Biodiesel production from algae by using heterogeneous catalysts: A critical review

The numerous challenges associated with declining fossil fuel reserves as energy sources, have accounted for a shift to biofuels as alternatives. However, transesterification of animal fats and edible vegetable oils using homogeneous acids and bases for biodiesel production is recently considered unsustainable by industries, particularly due to food versus fuel competition, and economic and environmental challenges associated with the feedstocks and catalyst systems, respectively. The paper therefore presents a critical review on the prospects of non-edible oil (i.e. algae oil) for biodiesel production via heterogeneous catalysis. It covers the advantages of algae oil exploitation over edible oil feedstocks, progress made in the oil extraction, available heterogeneous catalyst systems and reaction mechanisms, optimum transesterification conditions and the way forward. As the economic feasibility of biodiesel production from algae is supported by the valorization of glycerol as by-product, we have also highlighted key available heterogeneous catalysts to upgrade glycerol into more useful industrial products.

[1]  Steven Lim,et al.  Recent trends, opportunities and challenges of biodiesel in Malaysia: An overview , 2010 .

[2]  Changyan Yang,et al.  Fast pyrolysis of microalgae to produce renewable fuels , 2004 .

[3]  G. Vicente,et al.  Hierarchical zeolites as catalysts for biodiesel production from Nannochloropsis microalga oil , 2011 .

[4]  M. Agarwal,et al.  Study of catalytic behavior of KOH as homogeneous and heterogeneous catalyst for biodiesel production , 2012 .

[5]  Y. Pouilloux,et al.  Selective etherification of glycerol to polyglycerols over impregnated basic MCM-41 type mesoporous catalysts , 2002 .

[6]  Y. Pouilloux,et al.  Mesoporous basic catalysts: comparison with alkaline exchange zeolites (basicity and porosity). Application to the selective etherification of glycerol to polyglycerols. , 1998 .

[7]  Teresa M. Mata,et al.  Microalgae for biodiesel production and other applications: A review , 2010 .

[8]  Bingtao Zhao,et al.  Process effect of microalgal-carbon dioxide fixation and biomass production: A review , 2014 .

[9]  Ferdi Schüth,et al.  Design of solid catalysts for the conversion of biomass , 2009 .

[10]  François Jérôme,et al.  Heterogeneously catalyzed etherification of glycerol: new pathways for transformation of glycerol to more valuable chemicals , 2008 .

[11]  M. Khairuddean,et al.  A new heterogeneous acid catalyst for esterification: Optimization using response surface methodology , 2013 .

[12]  G. Ghesti,et al.  Investigation of biodiesel production by HUSY and Ce/HUSY zeolites: Influence of structural and acidity parameters , 2013 .

[13]  Ignacio E. Grossmann,et al.  Simultaneous Optimization and Heat Integration for Biodiesel Production from Cooking Oil and Algae , 2012 .

[14]  Martin Bajus,et al.  ETHERIFICATION OF GLYCEROL , 2003 .

[15]  B. Weckhuysen,et al.  Glycerol etherification over highly active CaO-based materials: new mechanistic aspects and related colloidal particle formation. , 2008, Chemistry.

[16]  M. Coelho,et al.  Glycerol valorization: New biotechnological routes , 2009 .

[17]  N. Amin,et al.  A perspective on catalytic conversion of glycerol to olefins. , 2013 .

[18]  E. S. Umdu,et al.  Transesterification of Nannochloropsis oculata microalga's lipid to biodiesel on Al2O3 supported CaO and MgO catalysts. , 2009, Bioresource technology.

[19]  A. C. Dimian,et al.  Solid acid catalysts for biodiesel production - towards sustainable energy , 2006 .

[20]  G. Yadav,et al.  Green etherification of bioglycerol with 1-phenyl ethanol over supported heteropolyacid , 2012, Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy.

[21]  M. Demirbas,et al.  IMPORTANCE OF ALGAE OIL AS A SOURCE OF BIODIESEL , 2011 .

[22]  G. Vicente,et al.  Integrated biodiesel production: a comparison of different homogeneous catalysts systems. , 2004, Bioresource technology.

[23]  V. S. Moholkar,et al.  Mechanistic insight into sonochemical biodiesel synthesis using heterogeneous base catalyst. , 2014, Ultrasonics sonochemistry.

[24]  Michikazu Hara,et al.  Biomass conversion by a solid acid catalyst , 2010 .

[25]  T. Carlson,et al.  Green gasoline by catalytic fast pyrolysis of solid biomass derived compounds. , 2008, ChemSusChem.

[26]  J. Leahy,et al.  Pressurised pyrolysis of Miscanthus using a fixed bed reactor. , 2011, Bioresource technology.

[27]  Arturo Romero,et al.  Etherification of Glycerol with Benzyl Alcohol , 2013 .

[28]  Y. Chisti.  Biodiesel from microalgae. , 2007, Biotechnology advances.

[29]  C. Santilli,et al.  A comparative study of glycerol dehydration catalyzed by micro/mesoporous MFI zeolites , 2013 .

[30]  M. Almeida,et al.  Selection of heterogeneous catalysts for biodiesel production from animal fat , 2012 .

[31]  D. Verma,et al.  Aviation fuel production from lipids by a single-step route using hierarchical mesoporous zeolites† , 2011 .

[32]  Biodiesel production using cesium modified mesoporous ordered silica as heterogeneous base catalyst , 2013 .

[33]  Young‐Kwon Park,et al.  The characteristics of bio-oil produced from the pyrolysis of three marine macroalgae. , 2011, Bioresource technology.

[34]  G. Vicente,et al.  Main technologies in biodiesel production: State of the art and future challenges , 2012 .

[35]  Feng Chen,et al.  Heterotrophic Production Potential of Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids by Microalgae and Algae-like Microorganisms , 1998 .

[36]  T. Hatanaka,et al.  Biodiesel production using heteropoly acid-derived solid acid catalyst H4PNbW11O40/WO3–Nb2O5 , 2009 .

[37]  K. Wilson,et al.  Catalysts in Production of Biodiesel: A Review , 2007 .

[38]  T. Yokochi,et al.  Production of high yields of docosahexaenoic acid by Schizochytrium sp. strain SR21 , 1997 .

[39]  D. Serrano,et al.  Synthesis strategies in the search for hierarchical zeolites. , 2013, Chemical Society reviews.

[40]  Tsutomu Sakai,et al.  Economic assessment of batch biodiesel production processes using homogeneous and heterogeneous alkali catalysts. , 2009, Bioresource technology.

[41]  A. Mohamed,et al.  Recent progress on innovative and potential technologies for glycerol transformation into fuel additives: A critical review , 2010 .

[42]  Anastasia Macario,et al.  Catalytic Conversion of Renewable Sources for Biodiesel Production: A Comparison Between Biocatalysts and Inorganic Catalysts , 2013, Catalysis Letters.

[43]  C. Brunner,et al.  Conversion of rapeseed cake into bio-fuel in a batch reactor: Effect of catalytic vapor upgrading , 2010 .

[44]  Yujun Wang,et al.  Transesterification of soybean oil to biodiesel using SrO as a solid base catalyst , 2007 .

[45]  S. Renganathan,et al.  Recent developments for biodiesel production by ultrasonic assist transesterification using different heterogeneous catalyst: A review , 2013 .

[46]  A. Corma,et al.  Synthesis of transportation fuels from biomass: chemistry, catalysts, and engineering. , 2006, Chemical reviews.

[47]  N. Rajan,et al.  Vapour phase dehydration of glycerol to acrolein over tungstated zirconia catalysts , 2014 .

[48]  Thomas A. Milne,et al.  Catalytic conversion of microalgae and vegetable oils to premium gasoline, with shape-selective zeolites , 1990 .

[49]  Young‐Kwon Park,et al.  Production of phenolics and aromatics by pyrolysis of miscanthus , 2012 .

[50]  C. Beatrice,et al.  Glycerol Ethers Production and Engine Performance with Diesel/Ethers Blend , 2013, Topics in Catalysis.

[51]  Amjad Ali,et al.  Biodiesel from mutton fat using KOH impregnated MgO as heterogeneous catalysts , 2011 .

[52]  U. Schuchardt,et al.  Transesterification of vegetable oils: a review , 1998 .

[53]  Shu-lin Chen,et al.  Two-step in situ biodiesel production from microalgae with high free fatty acid content. , 2013, Bioresource technology.

[54]  T. Brück,et al.  Catalytic deoxygenation of microalgae oil to green hydrocarbons , 2013 .

[55]  E. E. Powell,et al.  Carbon dioxide neutral, integrated biofuel facility , 2010 .

[56]  Suttichai Assabumrungrat,et al.  Glycerol ethers synthesis from glycerol etherification with tert-butyl alcohol in reactive distillation , 2011, Comput. Chem. Eng..

[57]  M. Tzaphlidou,et al.  Biological Effects of Electromagnetic Radiation-Special Issue , 2004, TheScientificWorldJournal.

[58]  Ivan V. Kozhevnikov,et al.  Heteropoly acids as catalysts for liquid-phase esterification and transesterification , 2008 .

[59]  J. Gimbun,et al.  Production of CO-rich hydrogen gas from glycerol dry reforming over La-promoted Ni/Al2O3 catalyst , 2014 .

[60]  A. Corma,et al.  Gold catalysts and solid catalysts for biomass transformations: Valorization of glycerol and glycerol–water mixtures through formation of cyclic acetals , 2010 .

[61]  C. Bîldea,et al.  Design and Control of Glycerol-tert-Butyl Alcohol Etherification Process , 2012, TheScientificWorldJournal.

[62]  J. Clark,et al.  Glycerol transformations on polysaccharide derived mesoporous materials , 2008 .

[63]  Ž. Knez,et al.  Glycerol reforming in supercritical water; a short review , 2013 .

[64]  P. Salagre,et al.  Establishing the role of Brønsted acidity and porosity for the catalytic etherification of glycerol with tert-butanol by modifying zeolites , 2013 .

[65]  S. A. Hamid,et al.  Performance of calcium oxide as a heterogeneous catalyst in biodiesel production: A review , 2011 .

[66]  J. F. Izquierdo,et al.  Fuel additives from glycerol etherification with light olefins: State of the art , 2012 .

[67]  X. Miao,et al.  High quality biodiesel production from a microalga Chlorella protothecoides by heterotrophic growth in fermenters. , 2006, Journal of biotechnology.

[68]  Tomasz Janowski,et al.  Electronic Governance for Sustainable Development - Conceptual framework and state of research , 2013, Gov. Inf. Q..

[69]  Anil Kumar Sarma,et al.  Modern heterogeneous catalysts for biodiesel production: A comprehensive review , 2011 .

[70]  S. O. Jekayinfa,et al.  Alkali-catalysed laboratory production and testing of biodiesel fuel from Nigerian palm kernel oil. , 2007 .

[71]  A. Corma,et al.  Biodiesel production by immobilized lipase on zeolites and related materials , 2008 .

[72]  Q. Hu,et al.  Microalgal triacylglycerols as feedstocks for biofuel production: perspectives and advances. , 2008, The Plant journal : for cell and molecular biology.

[73]  Bingwen Yan,et al.  Production of algae-based biodiesel using the continuous catalytic Mcgyan process. , 2011, Bioresource technology.

[74]  Norashid Aziz,et al.  Solid heterogeneous catalysts for transesterification of triglycerides with methanol: A review , 2009 .

[75]  Toshimitsu Suzuki,et al.  Production of Hydrogen by Steam Reforming of Glycerin on Ruthenium Catalyst , 2005 .

[76]  Ahmad Galadima,et al.  Biofuels Production in Nigeria: The Policy and Public Opinions , 2011 .

[77]  M. Guerrero-Pérez,et al.  Recent Inventions in Glycerol Transformations and Processing , 2009 .

[78]  B. Singh,et al.  Latest developments on application of heterogenous basic catalysts for an efficient and eco friendly synthesis of biodiesel: A review , 2011 .

[79]  A. Demirbas,et al.  Biodiesel production from vegetable oils via catalytic and non-catalytic supercritical methanol transesterification methods , 2005 .

[80]  Vincent Amanor-Boadu,et al.  Sustainability of algae derived biodiesel: a mass balance approach. , 2011, Bioresource technology.

[81]  Rolando Zanzi,et al.  Inorganic heterogeneous catalysts for biodiesel production from vegetable oils. , 2011 .

[82]  Frederic P. Miller,et al.  IPCC fourth assessment report , 2009 .

[83]  P. T. Vasudevan,et al.  Biodiesel production—current state of the art and challenges , 2008, Journal of Industrial Microbiology & Biotechnology.

[84]  Zhang Changhua,et al.  Gas phase oxidehydration of glycerol to acrylic acid over Mo/V and W/V oxide catalysts , 2014 .

[85]  A. Bridgwater,et al.  Overview of Applications of Biomass Fast Pyrolysis Oil , 2004 .

[86]  Satoshi Sato,et al.  Effect of Ag loading on Cu/Al2O3 catalyst in the production of 1,2-propanediol from glycerol , 2014 .

[87]  S. Yaman.  Pyrolysis of biomass to produce fuels and chemical feedstocks , 2004 .

[88]  Roberto Millini,et al.  Porous materials in catalysis: challenges for mesoporous materials. , 2013, Chemical Society reviews.

[89]  Martin Bajus,et al.  Etherification of glycerol and ethylene glycol by isobutylene , 2007 .

[90]  Wen‐Sheng Dong,et al.  Hydrogen production from steam reforming of glycerol over Ni/CeZrO catalysts , 2014 .

[91]  E. H. Pryde,et al.  Transesterification kinetics of soybean oil 1 , 1986 .

[92]  Zhongmin Liu,et al.  A new route for the synthesis of propylene oxide from bio-glycerol derivated propylene glycol. , 2009, Chemical communications.

[93]  J. Grobbelaar,et al.  Physiological and technological considerations for optimising mass algal cultures , 2000, Journal of Applied Phycology.

[94]  G. Madras,et al.  Synthesis of biodiesel from edible and non-edible oils in supercritical alcohols and enzymatic synthesis in supercritical carbon dioxide , 2007 .

[95]  M. A. Packer,et al.  Algal capture of carbon dioxide; biomass generation as a tool for greenhouse gas mitigation with reference to New Zealand energy strategy and policy , 2009 .

[96]  Yebo Li,et al.  Polyols and polyurethane foams from base-catalyzed liquefaction of lignocellulosic biomass by crude glycerol: Effects of crude glycerol impurities , 2014 .

[97]  P. Nichols,et al.  Fatty acid and lipid composition of 10 species of microalgae used in mariculture , 1989 .

[98]  V. Kafarov,et al.  Optimization of third Generation Biofuels Production: Biodiesel from Microalgae Oil by Homogeneous Transesterification , 2010 .

[99]  Chunhai Yi,et al.  Kinetic Study of Glycerol Etherification with Isobutene , 2013 .

[100]  Dora E. López,et al.  Synthesis of Biodiesel via Acid Catalysis , 2005 .

[101]  R. Comelli,et al.  Hydrogen production by glycerol steam-reforming over nickel and nickel-cobalt impregnated on alumina , 2014 .

[102]  C. Posten,et al.  Second Generation Biofuels: High-Efficiency Microalgae for Biodiesel Production , 2008, BioEnergy Research.

[103]  S. Adhikari,et al.  Catalytic pyrolysis of green algae for hydrocarbon production using H+ZSM-5 catalyst. , 2012, Bioresource technology.

[104]  I. Grossmann,et al.  Optimal engineered algae composition for the integrated simultaneous production of bioethanol and biodiesel , 2013 .

[105]  Man Kee Lam,et al.  Homogeneous, heterogeneous and enzymatic catalysis for transesterification of high free fatty acid oil (waste cooking oil) to biodiesel: a review. , 2010, Biotechnology advances.

[106]  Y. Pouilloux,et al.  Synthesis and modification of basic mesoporous materials for the selective etherification of glycerol. , 2000 .

[107]  B. Hameed,et al.  Synthesis of glycerol carbonate by transesterification of glycerol with dimethyl carbonate over K-zeolite derived from coal fly ash , 2014 .

[108]  L. C. Meher,et al.  Technical aspects of biodiesel production by transesterification—a review , 2006 .

[109]  Phillip E. Savage,et al.  Hydrothermal Liquefaction of a Microalga with Heterogeneous Catalysts , 2011 .

[110]  Brian J. Gallagher,et al.  The economics of producing biodiesel from algae , 2011 .

[111]  Y C Sharma,et al.  Kinetics studies of synthesis of biodiesel from waste frying oil using a heterogeneous catalyst derived from snail shell. , 2012, Bioresource technology.

[112]  Yong‐Tae Kim,et al.  A comparative study for gas-phase dehydration of glycerol over H-zeolites , 2011 .

[113]  Sebastian Mosbach,et al.  The carbon footprint and non-renewable energy demand of algae-derived biodiesel , 2014 .

[114]  Brian J. Krohn,et al.  A continuous catalytic system for biodiesel production , 2008 .

[115]  Wan Mohd Ashri Wan Daud,et al.  Solid acid-catalyzed biodiesel production from microalgal oil—The dual advantage , 2013 .

[116]  Anita Ramli,et al.  Biodiesel production from waste cooking oil using bifunctional heterogeneous solid catalysts , 2013 .

[117]  I. Fonseca,et al.  Valorization of glycerol into fuel additives over zeolites as catalysts , 2011 .

[118]  Role of Baria Dispersion in BaO/Al2O3 Catalysts for Transesterification , 2009 .

[119]  N. Amin,et al.  Catalyst screening for conversion of glycerol to light olefins , 2012 .

[120]  K. Tomishige,et al.  Promoting effect of Ru on Ir-ReOx/SiO2 catalyst in hydrogenolysis of glycerol , 2014 .

[121]  Naresh Pachauri,et al.  Value-added Utilization of Crude Glycerol from Biodiesel Production: A Survey of Current Research Activities , 2006 .

[122]  M. Demirbas,et al.  Recent advances on the production and utilization trends of bio-fuels: A global perspective , 2006 .

[123]  A. Demirbas,et al.  Progress and recent trends in biodiesel fuels , 2009 .

[124]  Jasvinder Singh,et al.  Commercialization potential of microalgae for biofuels production , 2010 .

[125]  Siti Kartom Kamarudin,et al.  Overview on the current trends in biodiesel production , 2011 .

[126]  Regina C D Santos,et al.  Processing of glycerol under sub and supercritical water conditions , 2014 .

[127]  A. Dyer.  An introduction to zeolite molecular sieves , 1988 .

[128]  L. Petrik,et al.  Novel zeolite Na-X synthesized from fly ash as a heterogeneous catalyst in biodiesel production , 2012 .

[129]  A. Galadima,et al.  Catalytic Synthesis of Ethyl Ester From Some Common Oils , 2010 .

[130]  Matthew N Campbell,et al.  Biodiesel: Algae as a Renewable Source for Liquid Fuel , 2008 .

[131]  Liejin Guo,et al.  Supercritical water gasification of glycerol: Intermediates and kinetics , 2013 .

[132]  Zhen Fang,et al.  Hydrothermal conversion of glycerol to chemicals and hydrogen: review and perspective , 2012 .

[133]  Z. Wen,et al.  Heterotrophic production of eicosapentaenoic acid by microalgae. , 2003, Biotechnology advances.

[134]  Zhiquan Hu,et al.  Bio-oil production through pyrolysis of blue-green algae blooms (BGAB): Product distribution and bio-oil characterization , 2013 .

[135]  Michael A. Wilson,et al.  Catalytic upgrading of biorefinery oil from micro-algae , 2010 .

[136]  L. Canoira,et al.  A new route to synthesize tert-butyl ethers of bioglycerol , 2012 .

[137]  Taweesak Sudyoadsuk,et al.  Biodiesel production based on heterogeneous process catalyzed by solid waste coral fragment , 2012 .

[138]  B. Dlugogorski,et al.  The effect of catalyst modification on the conversion of glycerol to allyl alcohol , 2014 .

[139]  Kostas S. Triantafyllidis,et al.  Catalytic conversion of biomass pyrolysis products by mesoporous materials: Effect of steam stability and acidity of Al-MCM-41 catalysts , 2007 .

[140]  Seth Debolt,et al.  Microalgae as a renewable fuel source: Fast pyrolysis of Scenedesmus sp. , 2013 .

[141]  Hang Seok Choi,et al.  Fast pyrolysis characteristics of lignocellulosic biomass with varying reaction conditions , 2012 .

[142]  N. Ellis.  Glycerol Etherification by tert-Butanol catalyzed by sulfonated carbon catalyst , 2010 .

[143]  Morgan Fröling,et al.  Thermochemical biofuel production in hydrothermal media: A review of sub- and supercritical water technologies , 2008 .

[144]  Amin Talebian-Kiakalaieh,et al.  Transesterification of waste cooking oil by heteropoly acid (HPA) catalyst: Optimization and kinetic model , 2013 .

[145]  R. Jothiramalingam,et al.  Review of Recent Developments in Solid Acid, Base, and Enzyme Catalysts (Heterogeneous) for Biodiesel Production via Transesterification , 2009 .

[146]  Yujun Wang,et al.  Transesterification of soybean oil to biodiesel using CaO as a solid base catalyst , 2008 .

[147]  Ayhan Demirbas,et al.  Progress and recent trends in biofuels , 2007 .

[148]  Changjun Zou,et al.  Biodiesel fuel production from waste cooking oil by the inclusion complex of heteropoly acid with bridged bis-cyclodextrin. , 2013, Bioresource technology.

[149]  F. Fajula,et al.  Etherification of glycerol with ethanol over solid acid catalysts , 2009 .

[150]  Boyang Wang,et al.  Transesterification of Rapeseed Oil for Synthesizing Biodiesel by K/KOH/γ-Al2O3 as Heterogeneous Base Catalyst , 2008 .

[151]  K. Tran,et al.  Towards Sustainable Production of Biofuels from Microalgae , 2008, International journal of molecular sciences.

[152]  S. Saxena,et al.  Etherification of glycerol for improved production of oxygenates , 2013 .

[153]  M. E. Borges,et al.  Recent developments on heterogeneous catalysts for biodiesel production by oil esterification and transesterification reactions: A review , 2012 .

[154]  Ferenc Kiss,et al.  Economic and ecological aspects of biodiesel production over homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysts , 2010 .