This chapter discusses leading problems linked to energy that the world is now confronting and to propose some ideas concerning possible solutions. Oil deserves special attention among all energy sources. Since the beginning of 1981, it has merely been continuing and enhancing the downward movement in consumption and prices caused by excessive rises, especially for light crudes such as those from Africa, and the slowing down of worldwide economic growth. Densely-populated oil-producing countries need to produce to live, to pay for their food and their equipment. If the economic growth of the industrialized countries were to be 4%, even if investment in the rational use of energy were pushed to the limit and the development of nonpetroleum energy sources were also pursued actively, it would be extremely difficult to prevent a sharp rise in prices. It is evident that it is absolutely necessary to pursue actively the development of coal, natural gas, and nuclear power if a physical shortage of energy is not to block economic growth.

World energy outlook

It is well known that urbanization and industrialization have resulted in the rapidly increasing emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which are a major contributor to the formation of secondary pollutants (e.g., tropospheric ozone, PAN (peroxyacetyl nitrate), and secondary organic aerosols) and photochemical smog. The emission of these pollutants has led to a large decline in air quality in numerous regions around the world, which has ultimately led to concerns regarding their impact on human health and general well-being. Catalytic oxidation is regarded as one of the most promising strategies for VOC removal from industrial waste streams. This Review systematically documents the progresses and developments made in the understanding and design of heterogeneous catalysts for VOC oxidation over the past two decades. It addresses in detail how catalytic performance is often drastically affected by the pollutant sources and reaction conditions. It also highlights the primary routes for catalyst deactivation and discusses protocols for their subsequent reactivation. Kinetic models and proposed oxidation mechanisms for representative VOCs are also provided. Typical catalytic reactors and oxidizers for industrial VOC destruction are further discussed. We believe that this Review will provide a great foundation and reference point for future design and development in this field.

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Recent Advances in the Catalytic Oxidation of Volatile Organic Compounds: A Review Based on Pollutant Sorts and Sources.

Adsorption of VOCs onto engineered carbon materials: A review

Microalgae dewatering is a major obstruction to industrial-scale processing of microalgae for biofuel prodn. The dil. nature of harvested microalgal cultures creates a huge operational cost during dewatering, thereby, rendering algae-based fuels less economically attractive. Currently there is no superior method of dewatering microalgae. A technique that may result in a greater algal biomass may have drawbacks such as a high capital cost or high energy consumption. The choice of which harvesting technique to apply will depend on the species of microalgae and the final product desired. Algal properties such as a large cell size and the capability of the microalgae to autoflocculate can simplify the dewatering process. This article reviews and addresses the various technologies currently used for dewatering microalgal cultures along with a comparative study of the performances of the different technologies.

Dewatering of microalgal cultures : a major bottleneck to algae-based fuels

Research studies on microalgae have increased in the last decades due to the wide range of applications associated to these photosynthetic microorganisms. Microalgae are an important source of oils and other biomolecules that can be used in the production of biofuels and high-valued products. However, the use of microalgae in these green processes is still not economically viable. One of the main costs associated to microalgal production is related to the harvesting process, as it usually accounts for about 20–30% of total cost. Therefore, this review focuses on the main harvesting processes applied to microalgae, presenting the main advantages and disadvantages of each method, to allow the selection of an appropriate procedure to effectively separate microalgal biomass from the culture medium. To reduce the associated costs, it is common to harvest microalgae in a two-step separation: (i) thickening procedures, in which microalgal slurry is concentrated to about 2–7% of total suspended solids; and (ii) dewatering procedures, which result in the concentration of microalgal slurry to 15–25% of total suspended solids. Selection of the adequate harvesting methods depends on the characteristics of the target microorganism and also on the type and value of the end product.

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Harvesting techniques applied to microalgae: A review

Catalytic oxidation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) – A review

Algae have recently received growing attention given its prospects as a source of renewable energy and its potential for CO2 capture. Algae culture is of increasing value given that: (i) algae can be cultivated on non-agricultural land using wastewater, (ii) algae can provide a high yield on a per unit of light irradiated area, (iii) algae growth requires CO2 and nutrients that can be obtained from wastewater and fossil fuel combustion and (iv) algae contains high oil and starch making possible the production of high quality biodiesel. Thus, algae culture can contribute to CO2 fixation, wastewater treatment and can be a source of bioenergy. This article presents a critical review, focusing on various microalgae species that consume CO2 and nutrients from wastewater, and provide high quality biofuel. In this respect, a number of relevant topics are discussed in this review: (a) the media for algae culture, (b) the photobioreactor, (c) the associated wastewater treatment processes, (d) the CO2 capture mechanism and (e) microalgal harvesting. This review also considers various aspects of the biomass processing such as (a) lipid extraction, (b) thermodynamics of the produced biomass conversion, (c) biomass gasification, (d) biodiesel production, (e) catalysts, (f) reaction pathways/mechanisms and (g) reaction kinetics.

Integrated CO2 capture, wastewater treatment and biofuel production by microalgae culturing—A review

Biological CO 2 fixation and wastewater treatment by using microalgae has recently received growing interest. Microalgae can be cultivated in photobioreactors by utilizing CO 2 from point sources such as power plants, cement manufacturing facilities and waste water from industrial, municipal, dairy facilities. These processes can provide the nutrient sources for sunlight microalgae photosynthesis. Thus, microalgae culture can contribute simultaneously to both CO 2 fixation and wastewater treatment. This article presents a critical review, focusing on various photobioreactors and microalgae species cultures in wastewater that can capture high amounts of CO 2 and provide high quality biofuel. In this respect, a number of relevant topics are discussed in this review: a) current wastewater treatment processes, b) wastewater treatment using microalgae, c) classification of photobioreactors, d) microalgae growth parameters and d) the CO 2 capture mechanism.

Biological CO2 fixation with production of microalgae in wastewater – A review

A promising long-term and sustainable solution to the growing scarcity of water worldwide is to recycle and reuse wastewater. In wastewater treatment plants, the biodegradation of contaminants or pollutants by harnessing microorganisms present in activated sludge is one of the most important strategies to remove organic contaminants from wastewater. However, this approach has limitations because many pollutants are not efficiently eliminated. To counterbalance the limitations, bioaugmentation has been developed and consists of adding specific and efficient pollutant-biodegrading microorganisms into a microbial community in an effort to enhance the ability of this microbial community to biodegrade contaminants. This approach has been tested for wastewater cleaning with encouraging results, but failure has also been reported, especially during scale-up. In this review, work on the bioaugmentation in the context of removal of important pollutants from industrial wastewater is summarized, with an emphasis on recalcitrant compounds, and strategies that can be used to improve the efficiency of bioaugmentation are also discussed. This review also initiates a discussion regarding new research areas, such as nanotechnology and quorum sensing, that should be investigated to improve the efficiency of wastewater bioaugmentation.

https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/13/9/846/pdf

Bioaugmentation: An Emerging Strategy of Industrial Wastewater Treatment for Reuse and Discharge.

The depletion of fossil fuel reserves and increased environmental concerns related to fossil fuel production and combustion has forced the global communities to search for renewable fuels. In this regard, microalgae-based biodiesel has been considered as one of the interesting alternatives. Biodiesel production from the cultivation of microalgae is eco-friendly and sustainable. Moreover, microalgae have several advantages over other bioenergy sources, including their good photosynthetic capacity and faster growth rates. The productivity of microalgae per unit land area is also significantly higher than that of terrestrial plants. The produced microalgae biomass is rich with high quality lipids, which can be converted into biodiesel by transesterification reactions. Generally, the transesterification reactions are carried out in the presence of a homogeneous or heterogeneous catalyst. The homogeneous catalysts have many disadvantages, including their single use, slow reaction rate and saponification issues due to the presence of fatty acids in the feedstock. The acidic nature of the homogeneous catalysts also causes equipment corrosion. On the other hand, the heterogeneous catalysts offer several advantages, including their reusability, higher reaction rate and selectivity, easy product/catalyst separation and low cost. Due to these facts, the development of solid phase transesterification catalysts have been receiving growing interest. The present review is focused on the use of heterogeneous catalysts for biodiesel production from microalgal oil as a reliable feedstock with a comparison to other available feedstocks. It also highlights optimal reaction conditions for maximum biodiesel yields, reusability of the solid catalysts, cost, and environmental impact. The superior lipid content of microalgae and the efficient concurrent esterification and transesterification of the solid acid−base catalysts can offer new advancements in biodiesel production.

Shaikh A. Razzak

Papers

Catalytic oxidation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) – A review

Integrated CO2 capture, wastewater treatment and biofuel production by microalgae culturing—A review

Biological CO2 fixation with production of microalgae in wastewater – A review

Bioaugmentation: An Emerging Strategy of Industrial Wastewater Treatment for Reuse and Discharge.

Application of Heterogeneous Catalysts for Biodiesel Production from Microalgal Oil—A Review