Perspectivas exergéticas sobre la licuefacción hidrotérmica de microalgas: un estudio de caso con Chlorella sp.

Eduardo Andrés Aguilar Vasquez; Angel Darío González Delgado

doi:10.21803/ingecana.6.6.976

Autores/as

Eduardo Andrés Aguilar Vasquez Universidad de Cartagena https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1744-1622
Angel Darío González Delgado Universidad de Cartagena https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8100-8888

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21803/ingecana.6.6.976

Palabras clave:

Biocrudo, Bioenergía, Exergía, HTL, Microalga

Resumen

Introducción: Recientemente, las microalgas se han destacado como un biomaterial prometedor para la producción de biocombustibles; sin embargo, la licuefacción hidrotermal (HTL), pese a su eficiencia, enfrenta desafíos técnicos a escala industrial, especialmente por su alto consumo energético, lo que limita su viabilidad y comercialización. Objetivo: En este trabajo se realizó un análisis exergético del proceso de producción de biocrudo a partir de algas húmedas mediante licuefacción hidrotermal (HTL) utilizando Ingeniería de Procesos Asistida por Computador (CAPE) con el fin de evaluar el desempeño energético, identificar irreversibilidades y proponer mejoras al proceso. Método: Se realizó un análisis exergético del proceso a partir de datos operativos y balances extendidos de masa y energía, determinando la exergía física y química de cada corriente, así como la asociada a los servicios industriales. Con base en el balance exergético, se evaluaron la eficiencia global del proceso y las eficiencias locales de cada etapa, identificando puntos críticos de bajo desempeño. Asimismo, se aplicó un análisis de resiliencia exergética para proponer mejoras en las unidades con desempeño deficiente. Resultados: Los resultados mostraron una eficiencia global del 24%, indicando un desempeño bajo, con irreversibilidades totales de 111.000 MJ/h, principalmente por pérdidas de calor y cambios químicos (83%). La mayoría de las etapas fueron eficientes (>85%), excepto el enfriamiento de biocrudo (9%). El análisis de resiliencia reveló que la eficiencia podría aumentar hasta 84% si se valorizan integralmente los residuos del proceso, incluyendo gas residual, biochar y aguas residuales, optimizando el uso de exergía y reduciendo impactos ambientales potenciales. Se identificó además la oportunidad de aplicar integración energética para aprovechar el calor de las corrientes calientes. Conclusiones: El análisis evidenció que el proceso HTL requiere optimizaciones significativas para ser termodinámicamente viable en la producción de biocombustibles. Asimismo, es necesario incorporar la etapa de refinación para una evaluación integral del desempeño, y la adopción de un enfoque de biorrefinería podría aportar beneficios técnicos relevantes al proceso.

Descargas

Los datos de descarga aún no están disponibles.

Referencias

[1] J. Mozas Santhose Kumar, R. Prakash, and P. Panneerselvam, "Hydrothermal liquefaction − A sustainable technique for present biofuel generation: Opportunities, challenges and future prospects," Fuel, vol. 385, Art. no. 134141, Apr. 2024, doi: 10.1016/j.fuel.2024.134141.

[2] H. Y. Leong et al., "Waste biorefinery towards a sustainable circular bioeconomy: a solution to global issues," Biotechnol. Biofuels, vol. 14, no. 1, pp. 1–15, 2021, doi: 10.1186/s13068-021-01939-5.

[3] M. K. Shahid et al., "Biofuels and biorefineries: Development, application and future perspectives emphasizing the environmental and economic aspects," J. Environ. Manage., vol. 297, Art. no. 113268, Jul. 2021, doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.113268.

[4] V. Aristizábal-Marulanda and C. A. Cardona Alzate, "Methods for designing and assessing biorefineries: Review," Biofuels, Bioprod. Biorefining, vol. 13, no. 3, pp. 789–808, 2019, doi: 10.1002/bbb.1961.

[5] D. Keegan, B. Kretschmer, B. Elbersen, and C. Panoutsou, "Cascading use: A systematic approach to biomass beyond the energy sector," Biofuels, Bioprod. Biorefining, vol. 7, no. 2, pp. 193–206, 2013, doi: 10.1002/bbb.1351.

[6] J. Escalante et al., "Pyrolysis of lignocellulosic, algal, plastic, and other biomass wastes for biofuel production and circular bioeconomy: A review of thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) approach," Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev., vol. 169, Art. no. 112914, Sep. 2022, doi: 10.1016/j.rser.2022.112914.

[7] T. dos S. Gonçalves et al., "Challenges for energy guidelines in crop-based liquid biofuels development in Brazil," Next Sustain., vol. 2, Art. no. 100002, Nov. 2022, doi: 10.1016/j.nxsust.2023.100002.

[8] D. M. Orfali, S. Meramo, and S. Sukumara, "Ranking economic and environmental performance of feedstocks used in bio-based production systems," Curr. Res. Biotechnol., vol. 9, Art. no. 100275, Jan. 2025, doi: 10.1016/j.crbiot.2025.100275.

[9] D. C. Kannan et al., "Integrated production of algal biofuels and biocommodities," Algal Res., vol. 89, Art. no. 104063, Apr. 2025, doi: 10.1016/j.algal.2025.104063.

[10] S. Piyatilleke, B. Thevarajah, P. H. V. Nimarshana, and T. U. Ariyadasa, "Microalgal biofuels: Challenges and prospective in the framework of circular bioeconomy," Energy Nexus, vol. 17, Art. no. 100338, Jul. 2023, doi: 10.1016/j.nexus.2024.100338.

[11] N. Rafa, S. F. Ahmed, I. A. Badruddin, M. Mofijur, and S. Kamangar, "Strategies to produce cost-effective third-generation biofuel from microalgae," Front. Energy Res., vol. 9, pp. 1–11, Sep. 2021, doi: 10.3389/fenrg.2021.749968.

[12] S. Gaur, M. Kaur, R. Kalra, E. R. Rene, and M. Goel, "Application of microbial resources in biorefineries: Current trend and future prospects," Heliyon, vol. 10, no. 8, Art. no. e28615, 2024, doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e28615.

[13] L. E. Rincón, J. J. Jaramillo, and C. A. Cardona, "Comparison of feedstocks and technologies for biodiesel production: An environmental and techno-economic evaluation," Renew. Energy, vol. 69, pp. 479–487, 2014, doi: 10.1016/j.renene.2014.03.058.

[14] M. Mukherjee, D. Bose, and H. Salam, "Experimentation in procuring and characterizing biofuel obtained from micro algae from sewage treatment plant and municipal waste," Int. J. ChemTech Res., vol. 10, no. 6, pp. 152–157, 2017.

[15] S. F. Ahmed et al., "Bio-oil from microalgae: Materials, production, technique, and future," Energy Rep., vol. 10, pp. 3297–3314, Oct. 2023, doi: 10.1016/j.egyr.2023.09.068.

[16] P. A. Costa, R. M. Mata, F. Pinto, F. Paradela, R. Duarte, and C. Matos, "Effect of type of biomass used in the hydrothermal liquefaction of microalgae on the bio crude yields and quality," Chem. Eng. Trans., vol. 99, pp. 31–36, Mar. 2023, doi: 10.3303/CET2399006.

[17] M. Narayanan, "Biorefinery products from algal biomass by advanced biotechnological and hydrothermal liquefaction approaches," Discov. Appl. Sci., vol. 6, no. 4, 2024, doi: 10.1007/s42452-024-05777-6.

[18] C. Klüpfel, B. Yuan, P. Biller, and B. Herklotz, "Hydrothermal liquefaction as a treatment technology for anaerobic digestate: A review," Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev., vol. 210, Art. no. 115156, Nov. 2024, doi: 10.1016/j.rser.2024.115156.

[19] A. D. González-Delgado, J. B. García-Martínez, and A. F. Barajas-Solano, "Evaluation of algae-based biodiesel production topologies via inherent safety index (Isi)," Appl. Sci., vol. 11, no. 6, Art. no. 2854, 2021, doi: 10.3390/app11062854.

[20] D. C. Elliott et al., "Process development for hydrothermal liquefaction of algae feedstocks in a continuous-flow reactor," Algal Res., vol. 2, no. 4, pp. 445–454, 2013, doi: 10.1016/j.algal.2013.08.005.

[21] E. Ocampo, V. V. Beltrán, E. A. Gómez, L. A. Ríos, and D. Ocampo, "Hydrothermal liquefaction process: Review and trends," Curr. Res. Green Sustain. Chem., vol. 7, Art. no. 100382, Oct. 2023, doi: 10.1016/j.crgsc.2023.100382.

[22] M. Hasan, M. Z. Abedin, M. Bin Amin, M. Nekmahmud, and J. Oláh, "Sustainable biofuel economy: A mapping through bibliometric research," J. Environ. Manage., vol. 336, Feb. 2023, doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.117644.

[23] F. L. Muñoz et al., "Insights from an exergy analysis of a green chemistry chitosan biorefinery," Chem. Eng. Res. Des., vol. 194, pp. 666–677, 2023, doi: 10.1016/j.cherd.2023.04.038.

[24] K. Moreno-Sader, S. I. Meramo-Hurtado, and A. D. González-Delgado, "Computer-aided environmental and exergy analysis as decision-making tools for selecting bio-oil feedstocks," Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev., vol. 112, pp. 42–57, Feb. 2019, doi: 10.1016/j.rser.2019.05.044.

[25] Z. Borazjani, F. Bayat Mastalinezhad, R. Azin, and S. Osfouri, "Global perspective of hydrothermal liquefaction of algae: a review of the process, kinetics, and economics analysis," Bioenergy Res., vol. 16, no. 3, pp. 1493–1511, 2023, doi: 10.1007/s12155-023-10615-5.

[26] P. Biller, B. Sharma, B. Kunwar, and A. Ross, "Hydroprocessing of bio-crude from continuous hydrothermal liquefaction of microalgae," Fuel, vol. 159, pp. 197–205, 2015, doi: 10.1016/J.FUEL.2015.06.077.

[27] Y. Peralta-Ruiz, A. D. González-Delgado, and V. Kafarov, "Evaluation of alternatives for microalgae oil extraction based on exergy analysis," Appl. Energy, vol. 101, pp. 226–236, 2013, doi: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2012.06.065.

[28] G. Valencia, J. Beltrán, R. Romero, and J. Cabrera, "Comparative evaluation of different refrigerants on a vapor compression refrigeration system via exergetic performance coefficient criterion," Contemp. Eng. Sci., vol. 10, no. 14, pp. 691–702, 2017.

[29] R. Karamarkovic and V. Karamarkovic, "Energy and exergy analysis of biomass gasification at different temperatures," Energy, vol. 35, no. 2, pp. 537–549, 2010, doi: 10.1016/j.energy.2009.10.022.

[30] A. Fudholi, R. Yendra, D. Fredalina, M. Hafidz, and K. Sopian, "Energy and exergy analysis of hybrid solar drying system," Contemp. Eng. Sci., vol. 9, no. 5, pp. 215–223, 2016.

[31] A. Ghannadzadeh and M. Sadeqzadeh, "Exergy analysis as a scoping tool for cleaner production of chemicals: A case study of an ethylene production process," J. Clean. Prod., vol. 129, pp. 508–520, 2016, doi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.04.018.

[32] C. Michalakakis, J. M. Cullen, A. Gonzalez Hernandez, and B. Hallmark, "Exergy and network analysis of chemical sites," Sustain. Prod. Consum., vol. 19, pp. 270–288, 2019, doi: 10.1016/j.spc.2019.07.004.

[33] S. Meramo-Hurtado, C. Alarcón-Suesca, and Á. D. González-Delgado, "Exergetic sensibility analysis and environmental evaluation of chitosan production from shrimp exoskeleton in Colombia," J. Clean. Prod., vol. 248, Art. no. 119285, 2020, doi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.119285.

[34] N. Sato, Chemical Energy and Exergy: An Introduction to Chemical Thermodynamics for Engineers. Elsevier, 2004, doi: 10.1016/B978-0-444-51645-9.X5000-6.

[35] R. Rivero and M. Garfias, "Standard chemical exergy of elements updated," Energy, vol. 31, no. 15, pp. 3310–3326, 2006, doi: 10.1016/j.energy.2006.03.020.

[36] E. Querol, B. Gonzalez-Regueral, and J. L. Perez-Benedito, Enfoque Práctico de Exergía y Análisis Termoeconómico de Procesos Industriales. Springer, 2013. [Online]. Available: http://www.springer.com/series/8903

[37] S. de Oliveira, Exergy: Production, Cost and Renewability. London: Springer-Verlag, 2013, doi: 10.1007/978-1-4471-4165-5.

[38] A. Arshad, H. M. Ali, A. Habib, M. A. Bashir, M. Jabbal, and Y. Yan, "Energy and exergy analysis of fuel cells: A review," Therm. Sci. Eng. Prog., vol. 9, pp. 308–321, 2019, doi: 10.1016/j.tsep.2018.12.008.

[39] S. Meramo and Á. D. González-Delgado, "Exergy and economic optimization of heat-integrated water regeneration networks," Energy Convers. Manag. X, vol. 18, Aug. 2022, doi: 10.1016/j.ecmx.2023.100373.

[40] S. Meramo-Hurtado, N. Urbina-Suaréz, and Á. González-Delgado, "Computer-aided environmental and exergy analyses of a large-scale production of chitosan microbeads modified with TiO2 nanoparticles," J. Clean. Prod., vol. 237, Art. no. 117804, 2019, doi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.117804.

[41] Z. Borazjani, R. Azin, S. Osfouri, M. Lehner, and M. Ellersdorfer, "Computer-aided exergy evaluation of hydrothermal liquefaction for biocrude production from Nannochloropsis sp.," Bioenergy Res., vol. 15, no. 1, pp. 141–153, 2022, doi: 10.1007/s12155-021-10297-x.

[42] L. Prasakti, S. H. Pratama, A. Fauzi, Y. S. Pradana, Rochmadi, and A. Budiman, "Exergy analysis of conventional and hydrothermal liquefaction-esterification processes of microalgae for biodiesel production," Open Chem., vol. 18, no. 1, pp. 874–881, 2020, doi: 10.1515/chem-2020-0132.

[43] C. Wei et al., "Life-cycle assessment of microalgae liquid biofuel production in biofilm cultivation system via conversion technologies of transesterification, hydrothermal liquefaction and pyrolysis," J. Clean. Prod., vol. 436, Art. no. 140559, Dec. 2023, doi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2024.140559.

[44] Y. Peralta-Ruiz, L. G. Obregon, and Á. González-Delgado, "Design of biodiesel and bioethanol production process from microalgae biomass using exergy analysis methodology," Chem. Eng. Trans., vol. 70, pp. 1045–1050, 2018, doi: 10.3303/CET1870175.

[45] E. J. C. Cavalcanti, D. S. Barbosa, and M. Carvalho, "Biodiesel production from microalgae: Exergy analysis using specific exergy costing approach," Bioenergy Res., vol. 17, no. 1, pp. 598–611, 2024, doi: 10.1007/s12155-023-10636-0.

[46] C. Xiao et al., "Exergy analyses of biogas production from microalgae biomass via anaerobic digestion," Bioresour. Technol., vol. 289, Art. no. 121709, May 2019, doi: 10.1016/j.biortech.2019.121709.

[47] B. Guo, B. Yang, P. Weil, S. Zhang, U. Hornung, and N. Dahmen, "The effect of dichloromethane on product separation during continuous hydrothermal liquefaction of Chlorella vulgaris and aqueous product recycling for algae cultivation," Energy Fuels, vol. 36, no. 2, pp. 922–931, 2022, doi: 10.1021/acs.energyfuels.1c02523.

[48] N. Ghavami, K. Özdenkçi, G. Salierno, M. Björklund-Sänkiaho, and C. De Blasio, "Analysis of operational issues in hydrothermal liquefaction and supercritical water gasification processes: a review," Biomass Convers. Biorefinery, vol. 13, no. 14, pp. 12367–12394, 2023, doi: 10.1007/s13399-021-02176-4.

[49] H. Shahbeik et al., "Biomass to biofuels using hydrothermal liquefaction: A comprehensive review," Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev., vol. 189, Part B, Art. no. 113976, 2024, doi: 10.1016/j.rser.2023.113976.

[50] F. Hosseinifard, M. Ebadollahi, and M. Amidpour, "Sustainable pathways for CO2 mitigation: A comparative energy, exergy, and economic analysis of optimized post-combustion capture and microalgae-based sequestration," Clean. Environ. Syst., vol. 18, Art. no. 100304, May 2025, doi: 10.1016/j.cesys.2025.100304.

[51] C. Deepika et al., "Hydrothermal liquefaction of wet microalgal biomass for biofuels and platform chemicals: advances and future prospects," Discov. Appl. Sci., vol. 6, no. 5, 2024, doi: 10.1007/s42452-024-05911-4.