Microalgal Torrefaction for Solid Biofuel Production

Shih-Hsin Ho; Congyu Zhang; Fei Tao; Chaofan Zhang; Wei-Hsin Chen

doi:10.1016/j.tibtech.2020.02.009

Microalgal Torrefaction for Solid Biofuel Production

Trends Biotechnol. 2020 Sep;38(9):1023-1033. doi: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2020.02.009. Epub 2020 Mar 23.

Authors

Shih-Hsin Ho¹, Congyu Zhang², Fei Tao³, Chaofan Zhang², Wei-Hsin Chen⁴

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, School of Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, PR China. Electronic address: stephen6949@hit.edu.cn.
² State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, School of Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, PR China.
³ State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, and School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, PR China.
⁴ Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 701, Taiwan; Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, College of Engineering, Tunghai University, Taichung 407, Taiwan; Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Chin-Yi University of Technology, Taichung 411, Taiwan; Research Center for Energy Technology and Strategy, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 701, Taiwan. Electronic address: weihsinchen@gmail.com.

PMID: 32818442
DOI: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2020.02.009

Abstract

Microalgae are recognized as promising feedstocks for biofuel production and have been intensively studied. However, a systematic investigation of the relationship between cellular components and fuel properties in microalgae is currently absent. This review introduces recent advances in microalgal torrefaction and critically evaluates the properties of torrefied products from the viewpoint of molecular conversion. We also critically review how to regulate biosynthesis to better modulate microalgal metabolism and how cellular components impact fuel properties. Process optimization to improve solid fuel properties using different torrefaction technologies are furthermore comprehensively compared and summarized. This review provides new insights into developing innovative microalgal solid biofuels and increasing their commercial viability.

Keywords: composition characteristics; fuel properties; microalgae; synthetic biology; torrefaction.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Review

MeSH terms

Biofuels*
Biosynthetic Pathways / genetics
Biotechnology / trends*
Microalgae / genetics
Microalgae / metabolism*

Substances

Biofuels