Co-production of biodiesel and high value added by-products from microalgae employing the hydrothermal technology

2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26289372
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
• Allocation Type: Partial Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Energy engineering
• Research Institution: Tokyo Institute of Technology
• Principal Investigator: YOSHIKAWA KUNIO 東京工業大学, 環境・社会理工学院, 教授 (70134848)
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2017-03-31
• Keywords: エネルギー生成・変換 / バイオマス / 再生可能エネルギー / バイオ燃料 / 微細藻類

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The aim of this study is to effectively extract oil from microalgae together with efficacious utilization of by-products employing the hydrothermal treatment technology (HTT). HTT is the state of the art technology in clean alternative energy production. The outstanding merit of this technology is not only the energy efficiency, but also the zero-waste emission. The key mechanism of this HTT promotes exclusively the worthy production of co-products, i.e., solid fertilizer and algae re-cultivation medium rather than the ordinary greater bio-oil heating value. The converted FAME (Fatty Acid Methyl Ester) compositions have found to be a good candidate for biodiesel upgrading. The aqueous residue also performed well in the production of microalgae. Additionally, the solid residue has shown some positive effects on the plant growth.

Free Research Field

工学