Gursong Yoo

Methods of downstream processing for the production of biodiesel from microalgae.

Despite receiving increasing attention during the last few decades, the production of microalgal biofuels is not yet sufficiently cost-effective to compete with that of petroleum-based conventional fuels. Among the steps required for the production of microalgal biofuels, the harvest of the microalgal biomass and the extraction of lipids from microalgae are two of the most expensive. In this review article, we surveyed a substantial amount of previous work in microalgal harvesting and lipid extraction to highlight recent progress in these areas. We also discuss new developments in the biodiesel conversion technology due to the importance of the connectivity of this step with the lipid extraction process. Furthermore, we propose possible future directions for technological or process improvements that will directly affect the final production costs of microalgal biomass-based biofuels.

Direct lipid extraction from wet Chlamydomonas reinhardtii biomass using osmotic shock.

High-cost downstream process is a major bottleneck for producing microalgal biodiesel at reasonable price. Conventional lipid extraction process necessitates biomass drying process, which requires substantial amount of energy. In this regard, lipid extraction from wet biomass must be an attractive solution. However, it is almost impossible to recover lipid directly from wet microalgae with current technology. In this study, we conceived osmotic shock treatment as a novel method to extract lipid efficiently. Osmotic shock treatment was applied directly to wet Chlamydomonas reinhardtii biomass with water content >99%, along with both polar and non-polar organic solvents. Our results demonstrated that osmotic shock could increase lipid recovery approximately 2 times. We also investigated whether the presence of cell wall or different cell stages could have any impact on lipid recovery. Cell wall-less mutant stains and senescent cell phase could display significantly increased lipid recovery. Taken together, our results suggested that osmotic shock is a promising technique for wet lipid extraction from microalgal biomass and successfully determined that specific manipulation of biomass in certain cell phase could enhance lipid recovery further.

An effective, cost-efficient extraction method of biomass from wet microalgae with a functional polymeric membrane

For energy-efficient extraction of biomass from microalgae, it is essential to extract the intracellular lipid directly from wet microalgae without drying the microalgal biomass. In this work, a novel, highly efficient cell disruption process was devised using a functional membrane coated with a cationic polymer. The proposed mechanism of cell disruption involves the perturbation of the local electrostatic equilibrium of the amphiphilic microalgal cell membrane caused by the direct contact with the tertiary-amine cations on the surface of the membrane. A tert-amine-containing polymer, poly-dimethylaminomethylstyrene (pDMAMS) film was conformally deposited on a nylon membrane by a vapor-phase polymerization process, termed as initiated chemical vapor deposition (iCVD). For the wet extraction with this membrane, the pDMAMS-coated membrane was immersed in a microalgal culture of Aurantiochytrium sp. KRS101. The microalgal culture was simply shaken together with the membrane to prompt the contact with the pDMAMS-coated membrane. With this ultimately simple procedure, the bursting of cells was clearly observed. Surprisingly, by this simple, energy-efficient process, a significantly high disruption yield of 25.6 ± 2.18% was achieved. The membrane-based extraction process is highly desirable in that (1) the process does not require an energy-consuming drying procedure, and (2) the proposed cell disruption method with a functional membrane is extremely simple and highly efficient.

Development of direct conversion method for microalgal biodiesel production using wet biomass of Nannochloropsis salina.

In this work, the effects of several factors, such as temperature, reaction time, and solvent and acid quantity on in situ transesterification yield of wet Nannochloropsis salina were investigated. Under equivalent total solvent volume to biomass ratio, pure alcohol showed higher yield compared to alcohol-chloroform solvent. For esterifying 200 mg of wet cells, 2 ml of methanol and 1 ml of ethanol was sufficient to complete in situ transesterification. Under temperatures of 105 °C or higher, 2.5% and 5% concentrations of sulfuric acid was able to successfully convert more than 90% of lipid within 30 min when methanol and ethanol was used as solvents respectively. Also, it was verified that the optimal condition found in small-scale experiments is applicable to larger scale using 2 L scale reactor as well.

Microalgae-mediated simultaneous treatment of toxic thiocyanate and production of biodiesel

In this work, a method for simultaneously degrading the toxic pollutant, thiocyanate, and producing microalgal lipids using mixed microbial communities was developed. Aerobic activated sludge was used as the seed culture and thiocyanate was used as the sole nitrogen source. Two cultivation methods were sequentially employed: a lithoautotrophic mode and a photoautotrophic mode. Thiocyanate hydrolysis and a nitrification was found to occur under the first (lithoautotrophic) condition, while the oxidized forms of nitrogen were assimilated by the photoautotrophic consortium and lipids were produced under the second condition. The final culture exhibited good settling efficiency (∼ 70% settling over 10 min), which can benefit downstream processing. The highest CO2 fixation rate and lipid productivity were observed with 2.5% and 5% CO2, respectively. The proposed integrated algal-bacterial system appears to be a feasible and even beneficial option for thiocyanate treatment and production of microbial lipids.

Energy-efficient cultivation of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii for lipid accumulation under flashing illumination conditions

Microalgal cultivation has been limited by the efficiency and costs associated with providing light energy, the most expensive and essential element needed for microalgal growth to a culture, particularly to cultures grown in a photo bioreactor (PBR). This study examined the economic benefits of using flashing illumination conditions in the context of microalgal cultivation. Chlamydomonas reinhardtii was cultivated under various conditions, including various inoculum sizes, light intensities, and durations of the light and dark periods. Our results showed that the highest microalgal growth efficiencies could be obtained using a large inoculum size under high intensity illumination accompanied by a 1:1 ratio of light and dark periods. The duration of the flashing light period was further optimized; permitting light energy savings of 62.5% of the light energy expended under continuous illumination conditions without reducing the biomass or lipid productivity. This study provides a more economical approach to cultivating C. reinhardtii via optimized flashing illumination without sacrificing microalgal growth or lipid content.

Kinetic study for phenol degradation by ZVI-assisted Fenton reaction and related iron corrosion investigated by X-ray absorption spectroscopy.

In this study, we investigated phenol degradation via zero-valent iron (ZVI)-assisted Fenton reaction through kinetic and spectroscopic analysis. In batch experiments, 100 mg/L of phenol was completely degraded, and 75% of TOC was removed within 3 min under an optimal hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) concentration (50 mM) via the Fenton reaction. In the absence of H2O2, oxygen (O2) was dissolved into the solution and produced H2O2, which resulted in phenol degradation. However, phenol removal efficiency was not very high compared to external H2O2 input. The Fenton reaction rapidly occurred at the surface of ZVI, and then phenol mobility from the solution to the ZVI surface was the rate determining step of the whole reaction. The pseudo-second order adsorption kinetic model well describes phenol removal, and its rate increased according to the H2O2 concentration. X-ray absorption spectroscopic analysis revealed that iron oxide (Fe-O bonding) was formed on ZVI with [H2O2] > 50 mM. A high concentration of H2O2 led to rapid degradation of phenol and caused corrosion on the ZVI surface, indicating that Fe(2+) ions were rapidly oxidized to Fe(3+) ions due to the Fenton reaction and that Fe(3+) was precipitated as iron oxide on the ZVI surface. However, ZVI did not show corroded characteristics in the absence of H2O2 due to the insufficient ZVI-assisted Fenton reaction and oxidation of Fe(2+) to Fe(3+).

Chemical Pretreatment of Algal Biomass

This chapter comprehensively reviews pretreatment of algal biomass for biofuel production, focusing on chemical pretreatment. Algae have gained much attention as alternative feedstock for biofuels as well as biochemicals, and a number of researchers have investigated effective pretreatment to disrupt or degrade algal biomass, to maximize biofuel productivity. State-of-the-art techniques are categorized with respect to final products such as bioethanol, biogas, biohydrogen, and biodiesel. We also describe a recent approach to pretreatment for producing multiple kinds of biofuels by combining various techniques and converting the whole biomass into biofuels through hydrothermal treatment. Finally, future prospects and major technical obstacles to algal pretreatment are addressed in terms of the biorefinery concept.

Preparation of Low-Cost Adsorbents from Paper Industry Wastes and their Pb(II) Removal Behavior in Water

In this study, we prepare low-cost adsorbents from paper industry waste (newspaper (NP) and white paper (WP) waste) through a simple drying process and used them for Pb(II) removal. Characteristics, maximum Pb(II) removal capacities of prepared adsorbents, and Pb(II) removal mechanisms are investigated. The maximum amounts of adsorbed Pb(II) on NP and WP derived from the Langmuir isotherm are 42.4 and 18.5 mg·g−1, respectively. This value is similar or more effective than commercial and other low-cost Pb(II) sorbents. It indicates that low-cost adsorbents prepared from paper industry waste have high potential as inexpensive and effective heavy metal adsorbents.