Algal Systems for Resource Recovery from Waste and Wastewater
This book provides comprehensive insights on existing technologies and up-to-date advances in the field of waste management and treatment using algal-based technologies via different approaches and systems.
Coverage includes:
Process fundamentals of algae-based wastewater treatment, including metabolic modelling, algal species for resource recovery and algae/bacteria interactions.
Critical insights on the status, major challenges and modern engineering solutions in microalgae-related wastewater treatment processes.
Case studies for coculturing microalgae with methanotrophs for enhanced nutrient recovery from wastewater.
Advanced ways for valorisation of algae-based processes by integrating them with other technologies such as anaerobic digestion, biogas upgradation and bioelectrochemical systems.
Up-to-date information on modern biotechnological approaches for deriving value-added bioproducts and biopolymers from microalgae, including biofuels, pigments and nutraceuticals.
This is an essential textbook for both undergraduate and graduate students pursuing degrees in environmental sciences, technologies, or engineering. Additionally, the book is equally useful for a broad audience, including researchers, engineers, and policy makers interested in the field of algal systems for waste and wastewater management. The book is also tailored to be used as an advanced manual for practitioners and consultancies working in the field of wastewater treatment and resource recovery.
ISBN 9781789063530 (paperback)
ISBN 9781789063547 (eBook)
ISBN 9781789063554 (ePub)
Chapter 9: Algae for wastewater treatment and biofuel production
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Published:December 2023
S. B. Velasquez-Orta, 2023. "Algae for wastewater treatment and biofuel production", Algal Systems for Resource Recovery from Waste and Wastewater, Piet N. L. Lens, Amitap Khandelwal
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Abstract
Biofuels can be used for the provision of electricity, heating, and transport. Interest in biofuels has been sparked by their suitability to decrease carbon emissions and fossil fuel dependency without major modifications to our existing energy infrastructure. Microalgae grown in wastewater are a suitable feedstock to produce two of the most utilized types of biofuels: bioethanol and biodiesel. Biodiesel is obtained as fatty acid methyl esters from microalgae via a chemical reaction known as transesterification. Bioethanol is produced from biomass by microbial fermentation. So far, microalgae growing in wastewater has been characterized for containing a mixture of lipids, carbohydrates, and proteins. Hence, another area of interest is the use of wastewater-derived microalgae for the sequential production of bioethanol, biodiesel, and protein compounds. A biorefinery concept emerges for the generation of multiple co-products from the wastewater-derived microalgae that can maximize the use of unit operations and the valorization of microalgal biomass. In this chapter, concepts for biodiesel and bioethanol production are evaluated and a biocircular economy prospected.