Biomass algae

Hydrogen can be obtained firom different sources as fossil fuels (natural gas reforming, and coal gasification), renewable fuels (biomass), algae, and vegetables or water (electrolysis and thermo-chemical cycles). Many different energy sources can be used in most of these processes heat from fossil fuel or nuclear reactors, electricity from several sources as solar energy. 

Angela Dibenedetto Associate Professor at the University of Bari-UNIBA (IT)—Department of Chemistry. Her scientific interests are focused on carbon dioxide utilization in synthetic chemistry, catalysis, coordination chemistry and organometallic chemistry, green chemistry, marine biomass (algae) production by enhanced carbon dioxide fixation, marine biomass as source of fuels and chemicals applying the biorefinery concept. 

Bharathiraja, B., Chakravarthy, M., Rar TthKumar, R., Yogendran, D., Yuvaraj, D., Jayamuthunagai, J., Praveen Kumar, R., Palani, S., 2015. Aquatic biomass (Algae) as a future feedstock for biorefineries a review on cultivation, processing and products. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 47,634-653. 

Feedstock Crude petroleum Edible vegetable oils, com sugar, etc. Nonedible crops, waste biomass, ie, cellulose, lignin, etc. and aquatic biomass (algae)... 

G. Shelef and C. J. Soeder, Algae biomass Production and Use, Elsevier, Amsterdam, the Netherlands, 1980. 

Biomass whether trees, plants, grasses, algae, or water plants, has a heating value of 15.1 X 10 J/dry t, and is converted in integrated biomass planting, harvesting, and conversion systems to SNG at an overall thermal efficiency of 50%. 

There are many interacting parameters and possible feedstock—process—product combinations, but all are not feasible from a practical standpoint eg, the separation of small amounts of metals present in biomass and the direct combustion of high moisture content algae are technically possible, but energetically unfavorable. 

Intuition dictates that reducing nutrient inputs, particularly phosphorus, must reduce the supportable biomass. Relationships show that sustained response cannot be effected before it can be demonstrated (i) that nutrient is exhausted at a lower concentration of algae than the existing maxima and (ii) that in situ recycling is unable to make up the shortfall. 

The aim is to produce biomass or a mass of cells such as microbes, yeast and fungi. The commercial production of biomass has been seen in the production of baker s yeast, which is used in the baking industry. Production of single cell protein (SCP) is used as biomass enriched in protein.6 An algae called Spirulina has been used for animal food in some countries. SCP is used as a food source from renewable sources such as whey, cellulose, starch, molasses and a wide range of plant waste. 

Essentially all organic matter in the ocean is ultimately derived from inorganic starting materials (nutrients) converted by photosynthetic algae into biomass. A generalized model for the production of plankton biomass from nutrients in seawater was presented by Redfield, Ketchum and Richards (1963). The schematic "RKR" equation is given below ... 

The results of this study may be helpful to understand the light-dependent photosynthetic activity of H. pluvialis. At the same time, the information presented here can be used for enhancing the volumetric biomass productivity of the astaxanthin-accumulating alga. 

Because of the role these algae play in the oceans biological productivity and their impacts on climate due to the removal of carbon dioxide, satellite sensors have been employed to measure the chlorophyll a contents in oceans, lakes, and seas to indicate the distribution and abundance of biomass production in these water bodies. Detection is set at the specific reflectance and absorption wavelengths of the light from the upper layer of the ocean where photosynthesis occurs. 

Algae can be cultivated easily and quickly when compared to plants. They produce very high quantities of carotenoids compared to other sources (3.0 to 5.0% w/w on a dry weight basis). They contain both cis and trans isomers of carotenoids for high bioavailability and bioefflcacy, and also contain oxygenated carotenoids (xantho-phylls), which have greater bioactivity and better anticancer properties. The proteins from Dunaliella biomass can be utilized for bread and other products and whole cells can be utilized for animal, poultry, and fish foods because they are safe. ... 

Improvement of intraparticle mass transfer is the goal of some particle research efforts. One novel approach that has been recently tested is the co-immobilization of algae with bacteria the algae produced oxygen and the bacteria produced the desired product (Chevalier and de la Noue, 1988). Another method used microporous particles entrapped within alginate bead bioparticles to prevent excess biomass growth that could hinder intraparticle mass transfer (Seki et al., 1993). 

Initial adsorption of the dyes on fungal biomass followed by degradation was observed in cultures of Irpex lacteus, Phanerochaete chrysosporium, Trametes versicolor, and Trichophyton rubrum [46 -9]. In P. sajor-caju, it was observed that Disperse Blue 79 and Acid Red 315 were incompletely or not degraded, but a decolorization was reached due to adsorption to the mycelium [38]. Also algae can be used as biosorbents of azo dyes [50]. 

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