Process development for hydrothermal liquefaction of algae feedstocks in a continuous-flow reactor

Abstract Wet algae slurries can be converted into an upgradeable biocrude by hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL). High levels of carbon conversion to gravity separable biocrude product were accomplished at relatively low temperature (350 °C) in a continuous-flow, pressurized (sub-critical liquid water) environment (20 MPa). As opposed to earlier work in batch reactors reported by others, direct oil recovery was achieved without the use of a solvent and biomass trace components were removed by processing steps so that they did not cause process difficulties. High conversions were obtained even with high slurry concentrations of up to 35 wt.% of dry solids. Catalytic hydrotreating was effectively applied for hydrodeoxygenation, hydrodenitrogenation, and hydrodesulfurization of the biocrude to form liquid hydrocarbon fuel. Catalytic hydrothermal gasification was effectively applied for HTL byproduct water cleanup and fuel gas production from water soluble organics, allowing the water to be considered for recycle of nutrients to the algae growth ponds. As a result, high conversion of algae to liquid hydrocarbon and gas products was found with low levels of organic contamination in the byproduct water. All three process steps were accomplished in bench-scale, continuous-flow reactor systems such that design data for process scale-up was generated.

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

[2]  Phillip E. Savage,et al.  Hydrothermal liquefaction of Nannochloropsis sp.: Systematic study of process variables and analysis of the product fractions , 2012 .

[3]  Yutaka Dote,et al.  Recovery of liquid fuel from hydrocarbon-rich microalgae by thermochemical liquefaction , 1994 .

[4]  Frédéric Vogel,et al.  SunCHem: an integrated process for the hydrothermal production of methane from microalgae and CO2 mitigation , 2009, Journal of Applied Phycology.

[5]  E. Frank,et al.  Life cycle comparison of hydrothermal liquefaction and lipid extraction pathways to renewable diesel from algae , 2012, Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change.

[6]  Mariefel V. Olarte,et al.  Catalytic Hydroprocessing of Fast Pyrolysis Bio-oil from Pine Sawdust , 2012 .

[7]  Senthil Chinnasamy,et al.  Evaluation of microalgae cultivation using recovered aqueous co-product from thermochemical liquefaction of algal biomass. , 2011, Bioresource technology.

[8]  Susanne B. Jones,et al.  Catalytic Hydrothermal Gasification of Lignin-Rich Biorefinery Residues and Algae Final Report , 2009 .

[9]  K. Das,et al.  Comparative Evaluation of Thermochemical Liquefaction and Pyrolysis for Bio-Oil Production from Microalgae , 2011 .

[10]  Frédéric Vogel,et al.  Catalytic gasification of algae in supercritical water for biofuel production and carbon capture , 2009 .

[11]  Amanda Lea-Langton,et al.  Nutrient recycling of aqueous phase for microalgae cultivation from the hydrothermal liquefaction process , 2012 .

[12]  Richard T. Sayre,et al.  Microalgae: The Potential for Carbon Capture , 2010 .

[13]  Thomas Maschmeyer,et al.  Pilot plant testing of continuous hydrothermal liquefaction of microalgae , 2013 .

[14]  K. Das,et al.  Effect of operating conditions of thermochemical liquefaction on biocrude production from Spirulina platensis. , 2011, Bioresource technology.

[15]  Robert C. Brown,et al.  Thermochemical processing of biomass : conversion into fuels, chemicals and power , 2011 .

[16]  Phillip E. Savage,et al.  Hydrothermal Liquefaction and Gasification of Nannochloropsis sp. , 2010 .

[17]  L. Rosendahl,et al.  Hydrothermal liquefaction of biomass: A review of subcritical water technologies , 2011 .

[18]  Amanda Lea-Langton,et al.  Hydrothermal processing of microalgae using alkali and organic acids , 2010 .

[19]  Marc Marshall,et al.  Thermal Treatment of Algae for Production of Biofuel , 2013 .

[20]  D. Barreiro,et al.  Hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) of microalgae for biofuel production: State of the art review and future prospects , 2013 .

[21]  Douglas C. Elliott,et al.  Chemical Processing in High-Pressure Aqueous Environments. 8. Improved Catalysts for Hydrothermal Gasification , 2006 .

[22]  Sascha R.A. Kersten,et al.  Hydrothermal Treatment (HTT) of Microalgae: Evaluation of the Process As Conversion Method in an Algae Biorefinery Concept , 2012 .

[23]  Michimasa Kishimoto,et al.  Oil production from algal cells of Dunaliella tertiolecta by direct thermochemical liquefaction , 1995 .

[24]  Peigao Duan,et al.  Upgrading of crude algal bio-oil in supercritical water. , 2011, Bioresource technology.

[25]  Lance Charles Schideman,et al.  Hydrothermal Liquefaction of Low Lipid Content Microalgae into Bio-Crude Oil , 2011 .

[26]  P. Biller,et al.  Potential yields and properties of oil from the hydrothermal liquefaction of microalgae with different biochemical content. , 2011, Bioresource technology.

[27]  Phillip E. Savage,et al.  Feedstocks for fuels and chemicals from algae: Treatment of crude bio-oil over HZSM-5 , 2013 .

[28]  D. Fabbri,et al.  Hydrothermal Treatment (HTT) of Microalgae: Detailed Molecular Characterization of HTT Oil in View of HTT Mechanism Elucidation , 2012 .

[29]  Susanne B. Jones,et al.  Development of hydrothermal liquefaction and upgrading technologies for lipid-extracted algae conversion to liquid fuels , 2013 .

[30]  Mark H. Engelhard,et al.  Chemical Processing in High-Pressure Aqueous Environments. 7. Process Development for Catalytic Gasification of Wet Biomass Feedstocks , 2004 .

[31]  Shuping Zou,et al.  Bio-oil production from sub- and supercritical water liquefaction of microalgae Dunaliella tertiolecta and related properties , 2010 .