Hydrothermal liquefaction of Nannochloropsis oceanica in different solvents

Identifier:  PC:1497

Handle: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11797/PC1497

Authors:  M.P. Caporgno; J. Pruvost; J. Legrand; O. Lepine; M. Tazerout; C. Bengoa

Abstract:
Although the hydrothermal liquefaction is considered a promising technology for converting microalgae into liquid biofuels, there are still some disadvantages. This paper demonstrated that the bio-oil yield can be significantly improved by adding alcohols as co-solvents and carrying out the conversion at mild conditions (<250 °C), but at the expense of a reduced bio-oil quality. By adding ethanol, the bio-oil yields obtained (up to ∼60%) were comparable to the yield obtained at severe operating conditions using only water as solvent (54 ± 2% on average), but the quality of the bio-oil was lower. However, the main advantages of the process here described lie in the utilisation of wet microalgae (∼75% moisture) and alcohol concentrations which avoid both drying the microalgae and decreasing the amount of microalgae loaded in the reactor.