Biology BALVIGYAN

Sanmati H.S. School, Indore

2014-15

Submitted By
Keshav Maheshwari
Priyam Goyal
Sakshi Goyal
Shivam Bansal
ALGAL BIOFUEL
“The Green Fuel”
 Aim of The Project
“To develop a green and
pollution free environment
for our future generation by
using algal biofuels.”
 Contents
•Introduction
•Biofuels
•Fossil Fuels
•Pollution Due To Burning Of Fossil Fuels
 
•Algae as a Biofuel
•Significance
•Fossil Fuels vs. Algal Biofuels
•History of Algal Biofuel
•Production of Biofuel
•Oil Yield
•Algal Biofuels Research In India
•Conclusion
 Introduction
 Simple plant
 Most live in water
 Photosynthetic
• Capture light energy
• Convert inorganic to
organic matter
 Use lipids and oils to
help float in water
 Range from small, single-celled species to complex
multicellular species, such as the giant kelps
Algae are divided in three main classes

Chlorophytes

Rhodophytes

Phaeophytes
Classes Common Major pigment Stored Cell wall Habitat
name food

Chlorophytes Green Chlorophyll Starch Cellulose Fresh water,

algae brackish
water, salt
water.

Rodophytes Red algae Chlorophyll Floridean Cellulose Fresh

And starch pectin and water(some),
erythrocyanin Poly brackish
sulphate water, salt
esters water(most)

Phaeophytes Brown Chlorophyll and Mannitol, Cellulose, Fresh

algae fucoxanthin laminarin and algin water(rare),
brackish
water, salt
water.
 Further divided into:
•Microalgae
•Macro algae

Microalgae
Contains oil
Processed for biodiesel production
Macro algae
Composed of starch and cellulose
Processed for ethanol production
 Biofuels
Biofuels can be defined as solid, liquid or
gaseous fuels derived from any carbon source as
plants and plant-derived materials (biomass).
Biofuels are produced from living organisms
or from metabolic by-products (organic or food
waste products).
 Algae as a Biofuel
Algae fuel or algal biofuel is an alternative
to fossil fuel that uses algae as its source of
natural deposits. 
 SIGNIFICANCE

•Algae is easy to grow

•Can be better for the Earth
•No harmful gases when utilized.
•Hygiene fuel in terms of cleanliness.
•Micro-algae are the fastest growing photosynthesizing
organisms.
•Capable of fixing CO2 in the atmosphere, which are now
considered a global problem.
•Algae biofuels is non-toxic, contains no sulphur, and is highly
biodegradable.
 Fossil Fuels
Fossil fuels are fuels formed by natural
processes such as anaerobic
decomposition of buried dead organisms.
 Pollution Due To Burning Of
Fossil Fuels
Combustion of fossil fuels also produces other
air pollutants, such as nitrogen oxides, sulphur
dioxide, etc.
•Combustion of fossil fuels generates sulfuric,
carbonic, and nitric acids, which fall to Earth
as acid rain.
FOSSIL FUELS VS. ALGAL BIOFUELS

Fossil Fuels Algal Biofuels

• Fossil- • Algal
fuels are fuels  biofuel uses algae 
formed by natural as its source of
processes . natural deposits. 
• Conventional • Non-conventional
source of energy. source of energy.
• Causes more • Causes less
pollution. pollution.
• Less efficient, • More efficient,
more expensive. less expensive.
 History of Algal Biofuel

 Biofuels in the solid form has been in use ever since man
discovered fire.
 But with the exploration of the fossil fuel the production
and use of biofuel suffered a severe impact. 
 Microalgae were first mass cultured on rooftop at MIT
during the early 1950s, first mention of algae biofuels in
report of that project.
Production of Biofuel
 Oil Yield
Oil Yield refers to the amount of oil that can be derived
from an oilseed or from algae.
Oil yields
(barrels/ha-yr)

1000
900
800
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
Soybeans Sunflower Canola Jathropha Palm Oil Microal...
 Algal Biofuels Research In India

•Chemical Industries Association, an apex body

representing a cross section of chemical industries based in
Chennai, has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to
consider promoting algae bio-fuel products. Extensive
work has been done by Indian scientists on utilization of
seaweeds for food and pharmaceutical applications.

•Rengasamy and his team from University of Madras are

in the process of isolation and characterization of suitable
marine phytoplankton for biodiesel production.
Algal Biofuels Research In India
 PILOT PROJECT IN INDIA

Kolkata algal farm - Algal biomass harvested

by PHYCOFLOC technology
 Bengal takes lead in fuel from
algae

KOLKATA: Bengal is taking the lead in algae fuel a third-

generation biofuel that has generated tremendous
excitement worldwide. A city-based organization is
conducting a pilot project at the Kolaghat thermal power
plant and is expected to start production next year. 
Algae yields a very high amount of bio-fuel compared
with jatropha or soya bean because almost the entire algal
organism uses sunlight to produce lipids or oil. Studies
show that algae can produce 60-80% of their biomass in the
form of oil," said professor Sarajit Basu, the mentor of the
project and an expert on bio-fuel.
 Expert’s view
Biodiesel production through the use of different sources
and characterization of oils and their esters as the substitute
of diesel
S.P. Singh and Dipti Singh
School of Energy and Environmental Studies, Devi Ahilya University,
Khandwa Road, Takshila Campus.

Among the different Biodiesel fuel derived from triglycerides by

transesterification with methanol, present the promising alternative
substitute to diesel fuels and have received the most attention now a
day.
The main advantages of using Biodiesel are its renewability, better
quality exhaust gas emission, its biodegradability and the organic
carbon present in it is photosynthetic in origin. It does not contribute to
a rise in the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and consequently
to the green house effect.
 A Review by
K. Sudhakar
 Currently working as Assistant Professor in Department of
Energy at Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology,
Bhopal.

With algal biofuel being a relatively new alternative to

conventional petroleum products, it leaves numerous
opportunities for drastic advances in all aspects of the
technology. Producing algae biofuel is not yet a cost-effective
replacement for gasoline, but alterations to current
methodologies can change this.
 conclusion
•Microalgae are a diverse group of prokaryotic and
eukaryotic photosynthetic microorganisms that can
grow rapidly due to their simple structure. They have
been investigated for the production of different biofuels
including biodiesel.

•Development of biofuels is probably going to make it

our future fuel which is economically and
environmentally feasible.