino acids (leucine, isoleucine, valine)
Pigments (lutein, %u03B2-carotene)
Supplements in ready-to-use dry milk products, baby soups, protein beverages
Used to enrich wheat flour to produce spaghetti (Italian pasta)
Heavy metals removal
@wiley @blake @amandaleah @franc
Hello All
Thank you all for the responses. I am currently doing my market research/analysis on microalgae and its byproducts to make the most out of the refinery to make it a sustainable operations. I understand that biodiesel/ethanol has high production cost and limited profitability. Therefore for phase 1 of our project, we are looking looking at nutritional, tailored chemical, skin care products and lastly biofuel.
As you all may already know the pricings for these raw materials/end-user products are limited considering the age of the industry.
I am following Solix for their AGS4000 PBR system and OriginOil for their 1 step extraction system which might lower my production cost.
The way im working is from back to front. I would want to establish the combination of the most profitable byproducts for addressed market and then work my way to finding out what microalgae which would suit me best considering the weather in Kuala Lumpur.
Astaxanthin may not have a good market as it is less-known to mankind as a health supplement but if you look at the trend (i.e ebay.co.uk) it is selling fast. Most importantly, the Beta-Cerotene extraction from H.Pluvialis has got a good demand for the market. Of course the weather in Kuala Lumpur plays a major role as well...
I am also considering handing over the entire supply chain to a 3rd party co for product manufacturing i.e health supplement capsules etc. Feedstock for poultry and marine is unavoidable considering the biomass produced. Bio-oil/algal oil could be sold as a separate entity or processed to be other products... Designing an optimum byproduct seems to be the biggest challenge here...
Hope to hear your opinions on this...
@kriben- The path you are planning to choose seem to be what most of the algae fuel companies are following in the present moment making non-fuel products and then gradually moving on to products.. Infact, the microalgae non- fuel products has a market size of about USD $7 billion Therefore opting to go via this route would be really an excellent idea to make your business viable.
All the very best Kriben!
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Kriben, your approach is indeed interesting. If you are looking at high-value end products it is a good idea to go with photobioreactors. Haven t heard much about Origin oil's development after their tie up with Australia's MBD energy.. Every time, they seem to be a showing a video describing their so - called quantum fracturing extraction method in an aquarium tank... I also have many questions regarding their extraction technique not sure how they are able to separate oil from such a wet biomass.. Would appreciate your comments on this, may be you understand their technology better than what I do!
Yes, like you rightly pointed out, Astaxanthin seems to be selling fast. Astaxanthin is expected to be a $1.6 billion market by 2020 from about $250 million in 2010, a CAGR of 20%market.
You might want to look at options such as Omega - 3 fatty acids specially DHA from algae species which is a US$1.5 billion market. Similarly, research is also going on for producing products such as bioplastics and biopolymers from the left- over biomass cake..
Good luck with your research!
1 person added this comment to their reference
Thanks @blake @emily.
Emily, OriginOil's technique is rather complicated. They're putting together Quantum Fraccturing, Magnetic Pulse and Ultra Sonic together to crack open the hard cell walls with minimal energy. The extraction/separation process is done naturally by the named system could save us a great deal.
Yes astaxanthin, lutein, Beta-Cerotene etc are highly valuable byproducts and there are more to it i.e antimicrobial, antiviral, antifungal are highly valued too...Omega 3 industry is expected to grow phenomenally..
The question here still remains at what are the optimal combination of product to maintain an economically viable business and to establish a solid ground before it enters the biofuel market. Some of the things to consider are:
1) Less regulatory on products to maintain the cost/profit of this very fragile and new industry
2) Weather
3) Cost itself i.e manpower, energy, machineries etc
4) Supply and Demand
1 person added this comment to their reference
Kriben - Interesting link, could be userful for you.. it provides a summary of the microalgae product commercial market - https://www.was.org/documents/MeetingPresentations/AQ2010/AQ2010_0011.pdf
@amandaleah thank! u guys are great...
@wiley -Like you pointed out, P. tricornatum could be a very good strain for a tropical rainforest climate and as more than half of its composition is protein, its widely used in aquaculture. But I am not very sure if it has more than 20% lipid content.
We researched on this strain for quite sometime and we determined that this particular strain in open-ponds can produce has only 10-12% lipids and it s CHO content is not much too. But this could be a good strain if open-pond cultivation is employed and like you said could be an excellent strain for high- value products such as EPA..
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ejlt.200600216/abstract
Hi !!!
Here are some of the useful links on Phaedactylum .sp which I had gathered when I was doing a research on marine microalgae strains
http://demec.ufpr.br/reterm/artigo/ciencia/15_181.pdf
http://www.future-science.com/doi/abs/10.4155/bfs.10.37
This link will take you a patent describing the process of increasing the lipid content and omega-3 fattyc acids in microaalgae strains such as P. tricornatum
http://www.google.co.in/patents?hl=en&lr=&vid=USPATAPP10521868&id=nWigAAAAEBAJ&oi=fnd&dq=Phaedactylum tricornatum&printsec=abstract#v=onepage&q=Phaedactylum%20tricornatum&f=false
Genetic engineering of fatty acid chain length in Phaeodactylum tricornutum. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20971205
Outdoor production of Phaeodactylum tricornutum biomass in a helical reactor. - http://www.google.co.in/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CB0QFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS0168165603001019&rct=j&q=Outdoor%20production%20of%20Phaeodactylum%20tricornutum%20biomass%20in%20a%20helical%20reactor.%20J.%20Biotechnol.%20103%3A%20137-152.&ei=6EC8TYLbOYmrrAfNr_WFBg&usg=AFQjCNHCjBlMQyjd647qtpd0MR-DHFO1Ng&sig2=etGk9C4VypO64A5VKns3VA&cad=rja
A very useful link - The Phaeodactylum genome reveals the evolutionary history of diatom genomes
Mixotropic production of P. tricornatum - http://www.google.co.in/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=10&ved=0CEgQFjAJ&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.massey.ac.nz%2F~ychisti%2FCeronG.pdf&rct=j&q=%20Phaeodactylum%20tricornutum%20&ei=p0G8Te3eNY2urAfwrtiPBg&usg=AFQjCNG0vnTQzjw02kV7Y3-n5NpD8_Jpiw&sig2=dVVlg_AFJiF1Rqb8WoomBA&cad=rja
I see a lot of scope in using producing algae for making cosmetics.. Some cosmeticians such as LVMH, Paris , France and Daniel Jounvance, Carnac etc.. have invested in their own microalgae research .
Strains such as Arthospira (Spirulina) have been used as a skin aging and algae such as Chlorella vulgaris stimulates collagen synthesis in skin and therefore reduces wrinkles.
Biofuel strains such as Nannochlropsis oculata have also been researched for their skin-tightening properties. Similarly strains such as Dunaliella which are already being researched for a plethora of products such as carotenoids, biodiesel, ethanol etc.. also shows the ability to stimulate cell prolifertaion and influence the energy metabolism of the skin.
Recently the algae fuel company -Solazyme (http://www.solazyme.com) are commercially producing cosmetics from algae - Alguronic Acid, a compound produced by one microalgae species that protects algae--and human skin--from the environment. According to Solazyme, this is more effective than other anti-aging skin care ingredients such as hyaluronic acid, vitamin C, retinol, vitamin E, and other anti-aging ingredients in increasing skin elastin production, inhibiting melanin production, and protecting against UV-triggered cell damage.
Here is what I got from Solazyme's website
"Health Sciences - Our Health Sciences business is targeting the global skin and personal care market, which is estimated at $323 billion. Within this market, we target (1) toiletries, makeup, and hair care, estimated at $239 billion, and (2) skin care, estimated at $84 billion.
Solazyme has signed distribution deals with Sephora International, Sephora USA, and QVC. Unique to our business, we are entering into to this market with Solazyme branded products, including Algenist."
More - http://www.solazyme.com/market-areas
The link above also provides information on the other market areas Solazyme is veturing into apart from biofuels.
Here are some of the co-product ideas for recovering economic value from the lipid-extracted microalgae biomass. Adapted from http://www.floridaenergy.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/algal_biofuels_roadmap-CH-7-end.pdf
Option 1 - Maximum Energy Recovery from the Lipid-Extracted Biomass, with Potential Use of Residuals as Soil Amendments - Anaerobic digestion of the lipid extracted biomass could be performed with the microalgae and macroalgae biomass for methane and the residuals remaining after anaerobic digestion could either be recycled as nutrients for algal cultivation or could be sold as soil fertilizers and conditioners.
Option 2 Recovery of protein from the lipid-extracted biomass for use in food and feed - The protein fraction from the residual biomass could be extracted and used as a food and feed supplement. The market for animal feed already very large and growing (estimated to rise to approximately 60 million tons per year for distillers dry grains plus soluble (DDGS)). In addition, it may be also possible to recover important enzymes such as cellulases or other industrial enzymes from the lipid-extracted biomass. The market for industrial enzymes, specifically cellulases for pretreating lignocellulosic feedstocks prior to fermentation to fuel ethanol, is potentially very large.
Option 3 - Recovery and Utilization of Non-fuel Lipids - Microalgae can synthesize a variety of fatty acids with carbon numbers ranging from C10 to C24, depending on the algal species and culturing conditions Separation of specific lipids present in the algal oil that have utility as chemical feedstocks for the manufacture of surfactants, bioplastics, and specialty products such as urethanes, epoxies, lubricants, etc. could be worth trying.
Option 4 - Recovery and Utilization of Carbohydrates from Lipid-Extracted Biomass, and the Glycerol from the Transesterification of Lipids to Biodiesel - The residual microalgal biomass which may contain sufficient levels of carbohydrates could be converted through anaerobic dark fermentations to hydrogen, solvents (acetone, ethanol, and butanol), and organic acids. Glycerol, a byproduct of the transesterification of microalgal lipids to biodiesel, could also be anaerobically fermented to the above mentioned and other end products
Option 5 - Recovery (Extraction) of Fuel Lipids Only, with Use of the Residual Biomass as Soil
Fertilizer and Conditioner - In case none of the above mentioned four options are economical, it is possible to go with the most simple option (Option 5), which involves the extraction of only fuel lipids and the subsequent use of the biomass residues rich in nitrogen and organic matter as soil fertilizer and conditioners.
More from:
http://www.floridaenergy.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/algal_biofuels_roadmap-CH-7-end.pdf
http://www.scribd.com/doc/52175400/18/PRODUCTS
http://bit.ly/m1V9KH
http://bit.ly/lXHaff
where are you going to set this up?
Kuala Lumpur, isnt Kriban?
You may also wish to get in touch with Algae Tech in KL ( http://www.algaetech.com.my/ ). I met the CEO of the company Syed Isa Syed ( http://www.algaetech.com.my/people.html ) at London recently at a conference, and they seem to be doing some good work in both fuels and non-fuel products from algae...you can get some directions and guidance from them perhaps?
@amandaleah Thanks for the links. Very informative. The patent describing the process of increasing omega3 etc is rather interesting. Would love to have a team who could work in genetic engineering according to target end product.
@dunkenneth Yea I have been following Solazyme for a bit now. I am very attracted towards cosmetics. Can anyone suggest valuable byproducts of microalgae which could be contributed towards this industry?
@sreejas147 very impressive work. I have sent you a Direct Message.
@richardharley yeah it will be in kuala lumpur. Received your email, interesting however will look at application scope in algae cultivation.
@narsi Yes, I have come accross their co profile and they seem to be concentrating mainly on research. I believe they have a product from sprulina for the health supplement market. Will get in touch with them soon tosee if theres anything they could do for us.
I have managed to put together a list of vertical market segments which could be penetrated by microalgae products. Biodiesel however dont seem to be feasible. However, biogas electric generation could be done but it really depends on the amount of biogas a refinery could produce. Electric generators also could contribute towards energy cost and also co2 for algae propagation.
Any ideas on the best/cheapest method of co2 suquestration for algae?
@ Kriben
I would suggest you that you take the help from some technical consultants or business intelligence company rather than approaching Algaetech Group. (No offence intended :))
Basically, I'm native to K.L. Though i'm not there currently, i'm aware that the company are into production of high value by products (nutra and pharmaceuticals) from algae and if you are approaching them for an assistance, fair chances are that they would not furnish you with any inside information. Precisely because Algaetech Group surely would not appreciate another competitor in Mr Kriben. Moreover, i guess that the company is into consulting for carbon credit management, CDM etc, and if you are looking at algae cultivation for co product development, then i doubt if you could get useful and quality information from a competitor company. May be you would get some trivial data that might not be of any serious value addition.
I suggest that you take the assistance of some technical consulting resources or business intelligence.
And regarding your recent question on cost effective methods for algae based CO2 capture, in my opinion direct feeding of flue gas after desulphurization is the most popular and sought after strategy. There are various types of flue gas processing methods and the right choice would depend on the composition of flue gas, which is industry specific
@wiley
Well said...I was under the same impression. Not sure if they're willing to cooperate. I am actually a Biotech Consultants in KL and will be hiring a foreign based co in market/product research.
Direct feeding was actually considered but will have to get a power plant close by to cooperate as well.. We are expected to officially step into this project in 2-3 weeks. Your opinions are more than appreciated....
@ Kriben
I would suggest that industry specific techno-economic processes is a wise choice than to generalise a process for economic flue gas processing.
Wet scrubbing gives you 95% sulphur removal, but at a high cost. It is the gold standard choice for high sulphur emitting processes
Dry scrubbing is an economical process with a comparatively less sulphur removal efficiency that could be employed in low sulphur emitting processes (for eg. emissions from plants that use low sulphur coals)
Sorbent injection technologies can be employed for moderate level of sulphur removal at a relatively low capital cost.
Combination of dry scrubbing and sorbent injection technologies would be the "value for money" and "guaranteed efficiency" process and hence is arguably the best strategy to go by.
@emily
Thats some great information. Will look into these methods...
@amandaleah i do apologise for the delay in reply. I must say that I have kept aside the Biofuel for now considering the high cost. Looking to produce purely other hihg-valued products i.e astaxanthin, petro-chemicals, nutraceuticals, feedstock/foodstock etc..
@wiley thats some great information. I would love to hear more about what you have to say of other strains if any. Pls PM me. Thanks.
@franc thats a great idea and exactly what I was hoping for once the strain is selected. I was looking at feedstock/fertilisers. I will keep you guys posted on my progress.
@blake yes it is a resource intensive exercise and I will be setting up a lab to try out some of the most promising strains suitable for Malaysian climate. As far as I am concerned, Astaxanthin is a high valued product in demand. Could elaborate your statement on this matter? Thanks.
Are you live in malaysia?
@howardlee yes Iam in Malaysia. What about you? and how are you involved in this industry?
Catentoids, Chitin, Aminegloycol
Kerosene(C-12-16) Diatomaeous Earth-Silicon Dioxide
5-50 C Salt or freshwater envrioment
want a sample?
I feed pure Co2 from a puerasurized tank.
Are you going to use a stack, exhaust source or botteled carbon dixoide?
Good to hear it.
Great Idea!