Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Fish Products and Industry Division Viale delle Terme di Caracalla 00153 Rome, Italy Tel.: +39 06 5705 5074 Fax: +39 06 5705 5188 www.globefish.org Volume 97 Mr. Antonio Piccolo M.A. in Energy and Sustainable Developmnet - 2009 A Dissertation submitted in part fulfilment of the requirements of the Degree of Master in Business Administration at Link Campus - University of Malta AQUATIC BIOFUELS New Options for Bioenergy
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Food and Agriculture Organization of the United NationsFish Products and Industry Division
Viale delle Terme di Caracalla00153 Rome, Italy
Tel.: +39 06 5705 5074Fax: +39 06 5705 5188
www.globefish.org
Volume 97
Mr. Antonio Piccolo
M
.A. in E
nergy and Sustainable D
evelopm
net - 2009
A Dissertation submitted in part fulfilment
of the requirements of the Degree of
Master in Business Administration at
Link Campus - University of Malta
AQUATIC BIOFUELS
New Options for Bioenergy
International MBA in Energy and Sustainable Development
October 2009
DECLARATION:
I CERTIFY THAT THIS IS MY ORIGINAL WORK; EXCEPT WHERE SOURCES ARE
ACKNOWLEDGED, AND THAT THIS DISSERTATION HAS NOT BEEN SUBMITTED
IN PART OR IN WHOLE TO ANY OTHER BODY.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS:
I would like to acknowledge for the work of this dissertation;
Dr. Ugo Farinelli, my Professor at Link Campus – University of Malta, , for his
help and support in preparing this paper.
Dr. Gustavo Best for initiating me to algal culture.
The staff at Link Campus – University of Malta for their administrative help
and support.
Finally my parents Mr. Mattia Piccolo and Mrs. Anna Maria Piccolo for their
constant help and support.
ABSTRACT
MR. ANTONIO PICCOLO
AQUATIC BIOFUELS – NEW OPTIONS FOR BIOENERGY
Recent talks have outlined the disadvantages of land based (agro-fuels) as feedstock for biofuels.
This final dissertation for the MBA in Energy and Sustainable Development looks at these
disadvantages and proposes an alternative scenario, i.e. The potential of aquatic alternatives.
Aquatic Biofuels – New Options for Bioenergy looks at the potential of micro-algae and fish
waste as feedstock for biofuel. Micro-algae come in different strains, strains differ in their
composition some have more lipids/oils, others have more proteins and others yet have more
carbohydrates. The chosen strain will determine what kind of biofuel can be produced or if the
strain contains less lipids and more carbohydrates or proteins, the algae can produce bio-gas.
Current technology in algae extraction is also covered in the report, the most advanced systems
exist in the US who claim they will commercialize algae to fuel extraction in the next 3-4 years.
Israel too is one of the main countries producing micro-algae however their main focus has always
been on spirulina (high in protein) as a health supplement. Most recently Israel too has had some
major developments in producing fuel from micro-algae. Fish waste (the waste from the fishing
industry) has been used by fishermen for centuries, when oil prices went up fishermen would
produce their own diesel from the waste of their catch. This concept is therefore not at all new.
What would be innovative would be the scale up process. There are a few companies worldwide
that are producing bio-diesel from the waste of the fishing industry, these are found predominantly
in developing countries, Honduras and Viet Nam, but also in Canada and the state of Alaska, USA.
Bio-diesel from fish waste plants could be set up in aquaculture farms, fishing ports, or even on
large fishing trawlers, to allow fishermen to economise on fuel, which is becoming an economic
burden. In fact due to this worldwide fish prices have increased drastically in the last 5 to 10 years.
It is clear at this stage that algae alone is not yet an economically viable solution to the liquid
energy needs of the world. Economic viability could be achieved when science and technology will
be able to give us mechanisms to improve lipid/oil extraction and improve mass production of
algae. In the meantime however, by-products from the algae cultivation and the revenue obtained
from the sequestration of CO2 can make the system worthwhile. The other alternative is if we can
combine the potential of micro-algae and fish waste. The Integrated Aquaculture Energy System
(IAES) described in Chapter 16 combines the 2 systems i.e. algae and fish waste into one. This is a
fully sustainable synergistic system, that makes use of all the possible resources for energy creation.
The system not only addresses fuel needs, but also food security, job creation, climate change, CO2
sequestration and treatment of waste water. Aquatic Biofuels and the IAES system offer in part a
solution to the liquid fuel problem which the world will have to face in the coming decades.
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Table of Contents
1. What are Aquatic Biofuels?............................................................................1 1.1. Background……………………………………………………………………………………1 1.2. Types of Aquatic Biofuels……………………………………………………………………1
3. Agro-fuels and their impacts ..........................................................................3 3.1. On biodiversity...............................................................................................................4
3.2. On markets....................................................................................................................4 3.3. On food security............................................................................................................4 3.4. On the environment.......................................................................................................5 3.5. On agricultural demand and production........................................................................5 3.6. On land use...................................................................................................................6
4. Algae growth, harvesting and yields .............................................................7
4.1. Biomass production.......................................................................................................8 4.2. Nutrients and Nutrient stress.........................................................................................8 4.3. Cultivation of algae........................................................................................................9 4.4. Cultivation of algae - challenges..................................................................................11
5. Algae oil and biodiesel production ..............................................................12
6. Algae strain selection and by-products.......................................................13
7. CO2 abatement and Climate Change mitigation .........................................15
8. Waste water and algae growth .....................................................................17
10. Costs and revenues of algal culture ............................................................20 10.1. Economic Viability.....................................................................................................22
11. Algae Companies and news .........................................................................22 11.1. USA...........................................................................................................................22 11.2. Rest of the world........................................................................................................27
12. Fishwaste and Aquaculture Farms ..................................................................28 13. Converting fishwaste from the fishing industry to biodiesel ........................29
13.1. Introduction................................................................................................................29 13.2. Biodiesel production..................................................................................................29 13.3. Technology and plants..............................................................................................30
14. Building a fish waste to biodiesel plant...........................................................40 14.1. Objectives and project implementation.....................................................................40 14.2. Environmental concerns............................................................................................41 14.3. Concluding remarks...................................................................................................41
15. Costs and investments .....................................................................................42 16. Integrated system algae culture + aquaculture ..............................................45
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17. Adaptability of Aquatic Biofuels to the Union for the Mediterranean countries............................................................................................................46
17.1. Factors to be considered.............................................................................................47 17.2. Economic viability........................................................................................................48 17.3. Current work in algae oil production in the EU............................................................49
OriginOil - Before setting out to develop a new technology to maximize oil yields from
alage and to lower energy use in production phase, OriginOil set itself 3 primary
challenges:
1. Algae does not like agitation of water, one of the challenges is how to
introduce CO2 and nutrients into the algae without disruption or over-
aerating the algae.
2. Light distribution needs to be evenly distributed and cost-effective.
3. Algae organisms have a tough cell wall, this cell wall needs to be cracked
with an energy inexpensive process – the challenge is to maximize oil yield
by cracking as many algae cell walls as possible with the least energy
possible.
Recently OriginOil have announced the successful automation of the Helix Bio-
Reactor system. This is a system that optimizes algae growth and makes commercialization
of algae oil at large scale possible. The system is a complete algae growth and extraction
system, and it uses an array of proprietary technologies, including Quantum FracturingTM
and the Helix BioReactorTM , to enable a continuous oil-production industry.
Sapphire Energy – Were perhaps the first company to ever receive a donation to produce
algae fuel. Bill Gates in 2008 through the Cascade Investments and Rockefeller
Foundation gave Sapphire Energy $100 million to build a bio-crude demonstration project
in Las Cruces, California. Consequently Sapphire Energy produced the algae fuel which in
part (5%) powered a twin jet fuel Continental Airline biofuel test flight. More recently
Sapphire Energy produced a hybrid car which crossed the US from west to east coast
running exclusively on algae fuel. Sapphire Energy has projected that it will reach 1Mgy in
production in 2011 and 100Mgy by 2018
Petrosun joint venture with China - PetroSun (Arizona) and Shanghai Jun Ya Yan
(China) have set up a joint venture to produce alage fuel at commercial scale in China. The
chinese company will invest $40 million for constructing the facility and take a 50% stake
in the project. The technology used will be photo bio-reactors. While Petrosun have not yet
stated where their Chinese algae farm will be located back in Arizona they are building a
1,000 acres of ponds in its Rio Hondo location. The farm will produce 4.4 million gallons
of algae oil and 110 million pounds of biomass per year.
26
AlgaeFuel – is a company based in Concord, CA, USA. AlgaFuel have an ongoing
research team to discover new strains of high oil species to add to the already long list. The
company also builds photo bio-reactors (PBR) and open raceway ponds. Their PBR’s
however are not intended for mass production but for laboratory use. The AIPS (Advanced
Integrated Pond System) uses the latest techniques in open pond algae oil extraction and
uses waste water as a nutritional supplement to the algae
Cellana – is Shell’s answer to their efforts in finding sustainable non food based biofuels.
It is based on the Big Island in Hawaii and construction began on the plant in 2008.
Cellana will primarily grown non genetically modified microalgae indigenous to the island
of Hawaii and approved by the Hawaii Department of Agriculture.
Live Fuels – As we have seen one of the biggest challenges in algae culture is extracting
the fuel from the cells. It is not only energy intensive but also quite expensive to achieve.
LiveFuels are growing the algae in 2 hectare ponds with small fish, who are doing all the
harvesting. The fish eat the algae fatten up and are harvested for fish oil and animal feed.
The company is testing different varieties of fish to improve results.
Algae at Work (A2BE) - in Boulder, Colorado are using the concept of sequestering CO2
to harvest biofuels, fertilizers and food through the use of algae. Their main focus is
capturing CO2 and not growing algae for fuel. Algae culture in this sense is seen as a by-
product.
Neptune Industries. Inc. – in Florida, have designed a system whereby they are using fish
waste from an integrated system to fertilize and give nutrients to the algae. This cuts down
the cost for fertilizing the algae and increases productivity and paves the way to better
commercialization.
Other US companies have projected future scenarios like the following:
Biofields - has projected production in Mexico of 250 Mgy by 2013 based on the Algenol
process.
PetroAlgae - has indicated it expects to reach commercial scale production (below
100Mgy) in 2011.
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Aurora Biofuels - has projected the development of “$1.30 at the gate” fuel by 2013
11.2. REST OF THE WORLD
The 1st European Algae Biomass Association (EABA) Conference and General Assembly
meeting of the Association was held in Florence, Italy, June 3-4th, 2009.
The outlook was not very optimistic and general indicative timeframes claim that it will
take 10-15 years to commercilize algae in Europe. The Executive Director Mr. Raffaello
Garofalo pointed out that this is in fact indicative and that there is still a lot of research to
be done. He also went on to say that at present, producing bio-diesel from algae costs 10 to
30 times the cost of making bio-diesel from traditional feedstocks. By-products it seems
are going to be what makes algae oil production viable in the shorter term. Those highly
valued products will make the price drop and make algae oil competitive with other
feedstocks.
Mr. Garofalo also added that the new association has 54 members representing science and
industry and aims to be a platform for creating full algae-based production chain, from
biofuels to animal feed to nutrients.
This outlook strongly contrasts with the more positive scenario and assessment made by
some US companies who claim they can commercialize in 3 to 4 years.
Israel – A join venture between the Israeli company Seambiotic and the Seattle based
company Inventure Chemical In June 2008, is to use CO2 emissions-fed algae to make
ethanol and bio-diesel at a biofuel plant in Ashkelon, Israel.
Spain – Bio Fuel System is a wholly owned Spanish company which uses the method of
breeding plankton to produce clean fuel. It was founded in 2006 and is in close link with
engineers and scientists from the University of Alicante. Bio Fuel System claim to have a
bioconversion system that is 400 times more productive than any other system.
The Netherlands - AlgaeLink, in Roosendaal, is a producer of tubular PBR’s. The
produce and manufacture bio-diesel, bio-ethanol, bio-gas, bio-oil, and jet fuel, animal feed
and fodder, as well as pharmaceutical products food supplements, proteins and omega oils.
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Other important European Companies working with algae to fuel are listed in
Chapter 17.3 of this paper
Argentina – A algae bio-diesel company located in the Federal Capital of Argentina
Australia - Biomax bio-diesel in Victoria, Australia are producing and distributing bio-
diesel made from algal oil and recycled cooking oil.
New Zealand - Aquaflow Bionomic Corporation (ABC). Boeing and Air New Zealand
announced a joint project with Aquaflow Bionomic to develop algae jet fuel.
12. FISH-WASTE AND AQUACULTURE FARMS
Generally speaking it is a known fact that aquaculture farms produce waste. Waste in most
cases that cannot be recuperated in any way, due to the nature of the waste itself. Amongst
the debris there is of course the fish carcass itself.
In most cases depending on the country where the farm is located there are strict standards
and handling requirements to prevent effects on the environment from the waste. The
waste is generally handled through a Waste Management Plan (WMP). The WMP must do
the following things:
• Identify the source of each type of waste,
• Provide a detailed description of how that waste will be collected,
• Contained,
• Transported,
• And disposed of.
Fish waste (in particular the carcass after fillets have been produced) in aquaculture farms
can be a primary source of income to produce by products such as gelatine from the skin,
fishmeal from the bones and other solid matter and fish oil from the liquid extracted. The
fish oil can be cleaned refined and made into a usable bio-diesel which requires little
processing to produce. Standard diesel engines can utilise the diesel without any
modification to the engine itself.
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13. CONVERTING FISH WASTE FROM THE FISHING INDUSTRY TO BIO-DIESEL
13.1. INTRODUCTION:
The use of animal fat to produce bio-diesel is not a new technology, however the
adaptability of this technology to aquatic resources has only attracted public interest
recently. The stress on land based products to produce biofuels is becoming quite
significant and will be even more so in years to come. Therefore looking at aquatic
resources for energy production makes not only ecological sense but economic sense too.
The conversion process is simple after the fish oil has been produced from the left over
waste of the fishing industry the oil is cleaned purified and with the addition of some
caustic soda and methanol the bio-diesel is produced. 1kg of fish waste can produce up to
1.13lts of bio-diesel.
13.2. BIO-DIESEL PRODUCTION:
The bio-diesel produced from fish waste would be a non-toxic and fully biodegradable
renewable fuel that can easily be adapted without any modification to current diesel
engines. Bio-diesel is particularly good for the environment as opposed to standard fuel or
diesel because it reduces the air toxins, CO2, particulates, black smoke and other
hydrocarbons. The fish oil is similar to a vegetable oil or animal oil and it reacts with an
alcohol (methanol), the catalyst used is generally caustic soda. This produces a pure bio-
diesel or B100 (100% bio-diesel) with a valued by product glycerin. Glycerin is an
important by-product, and is currently further being enhanced and could become a new
source of income for bio-diesel producers. It is a colour-less, odorless, slimy liquid which
is used for pharmaceutical, food and cosmetic purposes. Up to now market conditions have
impeded this valuable by product to be sold commercially, however, world wide
researchers and experts are looking at ways to enhance the product and find more ways to
utilise it in order to make it economically and commercially viable.
Some fish oils contain essential fatty acids like omega 3, which is a highly valued
commodity especially in the pharmaceutical industry. Therefore care has to be taken on
which types of fish is used when producing the fish oil. Below you will find a table of fish
species and their content of Omega 3 fatty acids per 100 gr. One of the lowest in Omega 3
content but high in oil is catfish.
30
One other note of care is the acid content of the oil extracted. For example, salmon oil is
high in acid and this acid needs to be removed. Therefore an additional step in removing
this acid is required. Sulfuric acid (a reducing agent) is added to reduce the content of the
fish oil acid. Once this has been done the process of trans-etherification can begin.
Table 3: Fish species and their Omega 3 fatty acid content
Fish species Omega 3 (EPA+DHA) content (g) per 100 g of fish
Tuna (fresh) 0.28-1.51
Atlantic salmon 1.28-2.15
Mackerel 0.4-1.85
Atlantic herring 2.01
Rainbow trout 1.15
Sardines 1.15-2
Halibut 0.47-1.18
Tuna (canned) 0.31
Cod 0.28
Haddock 0.24
Catfish 0.18
Flounder or sole 0.4
Oyster 0.44
Shrimp 0.32
Scallop 0.2
Cod liver oil capsule 0.19
Omacor (Pronova) 0.85
Source: adapted from the guidelines of the American Heart Association.
13.3. TECHNOLOGY AND PLANTS:
The technology used in the production of bio-diesel from fish waste is adaptable and
transferable in many other parts of the world including developing regions in Africa, Asia
and Latin America as well as small fishing communities and small islands who rely heavily
on oil imports. It can provide labor, and produce local energy free from green house gases
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and emissions. With little investment in already existing fishing communities local energy
can be produced at very little cost.
Currently several large fish waste to bio-diesel plants exist Aquafinca in Honduras,
Finland’s VTT Technical Research Center, the largest applied research organization in
Northern Europe together with its partner Hiep Thanh Seafood JSC in Viet Nam have
launched ENERFISH which will run as an experimental project until 2011, ENERFISH
began bio-diesel production from fish waste (cat fish) in May 2009, and plans to produce
120,000 litres of bio-diesel a day.
An initial feasibility study was conducted by the Sustainable Community Enterprises in
Vancouver, Canada in 2007. the SCE was awarded a grant to study the production of fish
oil into bio-diesel. In a previous study conducted in 2005 however, it was concluded that it
was not economically viable. The 2007 demonstrated 2 options for bio-diesel production
one was a self-built base trans-esterification system and the other a fully automated
acid/base two stage model with water wash. The latter was almost 3 times more expensive
to purchase but benefits were higher. The feedstock would come from 2 different salmon
processing plants and the bio-diesel production plant would be located at a different area,
increasing therefore costs of production.
The study concluded and determined a price of $1.10 per litre of bio-diesel. The self made
system produced 250,000 litres of bio-diesel per year and payback time is 4.2 years
whereas the other system produced about 227,100 litres and payback time is 7.7 years.
Transport of the waste was an important contributing factor to the overall cost, so the cost
would diminish if the processing facility would be located at one of the processing
companies
In 2007 The National Technological Centre for the Canning of Fish Products in Spain
(Anfaco-Cecopesca), was looking into ways in which fish fat which is found in waste
water generated by the canning industry can be used for the manufacture of bio-diesel. A
regional government grant of EUR 111 119 (US$ 152 134.45) was given to the project
which was being carried out in Galicia. At present, these fats are not used for any industrial
purpose, but they could have potential value, especially as they can be easily separated
from waste water using physical methods. The research is in its preliminary phase.
AQUAFINCA – San Pedro Sula, Honduras
Aquafinca is a tilapia farm situated about 200km from the administrative capital of
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Honduras, San Pedro Sula. The farm produces roughly 100 tonnes of tilapia a day of which
about half is waste i.e. offal, bones, skin/scales, etc.
Aquafinca is fully sustainable with the ability to be energy self-sufficient. It can produce
energy for the whole company, providing imports of methanol from the USA arrive
regularly. The fish scales/skin which is a separate by-product is sold to China for the
production of gelatin.
Aquafinca runs on a total of 10 generators which provide power for the whole plant plus
electricity for housing, there are 50 people employed on the plant and work on 3 shifts
cycles. The plant uses up 1368kw a day and produces 11,000 litres of fish oil. From that
6000 litres of bio-diesel are made, glycerine (valuable by-product), and roughly 10 tonnes
of fishmeal.
Of the 100 tonne catch a day roughly 54 tonnes are waste this includes heads, bones, tail
etc which goes to make the fish oil and fishmeal. Of that 54 tonnes
65% of the total biomass is water = 35.1 tonnes
20% is solid biomass which goes into making fishmeal = 10.8 tonnes
15% is made into fish oil = 8.1 tonnes, roughly 5 tonnes of these is converted into bio-
diesel and the rest is sold as pure fish oil. 5 tonnes which equals roughly 5000 litres + 20%
added methanol comes to a total of 6000 litres.
The total investment for building the fish waste to bio-diesel plant was about $100,000.
The CEO of the company decided together with engineers to build the plant themselves
saving on installation costs.
A diagram below shows the bio-diesel schematic processing system, what each step does,
this is followed by photographs of Aquafinca taken on location in November 2008.
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Figure 3: Bio-diesel schematic processing system
34
3
Photo 3: Cooker at 100
o C moves very slowly takes about 4mins
Photo 1: Fish waste as it arrives at the bio-diesel plant
Pic 2: Fish waste includes head, bones fins, tail. Skin is removed, dried and sold separately as a valued by-product
Cooker
35
Photo 4: Expeller: Separates liquid from biomass
The liquid that falls from the expeller contains abut 54% water, 4% solids and 42% oil. The biomass goes to fishmeal production and takes a different direction. At this point the liquid that falls to the bottom shown above has to go through a cleansing clarification process to remove and separate the 3 products. It goes to a “pre-clarificator”.
Photo 5 “Pre-clarificator”
Oil rises
Water biomass sink
Liquid being squeezed out and solid biomass remains in the prensa (expeller)
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The pre-clarificator separates the oil from the water and from the biomass (solid) Photo 6: The liquid is now ready to go to the fish oil production plant.
Vat 1 raises the oil at an ideal temperature and basically acts as a heater.
Vat 2 is the reactor, and is the vat that separates the glycerine from the oil (glycerine is the
by-product of the process) (however all particles are separated but mixed). At this point
the methanol (about 20%) is added and so to is caustic soda (catalyst) to assist the
separation process and it all goes to the decanter 1(vat 3), where the oil in the vat is
distinctly separated from the glycerine.
Photo 7: Final product after decanter 1 (Vat 3)
Vat 2
Vat 1
Vat 4 Decanter 2
Vat 3 Decanter 1
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Photo 8: Cleaned and purified oil to the left and un-cleaned and dirty (containing glycerine in bottom) oil on the right.
The oil then goes through a first purifying process, and oil is separated once more from impurities.
In vat 4 (decanter 2) below the oil already separated from the glycerine once again goes
through a purifying process, where it is completely separated from the impurities and
cleaned.
Photo 9: Washing of the bio-diesel and further purification
Vat 4 Decanter 2
Filter
Washing and further purification
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Photo 10: Filter final stage before entering the storage and pumping filling stations. The final stages of the process are the washing of the bio-diesel with water vapour at 95oC,
and then the drying process to dry the bio-diesel from the water vapour used for cleaning in
the previous stage. The bio-diesel is purified once again and filtered.
Photo 11: The bio-diesel is checked for quality control
39
Photo 12: After quality control the bio-diesel is stored in these green tanks ready for distribution Photo 13: From the green tank above it goes directly to distribution in the eternal pump.
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14. BUILDING A FISH WASTE TO BIO-DIESEL PLANT:
14.1. OBJECTIVES AND PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION:
The main objective of a plant is to produce bio-diesel from fish waste as well as its valued
by-product glycerin. Depending on the fish waste available in the area a rough calculation
can be made on how much bio-diesel can be produced under optimal conditions. Specific
to tilapia and Aquafinca they are able to use about 54% of the fish as waste and roughly
15% of that can be “squeezed” out as fish oil. Conditions and results may vary according
to the fish used and waste produced.
In order to fulfill the objectives the following is required:
• Suitable location needs to be found to set up the bio-diesel plant. A location with
easy and simple access to fish waste would be ideal to minimize costs of transport
and in order to lower the carbon footprint of the plant due to emissions from
transportation. An environmental impact assessment would have to be made on the
chosen location, taking into consideration the whole plant cycle.
• Abundant waste should be available, either near a fishing port or inside or close to a
fish filleting processing aquaculture farm.
• Easy access to methanol to ensure continuous production of the bio-diesel.
Aquafinca purchase their methanol from the US and had problems when
availability became scarce. A good source of methanol and caustic soda and other
materials is of high importance.
• A market for glycerin in order to ensure quick income from the production and the
sale of the by-product.
• Human resources – a fulltime project/plant manager to overlook the production and
depending on availability of raw material and production 8 – 10 people working on
the plant.
• Storage facilities for the fish oil, the methanol and a storage or pumping station for
the final product.
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INPUTS:
Fish waste, methanol, caustic soda, sulfuric acid (if required).
OUTPUTS:
Bio-diesel, glycerin, fishmeal, water (with nutrients) which can be recycled,
14.2. ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS:
Some GHG emissions could come from the transport of the fish waste to the processing
plant but if that processing plant was nearby that would not be a problem or if the
lorry/truck transporting the waste was using a low carbon fuel or the bio-diesel produced
from the plant, again this would lower emissions.
There is strong potential for this technology to be transferred to other parts of the
developing world, particularly in small island communities that rely on fossil fuel oil for
their liquid fuels. Depending on the amounts of fish catch the waste can be transformed
into fish oil and thence into bio-diesel. The energy produced would be free from GHG’s.
The effects of global warming can already be felt, from sea level rising to changed patterns
of agriculture, extreme weather patterns and climate change. Such a project would fall
under mitigation of global warming because it involves directly taking action to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions. It would also contribute to the Kyoto Protocol initiative to
reduce GHG emissions.
14.3. CONCLUDING REMARKS:
Large scale projects like the ones mentioned have been running quite successfully
throughout the world particularly in developing countries. The process to extract the fish
oil from the raw left over materials and then converting that oil to bio-diesel is energy
intensive, however, some of the bio-diesel produced can be used to run the machinery, this
would make the process self-sustainable and totally greenhouse gas emission free.
Fishing ports could se up cooperatives to collect all the fish waste and produce the fish oil,
fishmeal and bio-diesel. This would mean the construction of only one big plant instead of
many smaller ones, reducing costs and increasing quantity and potential.
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15. COSTS AND INVESTMENTS
One of the biggest costs incurred in fish waste to bio-diesel facilities are the costs for
transport of the raw material i.e. fish waste. This is why the facility should be located as
close as possible to the aquaculture farm. Not only will distance incur on costs but it will
have a negative impact on the overall sustainability of the plant, and the overall
environmental impact. The energy balance and CO2 emissions would be altered.
For cost purposes assuming the plants are far away from each other one would have to
consider:
• Fuel costs,
• Driving time,
• Truck costs,
• Labour costs,
Depending on the distance to drive and the fuel consumption of the vehicle and fuel costs
and labour costs this could be quite an expensive venture.
There are 2 options for building a fish waste to bio-diesel plant.
• A self built option which would cost around $130,000 US (similar to the one built
by Aquafinca) chapter 13.3.
• And a ready bought option around $350,000 US,
Other expenses like pre-treatment (if required) and operating costs would vary from $7,000
US to around $17,000 US, depending on the plant chosen.11 Human resources costs would
also have to be considered, this would depend on location and labour costs.
Option 1 – Self built system using Magnasol:
In total the system would be capable of processing about 250,000 litres of bio-diesel per
year, with a feedstock of fish oil with low free fatty acids and low water content. The plant
would take up about roughly 400m2 and employ a part-time worker of about 24 hours a
week. The total costs would be $130,000 plus $7,000 for the infrastructure and other costs.
11 Sustainable Communities Enterprise A feasibility study for fish oil bio-diesel production for Clayoquot
Biosphere Trust. pp. 6-9
43
• Benefits could include the fact that the system can be expanded at any time, and
that there are no water treatment facility capital and operational costs. Also quality
control can be improved.
• Drawbacks could be that there is no automation therefore all labour is intensive -
difficulties in accessing a Magnasol filtration system – large amount of space
needed – limited feedstock.
Option 2 – Fully automated acid/base two stage model with water wash:
One of the manufacturers of these systems is Pacific Bio-diesel. They claim they can
produce around 500 litres of diesel every hour, and can accept high or low free fatty acids.
Space requirements are less than the home made unit and costs involved are $350,000 for
production and investements, plus $17,000 in feedstock and treatment and handling.
• Benefits – are many and include: low labour costs, low space usage (could be built
inside a large shipping container), flexibility with feedstocks, support from
manufacturer, module system hence easy to expand, leases can be taken out to
purchase.
• Drawbacks – Slow in production phase, waste water will have to be treated and no
methanol recovery.
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PRODUCTION COST ASSUMPTIONS FOR OPTIONS 1 & 2 (2006 prices)
Extracted from. “Sustainable Communities Enterprise A feasibility study for fish oil bio-diesel
production”
Box 1.
OPTION 1: Self-built system production costs at 250,000 litres per year
Operational Perspective
Capacity 250,000 L/year or 5,000 L/week (excluding 2 weeks holidays). Yield 85% volume of fish oil is converted into bio-diesel. Feedstock $0.15/L using a used, leased truck and collection from Port Hardy reduction plant. Chemicals - Methanol at $1.06/L delivered in 1000 L totes, used at 20% of fish oil
- Catalyst assumed to be sodium hydroxide (KOH) at $4.53 per kg, used at 0.012 kg/L of fish oil; and Magnasol at $3.00/kg, used at 0.01 kg/L of oil.
Space 1200 ft2 at $13/ft2/year. Labour One operator working five 8 hour days per week at $15/hour (plus 13%
MERCS) or $678/week. Energy Estimated to be $0.03/L of bio-diesel produced with a 200% safety margin. Water No process water required. Solid waste 2.5% of fish oil volume is solid waste disposed of at $75/tonne. Liquid waste 0.1% of fish oil volume is liquid waste from vessel cleaning;
- Waste water disposal is estimated to cost $1.00/L; Quality Assumed no quality control costs. Glycerin Assumed glycerine was sold to wholesaler.
Box 2.
OPTION 2: A fully-automated acid / base two stage model with water wash
Operational Perspective
Capacity 227,100 L/year or 7,570 L/week (for 30 weeks a year) Yield 95% volume of fish oil is converted into bio-diesel. Feedstock $0.15/L using a used, leased truck and collection from Port Hardy reduction plant. Chemicals - Methanol at $1.06/L delivered in 1000 L totes, used at 20% of fish oil
volume - Catalyst assumed to be sodium hydroxide (KOH) at $4.53 per kg, used at
0.012 kg/L of fish oil; and - Magnasol at $3.00/kg, used at 0.01 kg/L of fish oil.
Space 1000 ft2 at $13/ft2/year. Labour One operator working three 8 hour days per week (for 30 weeks a year) at
$15/hour (plus 13% MERCS) or $406/week. Energy Estimated to be $0.03/L of bio-diesel produced with a 200% safety margin. Water No process water required. Solid waste 2.5% of fish oil volume is solid waste disposed of at $75/tonne. Liquid waste - 0.1% of fish oil volume is liquid waste from vessel cleaning;
- Waste water disposal is estimated to cost $1.00/L. Quality Assumed no quality control costs. Glycerin Assumed glycerine was sold to wholesaler.
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For the option 1, the total production cost was $0.97 per litre of bio-diesel produced,
whereas for option 2, the total production cost was $ 0.89. If the bio-diesel was sold at a
price of $1.10 per litre (including $0.09 tax, assuming the biodisel was sold as a blend
under 50% bio-diesel to 50% diesel), the profit per litre (for the option 1 scenario) would
be $0.13. The yearly profit would be $32,500. Given a capital cost of $ 137,000 for option
1, the payback time would be 4.2 years. For scenario 2, the profit per litre would be $0.21
with a yearly profit of $47,691. Given a capital cost of $367,000, the payback time would
be 7.7 years.12
16. INTEGRATED SYSTEM ALGAE CULTURE + AQUACULTURE
The Integrated Aquaculture Energy System (IAES), is a system that incorporates 2
aquaculture systems. The algae system and a standard fish aquaculture farm system.
The diagram below clearly defines the steps in the system:
1. CO2 is sequestered from a nearby emitter,
2. It is fed to the algae,
3. From the dry algae we can extract (at current extraction rates) 20% oil,
4. The left over dry biomass (80%) rich in Omega3 and other nutrients is given to the
fish as feed.
5. The waste from the fish (fish scum can be given as algae for nutrients)
6. Fillets are produced
7. By-products are glycerine, fish-oil which can be sold as fish-oil or converted into
bio-diesel.
12 Sustainable Communities Enterprise A feasibility study for fish oil bio-diesel production for Clayoquot
Biosphere Trust. pp. 10-11
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Figure 4: IAES – Integrated Aquaculture Energy System
With this Integrated Aquaculture Energy System, we are addressing issues such as, global
warming, CO2 sequestration, food security, oil independence and production, valuable by-
product production, and employment.
17. ADAPTABILITY OF AQUATIC BIOFUELS TO THE UNION OF THE MEDITERRANEAN
COUNTRIES:
The countries with a coastline onto the Mediterranean Sea (roughly between 45oN and
30oN), are suitable locations for algae farms, in particular in those countries south of the
Mediterranean that experience warmer climates and whose temperature do not go too much
below 15o C throughout the year. New technologies in algae harvesting have also made it
possible for such open pond farms to be located in slightly cooler climates by covering
them with special material making them behave in a similar was as a greenhouse, this can
certainly increase the latitude in which such farms can be built.
Many countries in the Mediterranean basin have a large potential for algae harvesting.
Some countries like Israel have being growing and harvesting algae for pharmaceutical
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purposes for decades and recently have begun to produce different strains for fuel
production.
Particularly attractive are the southern countries that border the Mediterranean Sea which
have high temperatures and vast unused desert land, like Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and
Egypt. Whereas countries like Libya, Cyprus and Turkey could also harvest algae on
marginal land. Although it may be true that some of these countries do not have abundant
water resources it is also just as true that algae do not require freshwater (they can grow
with recycled brackish or salty water). Furthermore these countries are developing
countries and could strongly benefit from such an industry. Algae farming can provide jobs
for locals and the transfer of technologies to developing countries can only be beneficial
for the country concerned.
Figure 5: Potential Mediterranean areas for algae culture
With the high temperatures in the Mediterranean region, the open or closed pond system
would probably be the most efficient and most suitable to grow the algae.
17.1. FACTORS TO BE CONSIDERED:
Some other important factors should be considered when finding a suitable location for
algae farming. Firstly as mentioned above algae thrive on CO2, therefore a good source of
CO2 should be identified before setting off on a project, whether the CO2 comes from a
factory or a cement manufacturer makes little difference. Secondly waste water is a good
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nutrient for algae giving it not only extra CO2 but also other nutrients like Nitrogen and
Phosphorus.
CO2 emissions from cement manufacturing are produced as cement is calcined to produce
calcium oxide. Approximately 0.5 metric tonnes of carbon is released for each metric ton
of cement production.
17.2. ECONOMIC VIABILITY:
It is a well know fact that algae oil is still not economically viable, the United States is
making huge steps in trying to accomplish this and experts say that it may still take 3-5
years to achieve algae’s full economic potential. In the meantime other sources of revenue
can come from by products of the algae production system and from other resources.
Both CO2 and waste water can add economic value to the project, by providing revenue for
the algae farm. Carbon Credits can be obtained for sequestering CO2 from nearby emitting
plants and then resold at higher costs. Utilising municipal waste water for algae cultivation
can also provide revenue.
Once the algae has been harvested and the algae oil has been extracted the left over
biomass can be utilised in various ways. It can be burnt to produce more energy or made
into biogas through an anaerobic process and consequently used as animal feed.
It is obvious that algae fuel cannot solve the entire needs of the EU liquid fuel
requirements; however it can make a significant contribution to meeting the 2020 directive.
Algae farms can be established in the countries of the Mediterranean basin area to produce
algae, hence making the EU less dependent on fossil fuels and at the same time contribute
to the climate by lowering CO2, NOx, and SO2 emissions. Desert and coastel areas of the
southern Mediterranean countries could host such farms produce the crude oil and either
refine it or transport it to Europe as a crude oil. Initial investments may be high, however
in the long run these investments would pay off economically and environmentally.
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17.3. CURRENT WORK IN ALGAE OIL PRODUCTION IN THE EU
UNITED KINGDOM:
Possibly the biggest algae venture in existence in the EU is the ₤26 million publically
funded project by the British company Carbon Trust. Carbon Trust plan to build a large
algae farm in Northern Africa. It has been working extensively over the last year, analysing
the algae bio-fuel opportunity and developing a R&D strategy, to overcome challenges.
The Algae Biofuels Challenge, (ABC) is a 2 phase project. Phase 1 will address
fundamentally R&D challenges and phase 2 will move to large scale production of algae
oil13.
Another EU funded project for EUR 6 million, has just been launched by the Scottish
government, called BioMara. The BioMara project will not only be looking at the single
celled algae species but also at the larger seaweed species which grow quickly and can be
harvested for their biomass14.
SPAIN:
In 2007 Aurantia (A renewable energy company in Spain) and Green Fuel Tech
(Massachusetts, USA), joined forces to produce algae oil. Their $US92 million project will
eventually scale up to 100 hectares of algae greenhouses producing 25,000 tonnes of algae
biomass per year. The plant will obtain its CO2 from a cement plant near Jerez.
ITALY:
Eni the Italian Energy Company have a 1 hectare pilot facility in Gela, Sicily. The project
is testing the photo-bioreactor facility as well as open ponds.
Another important project in Italy, not however yet underway consists of a €200 million
investment. Two major companies are venturing to put together eNave, of which the port
authority of Venice will own 51% of the share while the Rome based company Enalg Srl.
will own 49%. The company would employ about 46 people and would use up 10 hectares
for the bio-reactors near the industrial area of Venice – Marghera (Mestre). The biomass
It has become quite apparent in the last 2 to 3 decades that as a society we must move
away from using un-sustainable energy resources. Resources such as coal, oil and gas to
some extent will always be part of the energy scenarios for a while to come, however our
dependence on them should shift to more renewable and sustainable resources. Wind,
solar, geothermal, and biomass are all renewable and GHG neutral energy resources, which
we must take advantage of.
Whereas investments have been quite substantial in solar and wind power liquid fuels
(with the exception of first generation biofuel feedstock) have received little economic
attention. These fuels are very important to our society and until such time that Hydrogen
as a fuel cell will become affordable and viable we will have to rely on liquid fuels for our
transport needs.
Most of the renewable energy sources like wind, solar, geothermal etc concentrate on the
production of heat and/or electricity; there are not many alternatives to petroleum on the
market. This is why first generation biofuels received a lot of attention until about a year
ago when it was realised that their impacts were more negative than positive. Policies were
soon put in place to regulate their production and distribution.
Investments in Aquatic Biofuels should be made and scale up projects should be
encouraged in order to reach economic viability as soon as possible and as an alternative to
1st and 2nd generation biofuels which derived from food products and plant non food
products respectively.
The alternatives for liquid fuels are not many, Aquatic Biofuels can be utilised without
major disruptions on the car and transport manufacturing industry, unlike perhaps using
ethanol, which would require modifications to the engine.
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19. REFERENCES Benemann John., “Micoralgae Biofixation Process Report.” ENI, 2006 Dias de Oliveria, Marcelo E., Burton E. Vaughan, and Edward J. Rykiel Jr. “Ethanol as Fuel: Energy, Carbon Dioxide Balances, and Ecological Footprint.” BioScience 55:7 (2005):593-602 Edwards Mark., “Green Algae Strategy.” Tempe, Arizona; Edwards, 2008 Goodall Chris., “The technologies to save the planet London.” UK; Goodall, 2008 Hu, Qiang. “Industrial Production of Micoalgal cell-mass and secondary products – Major Industrial Species” Handbook of Micoralgal Culture Biotechnology and Applied Phycology. Ed. Amos Richmond. Oxford, Englad: Blackwell Science, Ltd., 2004; 264-73. Piccolo, A., ed. “Aquatic Biofuels.” http://aquaticbiofuel.com Sieg David., Nguyen Tram., “Making bio-diesel at home.” Sustainable Communities Enterprise “A feasibility study for fish oil bio-diesel production” for Clayoquot Biosphere Trust.