Hydrothermal liquefaction of laboratory cultivated and commercial algal biomass into crude bio-oil

This study investigated the production of crude bio-oils from three laboratory cultivated and two commercial grade algal biomass sources via hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) process. Results demonstrated the crude bio-oils generated from laboratory cultivated algae fed 5% anaerobic digestion effluent as sole nutrient source have similar thermochemical characteristics as comparison with that of derived from commercial algae. The HTL conditions were optimized (300 degrees C for 20 min) and the generated bio-oils were characterized by gas chromatography mass spectrometry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry analyses and simulated distillation by thermogravimetric analysis. The bio-oil yields were between 28 and 41%. The bio-oils were mainly comprised of fatty acids and alkanes. These bio-oils can be further upgraded and refined into value added transportation fuels and chemicals. (c) 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 36: 781-787, 2017