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Microalgal-Derived Biomethanization and Biohydrogen Production – A Review of Modeling Approaches

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Algal Biorefineries

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Abstract

Microalgae represent an excellent example of the pressing need of our society for sustainable energy as they have experienced increased momentum of interest as a promising feedstock for biomethane and biohydrogen production. While biomethane can be obtained from various microalgal species, biohydrogen production mostly involves the single-cell green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. In this context, it is of general agreement in science that the development of mathematical models supports the understanding of the biochemical processes involved besides helping to optimize the process engineering. This chapter reviews the approaches to mathematically model processes of microalgal-derived biomethanization and biohydrogen production. Regarding biomethanization a standardized model framework exists in the form of the Anaerobic Digestion Model No. 1 (ADM1), which has been developed on an ongoing basis. In the context of anaerobic digestion of microalgae, studies available regarding the application of the ADM1 focus entirely on the improvement of kinetic description (Contois) and on a closer consideration of the effect of salinity for marine cultures. Future attention will certainly be given to a detailed determination of stoichiometric model parameters for microalgae as has already been done for other substrates. Besides the ADM1, there are hardly any other modeling approaches published to date for modeling microalgal digestion. Though biohydrogen production, on the contrary, is subject to a wider variety of modeling approaches, a standardized model framework has not yet been distilled from the majority of available models. However, a uniform trend is clearly seen in the application of the S-system modeling framework with further modifications.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Urban Water Management and Environmental Engineering, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Bochum, Germany

    Pascal Kosse, Marc Wichern & Manfred Lübken

Authors
  1. Pascal Kosse
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  2. Marc Wichern
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  3. Manfred Lübken
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Pascal Kosse .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA

    Aleš Prokop

  2. Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Lafayette, Louisiana, USA

    Rakesh K. Bajpai

  3. Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Lafayette, Louisiana, USA

    Mark E. Zappi

List of Acronyms

List of Acronyms

ADM1:

Anaerobic Digestion Model No. 1

ADRE:

Advective-Diffusive Reaction Equation

Alk:

Alkalinity

AlkIC :

Bicarbonate alkalinity

AlkVFA :

Alkalinity of neutralized fatty acids

ATP:

Adenosine triphosphate

ChVFA :

Charge of volatile fatty acids

COD:

Chemical Oxygen Demand

CODCHO :

COD-equivalent carbohydrate concentration

CODLIP :

COD-equivalent lipid concentration

CODPR :

COD-equivalent protein concentration

CODVFA :

COD-equivalent volatile fatty acid concentration

ETS:

Electron Transport System

Fd:

Ferredoxin

FNR:

Fd-NADP+ reductase

HRT:

Hydraulic retention time

MAD:

Microalgae Anaerobic Digestion model

MWO2 :

Molecular weight of oxygen

Norg :

Organic nitrogen

NPR :

Nitrogen content of protein

PQ:

Plastoquinone

PSI:

photosynthetic system I

PSII:

photosynthetic system II

TOC:

Total Organic Carbon

γLIP :

Oxidation state of lipids

ηCHO:

Carbon mole fraction of carbohydrates

ηLIP:

Carbon mole fraction of lipids

ηPR:

Carbon mole fraction of proteins

ηVFA:

Carbon mole fraction of volatile fatty acids

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Kosse, P., Wichern, M., Lübken, M. (2015). Microalgal-Derived Biomethanization and Biohydrogen Production – A Review of Modeling Approaches. In: Prokop, A., Bajpai, R., Zappi, M. (eds) Algal Biorefineries. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-20200-6_14

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