Department of Civil Engineering, Federal University of Viçosa, Av. Peter Henry Rolfs, S/n, Campus Universitário, Viçosa, Minas Gerais, 36570-900, Brazil.
Department of Environmental Engineering, Federal University of Lavras, Campus Universitario, 37200-000, Lavras, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
J Environ Manage. 2021 May 1;285:112171. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.112171. Epub 2021 Feb 17.
Microalgae biomass (MB) is a promising source of renewable energy, especially when the cultivation is associated with wastewater treatment. However, microalgae wastewater technologies still have much to improve. Additionally, microalgae biomass valorization routes need to be optimized to be a sustainable and feasible source of green bioenergy. Thus, this paper aimed to evaluate the environmental impacts of the production of briquettes from MB, cultivated during domestic wastewater treatment. Also, it was evaluated how much the drying of the MB affected the life cycle and the environment. Improvements in the life cycle to mitigate the environmental impacts of this energy route were proposed. Cradle-to-gate modeling was applied to obtain a life cycle assessment (LCA) from cultivation to the valorization of MB, through its transformation into a solid biofuel. With LCA, it was possible to identify which technical aspect of the process needs to be optimized so that environmental sustainability can be achieved. Two scenarios were compared, one with the microalgae growth in a high-rate algal pond (HRAP) (scenario 1) and the other in a hybrid reactor, formed by a HRAP and a biofilm reactor (BR) (scenario 2). LCA highlighted the electric power mix, representing, on average, 60% of the total environmental impacts in both scenarios. The valorization of MB in briquettes needs to consume less energy to offset its yield. The environment suffered pressure in freshwater eutrophication, due to the release of 3.1E-05 and 3.9E-05 kg of phosphorus equivalent; in fossil resources scarcity, with the extraction of 1.4E-02 and 4.5E-02 kg of oil equivalent; and in climate change, by the emission of 1.0E-01 and 1.9E-01 kg of carbon dioxide (CO) equivalent, in scenarios 1 and 2, respectively. Scenario 1 was highly damaging to terrestrial ecotoxicity, with the release of 3.5E-01 kg of 1,4 Dichlorobenzene, coming from the CO used in MB growth. This category was the one that most negatively pressured the environment, differing from scenario 2, in which this input was not required. This was the only impact category in which scenario 2 had a better environmental performance when compared to scenario 1. Cotton, required in scenario 2, represented up to 87% of emissions in some of the evaluated categories. Despite the impacts that occurred in the two modeled scenarios, the environmental gains due to the use of wastewater for microalgae growth, replacing the synthetic cultivation medium, stood out. In the sensitivity analysis, two alternative scenarios were proposed: (i) electricity consumption for drying has been reduced, due to the natural decrease of MB humidity, and (ii) MB briquettes were considered a substitute for coal briquettes. Results indicated that pressures on climate change and fossil resource scarcity were eliminated in both scenarios and this also occurred for freshwater eutrophication in scenario 2. This paper contributes to the improvement and development of converting MB routes into more sustainable products, causing less pressure on the environment. Also, the study contributes to filling a gap in the literature, discussing methods and technologies to be improved, and consequently making microalgae biotechnology environmentally feasible and a potential renewable energy alternative.
微藻生物质(MB)是可再生能源的有前途的来源,尤其是当培养与废水处理相关联时。然而,微藻废水技术仍有许多需要改进的地方。此外,微藻生物质增值途径需要优化,以成为一种可持续和可行的绿色生物能源来源。因此,本文旨在评估从 MB 生产生物块的环境影响,MB 是在处理生活污水期间培养的。此外,还评估了 MB 干燥对生命周期和环境的影响。提出了改进生命周期的措施,以减轻这种能源途径的环境影响。摇篮到门建模应用于从培养到 MB 增值的生命周期评估,通过将其转化为固体生物燃料。通过生命周期评估,可以确定过程的哪个技术方面需要优化,以实现环境可持续性。比较了两种情况,一种是在高速藻类池塘(HRAP)中生长微藻的情况(情景 1),另一种是在由 HRAP 和生物膜反应器(BR)组成的混合反应器中生长微藻的情况(情景 2)。生命周期评估突出了电力组合,在这两种情况下,平均占总环境影响的 60%。MB 增值为生物块需要消耗更少的能量来抵消其产量。由于释放了 3.1E-05 和 3.9E-05 千克的磷当量,环境在淡水富营养化方面承受压力;由于提取了 1.4E-02 和 4.5E-02 千克的石油当量,在化石资源短缺方面承受压力;由于排放了 1.0E-01 和 1.9E-01 千克的二氧化碳(CO)当量,在气候变化方面承受压力,在情景 1 和 2 中分别为。情景 1 对陆地生态毒性具有高度破坏性,释放了 3.5E-01 千克的 1,4 二氯苯,来自 MB 生长中使用的 CO。这一类是对环境造成最大压力的类别,与情景 2 不同,情景 2 不需要这种投入。这是唯一一个在情景 2 中比情景 1 具有更好的环境性能的影响类别。在情景 2 中,棉花是必需的,在一些评估类别中占排放量的高达 87%。尽管在两个建模情景中发生了这些影响,但由于使用废水培养微藻,替代合成培养介质而带来的环境收益仍然很突出。在敏感性分析中,提出了两种替代情景:(i)由于 MB 湿度自然降低,干燥用电消耗减少;(ii)MB 生物块被认为是煤生物块的替代品。结果表明,在两种情况下,气候变化和化石资源短缺的压力都消除了,情景 2 中的淡水富营养化压力也消除了。本文为将 MB 路线转化为更可持续的产品做出贡献,从而减少对环境的压力。此外,该研究有助于填补文献中的空白,讨论需要改进的方法和技术,从而使微藻生物技术在环境上可行,并成为一种潜在的可再生能源替代品。
J Environ Manage. 2021-5-1
Sci Total Environ. 2024-1-10
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2024-1
Sci Total Environ. 2023-7-1