Cost Reduction in Bioenergy Production through Carbon Credit Sales

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Photo Bioreactor Cost Reduction in Bioenergy Production through Carbon Credit Sales H2 collector H2 H2O Oil WW Oil Press Microbial Fuel Cell Electricity Silas Zeferino1, Clifford Louime2 and Adrienne Cooper³ CO2 Settling Tank Waste water Biomass Anaerobic Digester methane 1 Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Departamento de Economia Rural, Viçosa, Minas Gerais – Brazil 36571 2Florida A&M University, College of Engineering Sciences, Technology and Agriculture, Agricultural Sciences, Tallahassee, FL 32307 ³Florida A&M University, College of Engineering Sciences, Technology and Agriculture, Biological and Agricultural Systems Engineering, Tallahassee, FL 32307 solids CO2 Solid wastes (paper, food, etc.) Fertilizer Microbial Hydrogen Production Fertilizer RESULTS H2 ABSTRACT METHODS CO2 Three different samples of wastewater were chosen for this research: Municipal wastewater, textile dye wastewater and Dairy wastewater (From milk or cheese production), and the daily flow was estimated at 1,000 m³. Sample 1: Municipal wastewater (taken from Tchobanoglous et al – Medium strength values p. 186): COD= 430 mg/L or 4.3x10-4 kg/L BOD= 190 mg/L or 1.9x10-4 kg/L 1,000m³ of Municipal wastewater contains 430 kg of COD and 190 kg of BOD. The cleaning process releases 372.7 + 247 = 619.7 kg (0.62 tons) of CO2. 238.4 kg of biomass is required to sequester 6.2 tons of CO2. Sample 2: Textile dye wastewater (Vlyssides et al – 1999) COD= 3325 mg/L or 3.325x10-3 kg/L BOD= 1540 mg/L or 1.540x10-3 kg/L 1,000 m3 of Textile dye wastewater contains 3,325 kg of COD and 1,540 kg of BOD. The cleaning process releases 2,881.7 + 2,002 = 4,883.7 kg (4.88 tons) of CO2. 1,878.3 kg of biomass is required to sequester 4.88 tons of CO2. Sample 3: Dairy wastewater (Gavala et al – 1998) COD= 1,219 mg/L or 1.219x10-3 kg/L BOD= 451 mg/L or 4.51x10-4 Kg/L 1,000 m³ of Dairy wastewater contains 1,219 kg of COD and 451 kg of BOD. The cleaning process releases 1,056.5 + 586.3 = 1,642.8 (1.64 tons) of CO2. 631.8 kg of biomass is required to sequester 1.64 tons of CO2. Conversions used in Calculations: 1,000 m³=1,000,000 liters 1 kg of BOD releases 1.3 kg of CO2 1 kg of COD releases 86.7x10-2 kg of CO2 1 kg of CO2 is required to produce 38.5x10-2 kg of algae biomass Table 1: The Carbon Credits are sold on the market from U$10 to U$30 per ton of CO2. Carbon Dioxide has long been considered by many as a major culprit of global climate change. In a worldwide attempt to curb its emission, political and industrial leaders have established a different set of rules at the Kyoto Protocol. The sale of Carbon Credits for example, was a major initiative designed to sequester carbon from the atmosphere. Nowadays, biofuels production from algae has become an attractive alternative to fossil fuels, as these microorganisms are known to display tremendous capacity for carbon sequestration. However, one of the main caveats to large scale production of algae biodiesel remains the associated non commercial costs. This cost can be partially offset by coupling bioenergy production with wastewater treatment and production of other bioproducts in a biorefinery. In this study, we examine the effects of a reduction in the biorefinery costs by selling carbon emission permits in the carbon market . INTRODUCTION With the recent increase of the “Go Green” movement, many people have tried to revert to a more natural way of life by consuming various organic products that have not been influenced by harmful fertilizers. But what if the problem isn’t within the fertilizer but within the soil itself? Nanoparticles are particles between 1 to 100 nanometers in diameter and can vary in size, shape, surface charge, and surface area. They are often used in the production of common household items including cosmetics, various fabrics, and computers (Navarro et. al 2008). Nanoparticles are small enough to be absorbed by various plants and wildlife without showing an immediate effect. Although it may not show an immediate effect, it could influence an organism’s natural process such as plant and cell growth, transpiration in the plant and water use. Titanium dioxide, TiO2, was selected for investigation due to its ubiquitous nature. It can serve as a model for semiconductor oxide nanoparticles. The willow tree was chosen because of its ability to grow and adapt to a new environment relatively quickly. DISCUSSION For a municipal wastewater system with a 1 Million liter per day treatment train (about 10% of the size of a medium to large city) the cost savings is only about $6.2 per day or $2,260 per year at current market rates. On the other hand, the savings for the highest strength waste, the textile industry wastewater ranges from $50 - $150 dollars for 1,000 m3, and the economy generated from the diary waste could ranges from U$16.43 to U$50.Since algae can serve as raw material for bioenergy production, further studies should be done to measure the real amount of CO2 sequestered from atmosphere since flows of energy (Biodiesel, Methanol, Electricity, Biogas, etc.) can emit CO2 . References 1- A.G. Vlyssides a,), M. Loizidou a, P.K. Karlis a, A.A. Zorpas a, D. Papaioannou b. 1999. Electrochemical oxidation of a textile dye wastewater using a PtrTi electrode. Journal of Hazardous Materials B70 _1999. 41–52. 2-H. N. Gavala; H. Kopsinis; I. V. Skiadas; K. Stamatelatou; G. Lyberatos J. Agric. Engng Res. – 1998 Treatment of Dairy Wastewater Using an Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket Reactor- Article No. jaer.1998.0391, available online at http://www.idealibrary.com. 3- Tchobanoglous, G., Burton, F. L., Stensel, H. D., Metcalf, and Eddy. (2003). Wastewater engineering : treatment and reuse, McGraw-Hill, Boston. Acknowledgments This material is based on work supported in part by the United States Department of Education and the Brazilian Ministry of Education - FIPSE/CAPSE. Figure 2: Microalgae as aerator in wastewater treatment This research was conducted in the Sustainable Systems Engineering Research Laboratory at Florida A&M University. Figure 1: Process Flow Scheme of a Microalgae Based, Waste-Fed Biorefinery