Increasing demand for renewable fuels has researchers investigating the feasibility of alternative feedstocks, including microalgae. Inherent advantages of microalgae include high potential yield, use of non-arable land, and integration with waste streams. Large-scale production of biofuel from microalgae will require the integration of growth platforms with point source carbon dioxide such as coal derived flue gas. The introduction of this waste stream into the growth system will inevitably introduce trace heavy metals which have a high affinity to bind to microalgal cells, could be toxic to the cells, and if transferred to the microalgae could impact the end use of the derived products. heavy metals As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Hg, Mn, Ni, …show more content…
2.2 Introduction
Global demand for energy is putting increased pressure on various resources including traditional fossil reserves while igniting interest in the development of substitute energy such as non-traditional fossil reserves, alternative energy and biobased energy. Negative environmental impacts associated with the consumption of fossil fuels have further inspired the development and investigation of alternative energy resources. The US annually consumes approximately 100 quadrillion BTUs of energy with 80% being derived from fossil sources corresponding to 5 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions, with approximately 30% of those emissions derived from the combustion of coal for electrical energy production [1,2]. Recent regulation on the reduction of carbon emissions from coal has further sparked the evaluation of the synergistic integration of microalgae production with coal based flue gas as the carbon source [3,4]. Further, microalgae represent a promising alternative biofuel feedstock with high productivity rates, year round cultivation, integration with various waste streams, and the use of low quality land and water [5]. The technical evaluation of microalgae based biofuel systems has been traditionally performed through techno-economics and life cycle assessment with the majority of these evaluations assuming the seamless integration of
World’s increasing demand for energy is fulfilled by different sectors (like Oil, Coal, Natural Gas, Hydro, Nuclear and others). Fossil fuels remain the dominant source of energy powering the world economy, supplying 60% of the energy increase out to 2035. Within that, gas looks set to become the fastest growing fossil fuel, spurred on by ample supplies and supportive environmental policies.
In a world where close to one out of every nine people are starving, having food prices rise due to corn being wasted on ethanol, is detrimental to the poverty stricken of this world and makes their lives even harder because they cannot afford basic food (Hunger Map 2015). The Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) created a mandate for Ethanol production in the united states that increases every year till 2022, in 2022 the mandate will be thirty-six billion gallons of ethanol produced in the United States (Stop Fueling Par 4). This mandate creates extremely high demand for ethanol production, which uses ample amounts of corn to produce ethanol, because of this, demand for corn increased dramatically causing prices to rise. Once corn prices began to rise, farmers started to grow more corn because they could sell it at a higher price, also they switched from growing other crops to growing corn so they
Several experimenters have found the CO2 from a smokestack works well for growing algae. To be economical, some experts think that algae farming for biofuels will have to be done as part of cogeneration, where it can make use of waste heat, and help soak up pollution.
Energy is what allows an America to perform the daily tasks that one does everyday. The main source of energy that America uses is fossil fuels, which are nonrenewable, such as coal and oil. These fossil fuels cause air pollution and damage the environment. Since these fuels are nonrenewable, they will run out, and a new source of energy needs to be found eventually. The greatest current threat to America right now is the affect fossil fuels have on the environment, and the reality that there will be none left to use.
Nowadays, biofuels have become essential for future economic development and environmental protection. Primarily, their environment-friendliness and low carbon emissions are emphasized as the main advantages. However, in reality, few investigations were made to find out the disadvantages of such renewable alternative, and it may bring much more negative impacts than its advantages.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the renewable fuel standard is a program created by Congress whose goal is to “reduce greenhouse gas emissions and expand the nation’s renewable fuels sector while reducing reliance on imported oil” (EPA 2016). This new program has been seen as a confident advancement toward benefiting the environment. However, it has also been thought of as unfavorable for varying reasons. Many believe that the renewable fuel standard is a positive thing because the fuel is cleaner, it will reduce pollution, and it will benefit the environment. In contrast, many also believe that it is harmful to the environment and to automobile engines.
I am submitting this proposal to provide some information on the long term effects of increasing demand for renewable energy. In this paper you will find information on how reducing the cost of energy can help economic growth and reduce the cost to maintain our standard of living.
Henry Ford, in 1925, dubbed biofuels “the fuel of the future”. Today, Mr. Ford’s prediction is coming true because biofuels are proving to be one of the most promising sources of alternative energy. Biofuels are popular because they only release the CO2 that was collected during photosynthesis. They solve many of the problems that fossil fuels present: greenhouse gases, emissions, resource depletion, and foreign oil dependency. On the other hand, biofuel production has drawbacks such as resource requirements, air and groundwater pollution, and usage of space. The best material to invest in as a biofuel company is switchgrass lignocellulose, using the process of catalytic pyrolysis to better combat the fuel crisis.
With the todays advancements in machinery and other technological aspects the idea and importance of using biofuels that are both environmentally safe and efficient is important. With todays society being more aware of greenhouse gas emissions and that can make In a series of three weeks the efficiency and environmental safeness of five different biofuels were tested to determine which In the three labs performed of a series of three weeks, the efficiency and environmentally safeness of different biofuels were tested to determine of which would be most suitible if the ideas from above are taken into consideration. By recording the germination of seeds with a certain biofuel the toxicity of each fuel was determined. In lab 7, through
In addition, another reason we should make the switch from non-renewable to renewable resources is because renewable resources and energy do not cause as much harm to Earth as non-renewable energy. Some examples in which renewable energy and sources help Earth and its inhabitants are by producing little to no global warming emissions, improving public health/environmental quality, creating an inexhaustible energy supply, producing jobs, and maintaining stable energy prices. By reducing the amount of greenhouse gases produced, humans can lower the amount of harm being put on the ozone layer and help reduce global warming. In fact research and analyses by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) and the U.S. Department of Energy show that by
Biotechnology has played a vital role in reducing the green house effect and in producing a cleaner planet. Because of the worldwide economic and environmental concerns regarding the use of petro-chemicals, extensive research has been conducted on residual biomass. Significant progress has been made in the field of lignocellulose biotechnology. Lignocellulosic waste materials have been used in the production of bio-fuels, enzymes, chemicals, the pulp and paper, animal feed and composites (Iqbal, 2013). Moreover, algal biomass has received huge attention in producing biofuels due to their relatively high growth rate, great
In the world of global warming, all kinds of pollution and fuel shortages going on, renewable and clean/ green energy is increasingly the ideal solution of energy related problems we have to solve one way or another. Biofuel is one of the mainstream and highly supported solutions nowadays, an idea to make renewable fuel by living organisms such as fiber, corn, vegetable oil or sugar cane. Unlike nonrenewable fossil fuels over extracted by people causing various environmental problems like generating a considerable amount greenhouse gas, current technology already lets renewable fuel like biofuels to shrink a certain amount of greenhouse gas production, making it a more ‘clean’ source of energy.
There is no question that our world is changing, whether it be with technology, people, climate, or even the economy. With the constant hustle and bustle of our busy lives, we tend to overlook some issues that may not affect us now, but will eventually come back to haunt us. Instead of spending time worrying about our own selfish interests, maybe we should focus on more important issues at hand. Have you ever thought about how our extracurriculars or our beloved sports might impact our environment? One of the sports that comes to mind when I think of a sport that negatively impacts our environment is NASCAR. I think the racing industry should be forced to use biofuels.
Phycoremediation is the use of micro- or macroalgae for the removal or biotransformation of pollutants, including nutrients and toxic chemicals from wastewater (Olguin, 2003; Mulbry et al., 2008). It is a novel, low cost and an effective technique that uses simple and economical method as compared to the other conventional treatments on the basis of nutrient removal (Elumalai et al., 2013; De La Noue et al., 1992). Phycoremediation is comprised of several applications: (i) nutrient removal from municipal wastewater and effluents rich in organic matter;
Microalgae are collection of single-celled or simple multi-cell microorganisms.They are aquatic organisms that survive in fresh water and marine environments. They are classifed in four groups (red, green, brown and diatoms microalgae).Microalgae are one of mainly significant plant in plants kingdom, it has high photosynthetic process. So, algae can be developed very fastly andits rate of reproduction is very high. Human can be used the algae in different fields of life such as energy source, food, fertilizers, Cosmetics, Pharmaceuticals, Aquaculture function and pollutions control. World research about better solutions to solve the waters pollutions problems. So microalgae cultivation is one of a better technology for wastewater treatment.