CO 2 Resource Utilization for Microalgae Biofuels Production or Carbon Sequestration - A Life Cycle Assessment Perspective.

Transcription

1 CO 2 Resource Utilization for Microalgae Biofuels Production or Carbon Sequestration - A Life Cycle Assessment Perspective. Susan Boland October 2, 2015

2 Outline Life Cycle Associates Intro Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) CO 2 Resource Utilization Algal Biofuel LCA 2

3 Life Cycle Associates Intro Life Cycle Associates Consultancy in transportation fuel energy issues! Fuel LCA modeling! Process analysis! Business strategy LCA Analysis! RFS2! LCFS! EU RED! DOE Biorefinery! Corporate sustainability Technologies/Customers! Petroleum, natural gas, fermentation, algae, gasification, vegetable oil, electric transport, hydrogen, etc. 3

4 Life Cycle Associates Intro Accomplishments Developed 2009 California GREET model for the Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) and calculated pathway results Developed Algae Lifecycle Process INput Evalutation (ALPINE) Model Published review studies of LCA methods, LUC, and modeling tools Completed hundreds of life cycle analyses Helped companies win over $80 million dollars in funding 4

5 Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) Copyright 2014 Life Cycle Associates, LLC

6 Life Cycle Assessment What is LCA? LCA is a technique used to assess the environmental aspects and potential impacts associated with a product, process, or service, by:! Compiling an inventory of relevant energy and material inputs and environmental releases! Evaluating the potential environmental impacts associated with inputs and releases! Interpreting the results to help companies make a more informed decision 6

7 Life Cycle Assessment Fuel Life Cycle Steps From production and refining to end use in vehicles, each stage of the fuel supply chain contributes to the fuel s carbon footprint. GHG Emissions (g CO 2 e/mj Fuel ) WTT + TTW = WTW 7

8 CO 2 Resource Utilization Microalgae Biofuels Copyright 2014 Life Cycle Associates, LLC

9 CO 2 Resource Utilization Carbon Source Algal biomass production requires an external carbon source for high yields! Atmospheric CO 2 concentrations result in yields less than 20 g/ m 2 /day. A variety of carbon sources are options for algae cultivation! Concentrated CO 2 sources (combustion, fermentation)! Dilute CO 2 capture! Atmospheric CO 2 capture! Waste water! Minerals 9

10 CO 2 Resource Utilization Algae Production Considerations Optimal algae growth occurs in a CO 2 enriched environment! Combustion sources provide an abundant source of concentrated CO 2! Biomass yield up to 50 g/m 2 /d Solar Efficiency and Land availability! Solar energy conversion efficiencies in algae production are in the order of 1 % to 2%! Sufficient collection area to efficiently utilize available CO 2 Night-time CO 2 Storage 10

11 CO 2 Resource Utilization Carbon Balance Carbon source affects net CO 2 emissions! CO 2 that would have been emitted! CO 2 captured from atmosphere! Stored carbon Algae can also result in stored carbon! Sludge! Bio-products! Co-product credit 11

12 CO 2 Resource Utilization Carbon Sinks and Releases Capture of CO 2 that would be emitted. 12

13 CO 2 Resource Utilization Carbon Sinks and Releases Capture of CO 2 that would be emitted. CO 2 emitted from processing or fuel Net Storage 13

14 Algal Biofuel LCA Copyright 2014 Life Cycle Associates, LLC

15 Algal Biofuel LCA Algal Pathways Source: U.S. DOE energy efficiency and renewable energy webinar 15

16 Algal Biofuel LCA Algae Crude System Boundary CO 2 Capture Algae Cultivation & Harvest Liquid Extraction Bio-Crude Refining Storage, blending, transport Vehicle Power Plant Fertilizer and Nutrients Solids Processing Animal Feed Displaced Products Land Use Conversion Coal Ash Process Electricity & Steam Off-Site Grid Power H 2 Plant Cogen Plant Electric Power 16

17 Algal Biofuel LCA Algae Crude System Boundary Atmosphere CO 2 CO 2 CO 2 CO 2 Capture Algae Cultivation & Harvest Liquid Extraction Bio-Crude Refining Storage, blending, transport Vehicle Power Plant Fertilizer and Nutrients Solids Processing Animal Feed Displaced Products Land Use Conversion Coal Process Electricity & Steam H 2 Plant Cogen Plant Soil amendment Carbon release Ash Off-Site Grid Power Electric Power 17

18 Sample Results GHG Emissions and CO 2 Balance Results 18

19 CO 2 Resource Utilization CO 2 Resource Utilization: Coal Power Plant Example 19

20 CO 2 Resource Utilization CO 2 Resource Utilization: Coal Power Plant Example Microalgae could re-use up to 40% of the energy in coal, plus make a range of co-products 20

21 Questions? Contact Info: 21