Abstract
Qualitative and quantitative analyses of thermal cracking products from Desmodesmus sp. were performed based on pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) at different temperature regimes (350°C-750°C). After further analysis of a series of total ions chromatogram (TIC) and summarized, thermal cracking products of Desmodesmus sp. at different temperature regimes can be obtained, which mainly comprised of aliphatic hydrocarbons, nitrogen compounds, aromatic hydrocarbons, fatty acids, ketones, alcohols, aldehydes and furan compounds. Compared to bio-oil production at 650°C (32.07%), Desmodesmus sp. pyrolyzed at 750°C could produce the highest bio-oil content of 42.25%. However, higher temperature could lead to the formation of contaminants (nitrogen compounds and PAHs) more easily. Therefore, considering the higher content of bio-oil conversion and less pollutants generation, the optimum temperature for Desmodesmus sp. thermal cracking conversion was about 650°C. Keywords: microalgae, Desmodesmus sp., thermal cracking, bio-oil production, pyrolysis DOI: 10.25165/j.ijabe.20171004.3348 Citation: Li G, Xiang S N, Ji F, Zhou Y G, Huang Z G. Thermal cracking products and bio-oil production from microalgae Desmodesmus sp. Int J Agric & Biol Eng, 2017; 10(4): 198–206.
Highlights
In the context of modern society, ‘environment’ and ‘energy’ are often in the opposite of the two sides that cannot coexist between each other
The bio-fuel materials are mainly from oil plants, which account for the competition with food crops and higher costs of water and raw material, limiting the further promotion of bio-fuel applications
Due to the advantages of photosynthesis efficiency, short growth cycle, high-density large-scale production, and no occupying arable land resources, microalgae as a new bio-fuel raw material can effectively solve the problem of competition with food crops and raw materials costs, which will be the most potential to replace fossil fuels resources in the future[1]
Summary
In the context of modern society, ‘environment’ and ‘energy’ are often in the opposite of the two sides that cannot coexist between each other. Due to the advantages of photosynthesis efficiency, short growth cycle, high-density large-scale production, and no occupying arable land resources, microalgae as a new bio-fuel raw material can effectively solve the problem of competition with food crops and raw materials costs, which will be the most potential to replace fossil fuels resources in the future[1]. The research on the microalgae biomass conversion to biofuels began in the mid-1980s, when it focused on the use of microalgae to prepare biodiesel. This method required the microalgae with high oil content, and was highly impacted by the lipid composition and content[2].
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