Bioplastic production from microalgae with fuel co-products: a techno-economic and life-cycle assessment
| dc.contributor.author | Beckstrom, Braden Dale, author | |
| dc.contributor.author | Quinn, Jason C., advisor | |
| dc.contributor.author | Marchese, Anthony, committee member | |
| dc.contributor.author | Sheehan, John, committee member | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2019-09-10T14:36:11Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2019-09-10T14:36:11Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2019 | |
| dc.description.abstract | Concerns over depleting oil reserves and national security have spurred renewed vigor in developing bio-based products. One specific area of growing concern is the consumption of petroleum based plastics, which is expected to consume 20% of global annual oil by 2050. Algae systems represent a promising pathway for the development of a bioplastic feedstock but have many technological challenges. Algae-based plastics offer a promising alleviate that would decrease oil consumption, improve environmental impact, and in some cases even improve plastic performance. This study investigates the economic viability and environmental impact of an algae biorefinery that integrates the complementary functions of bioplastic and fuel production. The bioplastic and biofuel biorefinery modeled herein includes nine different production scenarios. Performance of the facility was validated based on experimental systems with modeling work focusing on mass and energy balances of all required sub-processes in the production pathway. Results show the minimum selling price of the bioplastic feedstock is within the realm of economic competition with prices as low as $970 USD tonne-1. Additionally, LCA results indicate drastic improvements in environmental performance of the produced bioplastic feedstock, with reductions ranging between 67-116% compared to petroleum based plastics. These results indicate that an algae biorefinery focused on bioplastic feedstock production and fuels has the potential to operate both economically and sustainably. Sensitivity analysis results, alternative co-products (given that fuels represent minimal value) and product market potential are discussed. | |
| dc.format.medium | born digital | |
| dc.format.medium | masters theses | |
| dc.identifier | Beckstrom_colostate_0053N_15606.pdf | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/10217/197377 | |
| dc.language | English | |
| dc.language.iso | eng | |
| dc.publisher | Colorado State University. Libraries | |
| dc.relation.ispartof | 2000-2019 | |
| dc.rights | Copyright and other restrictions may apply. User is responsible for compliance with all applicable laws. For information about copyright law, please see https://libguides.colostate.edu/copyright. | |
| dc.subject | biorefinery | |
| dc.subject | protein | |
| dc.subject | biofuels | |
| dc.subject | sustainability | |
| dc.subject | carbon utilization | |
| dc.title | Bioplastic production from microalgae with fuel co-products: a techno-economic and life-cycle assessment | |
| dc.type | Text | |
| dcterms.rights.dpla | This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights (https://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/). You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). | |
| thesis.degree.discipline | Mechanical Engineering | |
| thesis.degree.grantor | Colorado State University | |
| thesis.degree.level | Masters | |
| thesis.degree.name | Master of Science (M.S.) |
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