Economic Analysis for the Production of Solid, Microalgae-derived Biofuel

The cement industry is a large-scale emitter of fossil CO2 contributing 6.1% to global CO2 emissions annually. Options for mitigating CO2 emissions from cement plants range from carbon capture to alternative fuel substitution; this work examines the application of a solid, microalgae-derived biofuel as one option for the latter. Based on technologies that have been demonstrated to work at industrial scales, this work examines two potential systems for the production of such a biofuel: in one case yielding a 2-part solid fuel of microalgal biomass (85 wt.%) and water (15 wt.%), with an expected heating value of 18.6 GJ t-1, and in the second yielding a 3-part solid fuel of microalgal biomass (80 wt.%), water (15 wt.%), and limestone dust (5 wt.%), with an expected heating value of 17.4 GJ t-1. A preliminary economic analysis using published literature values for equipment costs and capacities determines the cost of the 2-part fuel to be $34.5 GJ-1 and the cost of the 3-part fuel to be $36.9 GJ-1. These represent more economical approaches to producing biofuel from microalgal biomass than liquid biofuels, the most economically competitive of which is still priced near $48.6 GJ-1. However, these cases also represent a significant cost increase over traditional solid fossil fuels, such as coal at a standard cost of $2.34 GJ-1. Ultimately, applying microalgal biomass to as a thermal energy source in clinker manufacture is expected to cost $241 tCO-2. Some potential avenues for cost-reduction and value recovery are considered.

Department dc:contributor.department

Chemical Engineering

Author dc:creator

• Kraemer, Kristian

Advisor dc:contributor.supervisor

• Zeman, Frank

• Microalgae
• Biofuel
• Techno-economic analysis
• Renewable energy
• Alternative fuel
• Cement

Statement dc:rights

• Queen's University's Thesis/Dissertation Non-Exclusive License for Deposit to QSpace and Library and Archives Canada
• ProQuest PhD and Master's Theses International Dissemination Agreement
• Intellectual Property Guidelines at Queen's University
• Copying and Preserving Your Thesis
• This publication is made available by the authority of the copyright owner solely for the purpose of private study and research and may not be copied or reproduced except as permitted by the copyright laws without written authority from the copyright owner.
• CC0 1.0 Universal

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1974/29182

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:queensu.scholaris.ca:1974/29182