Our presentation will focus on the production and manufacture of alternative liquid fuels.

Biofuels production will offer new opportunities to diversify income and fuel supply sources, promote
employment in rural areas and reduce GHG emissions.
The most common biofuels are biodiesel and bioethanol which will replace diesel and gasoline
respectively. Biofuels are produced from existing biomass and contribute to lower emissions that fossil
fuels per equivalent power output. They can be produced using existing technologies and distributed
using the available distribution system.

Although biofuels are still more expensive than fossil fuels, their production is increasing around the
world, with countries offering encouraging policies the global production is estimated to be 35 billion
liters.
Biodiesel is produced from vegetable oils or animal fats. This proves to be a problem since vegetable oils
are also used for human consumption it can lead to an increase in the price of food-grade oils causing
the cost of biodiesel to increase.
The market for biodiesel far exceeds the availability of plant oils not designated for human consumption.
In the EU to meet a 10% target from domestic production, the actual feedstock supply is not enough to
meet the current demand. The land requirements for biofuels production are more than the potential
available arable land for bio-energy crops. Excessive use of land will result in loss of biodiversity,
deforestation and utilization of ecologically important areas.

In order to not compete with edible vegetable oils, biodiesel should be produced from non-edible oils
such as frying oils, animal fats, soap stocks and greases. However the available waste oils and animal
fats are not enough to match the demands. Thus arises the need for alternative biofuels such as
microalgae. Microalgae will contribute to a reduction in land requirements due to their higher energy
yields per hectare. They also do not compete with agricultural land.

Microalgae are easy to cultivate, grow with little to no attention using water that is unsuitable for
human consumption and easy to obtain nutrients. Microalgae use photosynthesis to convert the energy
from the sun to chemical energy. They grow wherever sunlight reaches and require a few simple
nutrients. Their growth can be accelerated using specific nutrients and sufficient aeration.

Microalgae provide feedstock for several different types of renewable fuels such as biodiesel, methane,
hydrogen and ethanol. Algae biofuel contains no sulfur and performs as well as petroleum diesel while
reducing emissions of particulate matter, carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons and SOx.

Microalgae can also serve other purposes such as;

Removal of carbon dioxide from industrial flue gases by algae bio-fixation reducing GHG
emissions of the company.
 Wastewater treatment by removal of ammonium, nitrates and phosphates since algae can use
these water contaminants as nutrients.
It can be processed into ethanol, methane, livestock feed, used as organic fertilizer due to its
high N:P ratio, or simply burned for energy generation (electricity and heat). Depending on the
specie of the algae other compounds may also be extracted such as fats, polyunsaturated fatty
acids, oil, natural dyes, sugars, pigments, anti-oxidants, high-value bioactive compounds and
other fine chemicals and biomass.
Enhance the nutritional value of food due to their chemical composition
Some of the industrial applications of algae can be (other than biofuels) cosmetics,
pharmaceuticals, nutrition and food additives, aquaculture and pollution prevention.

Alge Pyrolysis:
One of the proposed methods of conversion of algae to liquid fuel is Algae Pyrolysis.
The pyrolysis process occurs at around 500C in the absence of oxygen using a fluidized bed
reactor. Once the stable temperature of 500C is reached a screw conveyor is switched on and a
small fraction of biomass is fed to the reactor within a period of one hour. Volatile products
were then fed to a cyclone which was separated coke from the products.

The gases are then passed through a heat exchanger where liquid products are condensed at a
temperature of 15C. Electro filter and dry ice methanol can be used to trap aerosols that may
be released. The liquid fuels are collected in traps and weighted.

The oils produced from algae pyrolysis have a very high calorific value.

Saad
Umair
Asad
Ahsan