La biorefineria
Biorefineries
 |
Anàlogament a una típica refineria petrolera on a partir del cru s'obtenen diversos productes (asfalt, querosè,
gasolines, etc.), la biorefineria fa referència a biomassa d'origen renovable. Es teoritza sobre diversos tipus de biorefineria en relació al tipus de producte/procés, però també en funció de la flexibilitat de la fàbrica. |
Aplicar l'estratègia de biorefineria a les microalgues és actualment una obligació per donar sentit econòmic a l'explotació d'aquesta font de biomassa. Això implica l'obtenció de diversos productes com poden ser nutricionals (omega 3 / omega 6), cosmètics, bioalcohols, biodièsel, etc. En bona part, és degut al llarg procés requerit, que consta de les següents etapes:
- Cultiu de les microalgues.
- Concentració de les microalgues.
- Trencament de la paret cel·lular per extreure totes les fraccions a valoritzar.
- Separació i purificació de les diverses fraccions (per exemple, els greixos per produir biodièsel).
- Transformació de la fracció en producte final (pel biodièsel, cal transesterificar els olis per produir el biocombustible; això també inclou processos de separació, purificació, etc.).
Podeu trobar més informació sobre el biorefinatge de les microalgues en aquests articles:
- Biodiesel from Microalgae
- Commercial Applications of Microalgae
- Biorefinery concept in a microalgae pilot plant. Culturing, dynamic filtration and steam explosion fractionation
- Bioprocess engineering of microalgae to produce a variety of consumer products
- Antifouling microfiltration strategies to harvest microalgae for biofuel
- Potential pre-concentration methods for Nannochloropsis gaditana and a comparative study of pre-concentrated
sample properties
Analogous to a typical oil refinery where from crude oil various products are obtained (asphalt, kerosene, gasoline, etc.),
the biorefineries refers to renewable biomass sources.
There are several types of biorefineries in relation to the type of product / process, but also in terms of the flexibility of the factory. A biorefinary is labeled as third generation if it is able to process various types of biomass sources and manufactures various products. In Europe there are still few 3rd generation factories. An latest opened one is located at Crescentino in northern Italy. They obtain various products (including 75 million liters of bioethanol per year) from waste rice straw, wheat straw, obtained in a 70 km radius of the factory. Thus, this type of factory valorizes the first sector, fixes population in the region and provides economic development (production, employment, etc.).
To apply the biorefinery strategy in microalgae is currently a must to provide economic sense to the exploitation of this source of biomass. This involves obtaining various products such as nutraceuticals (omega 3 / omega 6), cosmetics, bio-alcohol, biodiesel, etc. The reason of that is mainly due to the required large number of process steps, which consists on the following stages:
You can find further information about microalgae biorefining at the following links:
There are several types of biorefineries in relation to the type of product / process, but also in terms of the flexibility of the factory. A biorefinary is labeled as third generation if it is able to process various types of biomass sources and manufactures various products. In Europe there are still few 3rd generation factories. An latest opened one is located at Crescentino in northern Italy. They obtain various products (including 75 million liters of bioethanol per year) from waste rice straw, wheat straw, obtained in a 70 km radius of the factory. Thus, this type of factory valorizes the first sector, fixes population in the region and provides economic development (production, employment, etc.).
To apply the biorefinery strategy in microalgae is currently a must to provide economic sense to the exploitation of this source of biomass. This involves obtaining various products such as nutraceuticals (omega 3 / omega 6), cosmetics, bio-alcohol, biodiesel, etc. The reason of that is mainly due to the required large number of process steps, which consists on the following stages:
- Microalgae culturing.
- Microalgae harvesting.
- Cell disruption to extract the fractions to be valorized.
- Separation and purification of the several fractions (lipids to produce biodiesel, carbohydrates to produce bioalcohol, etc.).
- Conversion of each fraction to the final product. For example, to obtain biodiesel, oil should be transesterified. Thus, it also includes separation and purification processes.
You can find further information about microalgae biorefining at the following links:
Un disseny de necessito.cat, 2016. Pàgines administratives. Versió de web: WPM 1.0.1.