A Comparative Analysis of Environmental Impacts of Operational Phases of Three Selected Microalgal Cultivation Systems

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F60460709%3A41330%2F23%3A97478" target="_blank" >RIV/60460709:41330/23:97478 - isvavai.cz</a>

Alternative codes found

RIV/67985858:_____/23:00564847 RIV/00027073:_____/23:N0000044

Result on the web

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su15010769" target="_blank" >http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su15010769</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su15010769" target="_blank" >10.3390/su15010769</a>

Result language

angličtina

Original language name

A Comparative Analysis of Environmental Impacts of Operational Phases of Three Selected Microalgal Cultivation Systems

Original language description

In recent years, microalgal biomass cultivation has been growing in importance, not only related to the production of alternative foods and nutritional supplements but also for its usage for energy purposes or as a natural solution for wastewater treatment. Regarding these cases, the practical potential associated with the circular economy is evident. However, this is not an option for microalgal food and supplements due to strict hygiene requirements for microalgae cultivation used for these purposes. Currently, the most common cultivation options for microalgae include phototrophic cascades, photobioreactors, and heterotrophic fermenters. Generally, the higher requirements for the purity of the resulting biomass, the higher the consumption of energy and nutrients needed. These are the main operational parameters that significantly shape the total environmental and economic performance of microalgae cultivation processes. The comparative Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of environmental aspects in the operational phases of three selected cultivation systems, located in the Czech Republic and used for pure microalgae biomass production, confirmed that the impacts of these systems in the assessed categories are fundamentally dependent on the amount of electricity needed and nutrient consumption, as well as their sources. For this reason, the heterotrophic fermenter was evaluated as being the most damaging in the comparison of the three cultivation systems, while the phototrophic cascade showed a lower total environmental impact by 15% and the flat photobioreactor was lower still, by 95%, mainly due to energy production from biomass. The major impact categories observed were climate change, depletion of fossil fuels, human toxicity, and freshwater and marine ecotoxicity. The environmental impacts of microalgae cultivation systems could be further reduced if cycling practices, such as process water recycling and reprocessing of generated sewage sludge, were addressed.

Czech name

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Czech description

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Type

J_imp - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database

CEP classification

—

OECD FORD branch

10511 - Environmental sciences (social aspects to be 5.7)

Project

<a href="/en/project/TN01000048" target="_blank" >TN01000048: Biorefining as circulation technology</a><br>

Continuities

P - Projekt vyzkumu a vyvoje financovany z verejnych zdroju (s odkazem do CEP)

Publication year

2023

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Name of the periodical

Sustainability

ISSN

2071-1050

e-ISSN

2071-1050

Volume of the periodical

15

Issue of the periodical within the volume

1

Country of publishing house

CZ - CZECH REPUBLIC

Number of pages

14

Pages from-to

1-14

UT code for WoS article

000909942700001

EID of the result in the Scopus database

2-s2.0-85146009923