Coproduction of amino acids and biohythane from microalgae via cascaded hydrothermal and anaerobic process

Abstract

In search of the candidate for animal feed and clean energy, a new vision of algal biorefinery was firstly proposed to coproduce amino acids and biohythane via hydrothermal treatment and two-stage anaerobic fermentation. This study focused on the comprehensive analysis of amino acids recovered from Chlorella sp. and the subsequent biohythane production from microalgal residues. The content and recovery rate of amino acids were in the range of 2.07–27.62 g/100 g and 3.65 %–48.66 % with increasing temperature due to more cell wall disruptions. Furthermore, it was rich in essential amino acids for livestock, including leucine, arginine, isoleucine, valine and phenylalanine. A comparable hydrogen production (9 mL/g volatile solids (VS)) was reached at 70 °C and 90 °C, while it reduced to 5.84 mL/gVS at 150 °C. The group at 70 °C got the maximum methane generation of 311.9 mL/gVS, which was 16.67 %, 24.94 %, 38.38 % and 46.49 % higher than that of other groups. Microalgal residues at lower temperature contained more organics, which was the reason for the better biohythane production. The coproduction of amino acids and biohythane at 130 °C was favorable, which led to 43.71 % amino acids recovery and 93.82 mL biohythane production from per gVS of Chlorella sp. The improved microalgal biorefinery could provide an alternative way to mitigate the crisis of food and energy, but animal experimentations and techno-economic assessments should be considered for further study.