Political Ecology

In an effort to process wet algal biomass directly, eliminate organic solvent use during lipid extraction, and recover nutrients (e.g., N, P, and glycerol) for reuse, we developed a catalyst-free, two-step technique for algal biodiesel production. In the first step, wet algal biomass (ca. 80% moisture) reacts in subcritical water to hydrolyze intracellular lipids, conglomerate [...]

To expand the raw materials base for the production of biodiesel fuel, it is advantageous to make use of biobutanol (B) produced from renewable resources, which can be used in two ways as fuel for diesel engines: by direct inclusion into multicomponent fuel for diesel engines or by producing fatty acid butyl esters from rapeseed [...]

This study aimed to achieve higher CO2 consumption ability and lipid productivity of an indigenous microalgal isolate Scenedesmus obliquus CNW-N by a two-stage cultivation strategy. The microalga strain was first cultivated with 10% CO2 using a nutrient-rich medium to promote cell growth, which was followed by a nutrient-deficient condition to trigger lipid accumulation. The optimal [...]

The lipid contents and fatty acid profiles of Chlorella zofingiensis cultured in the dark with various carbon sources were investigated. Glucose was found to be the best carbon source for the growth and lipid production. When cultivated with 50 g L−1 glucose, C. zofingiensis accumulated lipids up to 52% of the dry biomass, with triacylglycerols [...]

Life-cycle assessment has been used to investigate the global warming potential (GWP) and fossil-energy requirement of a hypothetical operation in which biodiesel is produced from the freshwater alga Chlorella vulgaris, grown using flue gas from a gas-fired power station as the carbon source. Cultivation using a two-stage method was considered, whereby the cells were initially [...]

There is growing interest for using butanol−biodiesel fuel blends in diesel engines, but neither kinetic data nor kinetic models were available for simulating their combustion. Therefore, the kinetics of oxidation of a biodiesel−biobutanol surrogate fuel (methyl octanoate−1-butanol) was studied experimentally in a jet-stirred reactor (JSR) at 10 atm, at a constant mean residence time of [...]

In Washington, the EPA issued this week its proposed RFS2 renewable fuel blending mandates for 2011. Stunners among the announced targets were the confirmation of an 800 million gallon blending mandate for biodiesel, and the dropping of the cellulosic biofuel mandate from 250 million gallons to a 6-25 million gallon range.Overall the EPA did not [...]