MIT Libraries homeMIT Libraries logoDSpace@MIT

MIT
View Item 
  • DSpace@MIT Home
  • MIT Libraries
  • MIT Theses
  • Doctoral Theses
  • View Item
  • DSpace@MIT Home
  • MIT Libraries
  • MIT Theses
  • Doctoral Theses
  • View Item
JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

Hydrothermal processing of high-lipid biomass to fuels

Author(s)
Johnson, Michael C., Ph. D. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Thumbnail
DownloadFull printable version (3.273Mb)
Other Contributors
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Chemical Engineering.
Advisor
Jefferson W. Tester.
Terms of use
M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582
Metadata
Show full item record
Abstract
High-lipid algae are potential sources of biofuels. Lipids in this biomass provide a straightforward chemical route to hydrocarbon-based high energy-density fuels needed for diesel and jet engines. However, current schemes for producing these biofuels require large amounts of energy and solvents to recover the oil. The feedstocks have dilute concentrations (1 wt% or less) in aqueous media, and must be dewatered significantly to form biofuels. A hydrothermal environment, utilizing a highpressure, high-temperature, water-based medium, is well-suited for processing these dilute biomass feedstocks. Conversion of high-lipid model feedstocks to bio-crude oils was investigated over temperatures from 250 to 350 C and a wide range of reaction times (from minutes to several hours). Temperature and pressure controlled batch reactions were performed on Isochrysis sp., and T. Weissflogii. Chemical analysis was performed to give a detailed characterization of the products, including fatty acid conversion and oil yields. Product analysis was thorough enough to be used for simulation of the hydrothermal process. These results were used to fit a model for lipid reactions in hydrothermal systems. Life cycle assessment (LCA) of the algal hydrothermal process was performed for comparison to conventional algal biofuel production techniques. Extraction and conversion to fuels had similar energy inputs for either hydrothermal or extracted oil.
Description
Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Chemical Engineering, 2012.
 
"February 2012." Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
 
Includes bibliographical references.
 
Date issued
2012
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/70402
Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Chemical Engineering
Publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Keywords
Chemical Engineering.

Collections
  • Doctoral Theses

Browse

All of DSpaceCommunities & CollectionsBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsThis CollectionBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjects

My Account

Login

Statistics

OA StatisticsStatistics by CountryStatistics by Department
MIT Libraries homeMIT Libraries logo

Find us on

Twitter Facebook Instagram YouTube RSS

MIT Libraries navigation

SearchHours & locationsBorrow & requestResearch supportAbout us
PrivacyPermissionsAccessibility
MIT
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Content created by the MIT Libraries, CC BY-NC unless otherwise noted. Notify us about copyright concerns.