Exergy analyses of biogas production from microalgae biomass via anaerobic digestion

Abstract

Biogas production from microalgae biomass without pretreatment and with hydrothermal pretreatment involve the energy with different quality and quantity, which makes it complex to evaluate thermodynamic performance. In this paper, exergy analyses were conducted in biogas production from microalgae biomass without pretreatment, with hydrothermal pretreatment, and with solar-driven hydrothermal pretreatment. The results showed that the materials and energy flow affected exergy efficiency in biogas production from microalgae biomass. The biogas production from microalgae biomass with solar-driven hydrothermal pretreatment achieved the highest exergy efficiency (40.85%), compared with that without pretreatment (26.2%) and with hydrothermal pretreatment (35.98%). In addition, the maximum exergy loss was caused by biogas residue, which accounted for 60.58%, 38.54%, and 35.13% of overall exergy input in biogas production from microalgae biomass without pretreatment, with hydrothermal pretreatment, and with solar-driven hydrothermal pretreatment, respectively. Exergy analyses provide important theoretical guidance to improve the performance of biogas production from microalgae biomass.