Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 49 (2015) 1061–1074

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Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/rser

The potential of sustainable algal biofuel production using CO2

from thermal power plant in India
Saroj S. Baral n, Kaustub Singh, Prabudh Sharma
Department of Chemical Engineering, Birla Institute of Technology and Science—Pilani, K.K. Birla Goa Campus, Zuarinagar 403726, Goa, India

art ic l e i nf o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Thermal power plants in India emit around 500 Mt of CO2 annually. All of it is released into the
Received 18 July 2014 atmosphere untreated. Microalgae, a third generation feedstock for bio-fuel emerges as a viable option
Received in revised form for partly sequestering the emissions. Moreover, its carbon capture capacity of 4.8 kg CO2/kg biomass,
21 April 2015
which is very much as compared to terrestrial substitutes like Jhatropa curcas, enables to produce bio
Accepted 30 April 2015
Available online 21 May 2015
fuel hence adding value to the entire process. This paper intends to build upon this idea and come up
with strategies to integrate bio fuel production and CO2 sequestration with the existing thermal power
Keywords: plants. The raw materials needed for algal growth are available in the plant as elaborated in the paper.
CO2 capture Thus the bio fuel produced can be routed back to power the plant consequently lowering the
Thermal power plant
dependence on coal. This would help in putting a check on the carbon emissions thus making the
Sustainable
existing systems more environmentally benign and suitable for long haul. This paper reviews currently
Microalgae
Biodiesel employed carbon capture technologies and methods and comes up with a strategy to subsume carbon
Atomic balance capture through microalgae with power plants of a certain capacity. 3 t/day is taken as the basis for
calculations in the proposed flow sheet. An alternative of the above is also provided which substitutes
the biofuel production with co-firing. This escalates the nitrogen content of flue gas but deescalates the
investment. This brings down the capital investment in the plant but enhances N2 content of flue gas.
Carbon leakage is accounted for in a table of atomic balance. It takes care of input and output of carbon.
The paper is inclined towards the conclusion that the Microalgae possess incredible potential and if
tapped efficaciously could prove to be extremely helpful in these days of power and environmental crisis.
& 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Contents

1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1062
1.1. Climate change and global warming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1062
1.2. Carbon capture and sequestration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1062
1.2.1. Pre combustion capture. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1062
1.2.2. During combustion capture. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1063
1.2.3. Post combustion capture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1063
1.3. Need for biofuels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1065
1.4. India’s power scenario. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1067
2. The energy industry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1067
2.1. Coal reserves in India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1068
2.2. Biofuel policy of India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1068
2.3. The microalgae proposition. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1069
3. The proposed route . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1069
3.1. Details of the process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1069
3.2. Algae cultivation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1070
3.3. Lipid extraction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1070
3.4. Bio-diesel production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1071
4. Alternative flow sheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1071

n
Corresponding author. Tel.: þ 919767022314.
E-mail address: ssbaral75@gmail.com (S.S. Baral).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2015.04.181
1364-0321/& 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
1062 S.S. Baral et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 49 (2015) 1061–1074

4.1. Co-firing of microalgae in thermal power plant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1072

4.2. Flow sheet for co firing process integration with power plant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1072
4.2.1. Sequence of operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1072
4.2.2. Salient features about co firing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1072
5. Atomic carbon balance for process flow sheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1072
5.1. Carbon input . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1072
5.2. Carbon output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1072
6. Advances in India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1072
7. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1072
Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1073
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1073

1. Introduction the world, is one of the biggest contributors to carbon emissions in

the environment. Category wise distribution of resources for
1.1. Climate change and global warming power generation in India is shown in Fig. 6 [3]. Thermal power
accounts for 65% of total power generation out of which 53% is
The environment around us is not what it was a day ago. It can obtained from coal-fired power plants. It shows the large depen-
be visualized as a highly unsteady state open system with inputs dence of Indian power sector on coal. Coal, apart from being the
more than its capacity to process leading to tremendous amounts highest contributor in energy business looks to be most promising
of accumulations. These include a variety of components and not too as its dominance has increased over time as illustrated
all of it is beneficial for survival of humans. Moreover, some of it by Fig. 7 [2]. It clearly shows the increasing capacity of coal based
might even make the place inhabitable. The result of human power stations in India. Trends suggest that it may go up in future.
activities is the earth warming up, polluted quality of air, fossil This inclination towards the use of coal and its subsequent
depletion and countless others. Ecosystems are capable of accli- growth has serious implications on the environment. As shown
mating to changes provided they are not drastic ones. Greenhouse in Fig. 8 [4], with the rise in use of coal to fire up the power plants,
effect followed by global warming are a few among many other CO2 emission have gone up and was tantamount to about
changes which the ecosystem cannot adapt. Greenhouse effect is 500,000 Mt in 2010. Burning coal might not be the sole cause of
essential for human survival as its absence would render earth a these amplifications but it sure is the biggest contributor. Fig. 9 [5]
freezing cold landmass with no trace of life form. It’s the excess of illustrates the highest CO2 emitting power plants in India. This
it which is the trouble. trend is observed when CO2 emissions are taken into account as a
Natural causes along with human advances are considered to be whole, not only from the power plants which shall be extensively
the contributors in the increase in concentration of GHG in atmo- dealt in later parts. A total of three key sources can be identified,
sphere, chief among which are carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) along with their sub-parts which are responsible for the cata-
(which is 20 times as intoxicating as carbon dioxide) and nitrous strophic release of CO2. A percentage wise distribution of the
oxide (N2O), plus three fluorinated compounds: hydro fluorocarbons emissions of sources mentioned in Table 1 is depicted in Fig. 10 [5].
(HFCs), per fluorocarbons (PFCs) and ‘hexafluoride (SF6). Even water Since carbon emission is a serious issue nowadays, forecasts are
vapor counts as GHG. These gases form a part of natural cycle of bound to be made on the line of trends illustrated by the numbers
greenhouse effect and are absolutely necessary but their reckless and figures shown above. Fig. 10 shows the scenario of what might
increase would cause an imbalance in this otherwise well sorted happen if the current rate of emission is maintained and no steps
natural process. Data recorded over the past decades substantiate the are taken to bring it down to a sustainable level. Current methods
statements made above and is shown in Fig. 1 [1]. Monthly fluctua- adopted to keep emissions to a viable minimum are clearly not
tions in temperatures have been recorded over time and all of them rendering the desired result. The per capita consumption of coal in
go north of the previous value. coming years and CO2 emissions follow a similar increasing trend.
Carbon dioxide, though not the most potent of greenhouse Fig. 11 [6] depicts coal and Fig. 12 [5] depicts CO2 emissions. There
gases, is the most significant one. Rise in its concentration in the are several technologies which have come up over the years for
environment is greater than any of the above mentioned GHGs. carbon dioxide capture and storage or utilization. However most of
Industrial activity has been on the rise and so is the concentration these technologies are energy intensive and require more power
of CO2, when seen per capita for the world as well as India, which to be generated to implement them which defeats the purpose of
is evident from Figs. 2 and 3 [2]. The figures do illustrate the near effective utilization of energy and reducing greenhouse gas emis-
exponential rise in CO2 emissions in a subtle manner. No wonder sions. There are a number of approaches towards carbon capture
the use of fossil fuel energy follows a similar trend for India and which are being commercially looked at in recent times. Three of
the world as shown in Figs. 4 and 5 [2]. With time as the demand the major ones are [7].
for energy is going up, reliance on fossil fuels for energy genera-
tion is growing rapidly. Cutting on the energy production and
consumption would adversely affect the country’s progress and on
the other hand if this trend continues, it would raise serious 1.2.1. Pre combustion capture
environment issues like global warming. Hence, control of carbon It is a clever approach in which the fuel is converted to syngas
being released into atmosphere is imperative. (H2 þCO). It is further treated with H2O which converts CO to pure
CO2. Post conversion, the mixture is subjected to scrubbing where
1.2. Carbon capture and sequestration 90–95% pure CO2 is recovered. The H2 left is used to power the
plant. Integrated Gasification Combined-Cycle (IGCC) technology is
In modern times, it is highly unlikely to find any process/ into play during this process. It is currently being adopted in a few
product which does not leave a carbon footprint. Production of oil refineries across the world. Application of IGCC, although,
electricity, which has become a basic necessity for people all over brings down the efficiency of older plants by 7.2% [8].
 S.S. Baral et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 49 (2015) 1061–1074 1063

Fig. 4. Fossil fuel energy consumption (% of total).

Fig. 1. Change in mean temperature.

Fig. 5. Fossil fuel energy consumption (% of total).

Fig. 2. CO2 emissions per capita (world).

Fig. 6. Power generation in India.

oxygen from air which derives it power from power plant itself.
It indicates that the same amount of energy is produces by
providing more than usual. It is termed as energy penalty which
has to be paid by the plant for carbon capture and storage [8].

Fig. 3. CO2 emissions per capita India.

1.2.3. Post combustion capture
1.2.2. During combustion capture This carbon seizure strategy can be visualized as a feedback
This approach allows combustion of fuel to commence but in a control from Process control which comes into action once the
supply of nearly 95% O2 which is first separated from an air supply. disturbance enters the system. Here, flue gas is treated sans
Flue gas thus emanating from the process is predominated by CO2 combustion and by this time CO2 has already crept in. It’s more
and water vapor which can be parted through simple cooling. of a flue gas cleanup before it is released into the environment.
Condensation steps in and water is removed leaving high purity There are several kinds of post combustion techniques. Few of
CO2. It is called Oxy-fuel process and it holds the potential of them are as follows:
removing 100% CO2 from flue gas. The biggest issue with its
application is degrading efficiency of power plant it’s equipped. I. Absorption technology: Monoethanolamine is used to scrub flue
A new power plant will suffer a deficit of 23% while a retrofitted gas of CO2 and then it is stripped and pure CO2 which, as
old plant would witness a drop of 31–40% in its efficiency. It’s a mentioned, can be utilized for industrial use [9]. It is the most
direct consequence of separation unit employed to get pure preferred as it has high solubility in water, is highly biodegradable,
1064 S.S. Baral et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 49 (2015) 1061–1074

Table 1
Sources for catastrophic release of CO2 along with their sub-parts.

Source Source divisions

Large point source (Major) Fossil Power (94)

Steel (11)
Cement (85)
Landfills (14)
Many, small but concentrated sources Transport
Many, small and dispersed sources Livestock
Paddy cultivation
Biomass consumption
Synthetic fertilizer use

Fig. 7. Electricity production from coal.

Fig. 10. Percentage-wise contribution.

Fig. 8. CO2 emissions in India from thermal power plants (Mt).

Fig. 11. Projected coal consumption from power generation in India.

Fig. 9. Emissions from the biggest power plants India.

has fast kinetics, has high affinity for CO2 and can be regenerated
easily. In other words, this process takes CO2 in dilute form and
converts it into concentrated one and that too at a price. It has
been proposed that the separated CO2 be used for industrial
purposes. That would mean further cost of storage and transporta-
tion, if required, in case the facility is not situated nearby. Gaseous
CO2 and alkaline solvents tend to form a chemical bond during the
chemical absorption which has significantly higher rates kineti-
cally [7]. Many commercial electricity generation power plants use
a chemical absorption process for CO2 retrieval [10] a partial
pressure of CO2 above 3.5 bar promotes the absorption process
[11]. Physical absorption involves weak binding of CO2 and solvent
and is accomplished at high pressures in contrast to chemical
absorption primarily due to bonding involved in the latter. This Fig. 12. Projected CO2 emission from power generation in India.
 S.S. Baral et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 49 (2015) 1061–1074 1065

technique is less energy intensive than its chemical counterpart. CO2 dumping lowers down the pH and hence adversely affect the
Components of flue gas like NOX, CO, O2 can pass without flora and fauna [13]. Carbon sequestration techniques are being
degrading the physical solvent due to limited solubility. The CO2 employed in petroleum and petrochemical industries but in the
rich solvent is stripped in a heat exchanger by heating so as to case of power plants, its carbon capture integration, transporta-
reduce the pressure and recovered for reuse. tion and storage is significantly limited [18]. The methods
II. Membrane technology: Membrane technology came along as a explained above are not leak proof and have their own set of
silver lining as it deployed huge area for mass transfer for a flaws. Table 2 summarizes the disadvantages of different CO2
volume provided and dodged the vapor liquid contact surface capture and sequestration technology [7].
difficulties. CO2 permeation through the membrane depends
on the difference in partial pressure of the feed side and the These ideas proposed have potential but they do come with
permeate side (liquid side) which is known as the pressure serious implementation issues intact. In this aggravated case of
ratio [12]. In this process, aqueous solutions of propylene carbon emissions, sequestration by agricultural plants amounts to
carbonate, diethanolamine (DEA), methyldiethanolamine only 3–6% of total fossil fuel emissions. Slow growth rate of terrestrial
(MDEA) and piperazine (PZ) are used as an aqueous solution. plants is one of the reasons [21]. A better alternative which then
Mass transfer is carried out in three steps which are diffusion arises is use of Microalgae for carbon sequestration. Its advantages
of mixed gases to the membrane wall, diffusion through the are discussed in the chapter two of the report. Microalgae deploy
pores to the other side and, absorption in the solvent. It does very well branded process of photosynthesis which has been
not go as planned as the main part of stripping carbon is still extensively researched and doesn’t have any anomalies. It is very
performed by the amines and the membrane added problems similar to terrestrial plants but is unicellular and hence simpler and
like fouling due to surface destruction or wetting by the grows quicker than most of them. Also, 1 kg of biomass utilizes up to
amines [13,14]. 1.7 kg of CO2 [22]. In addition, value added products like biodiesel,
III. Pressure swing adsorption technology: This technology takes bioethanol; fertilizers etc. can be obtained in the process. While
into account the direct proportionality of pressure and solubi- striving for carbon capture, by-products which are industrially
lity of gas. In this process, high pressure mixed gas effluent extremely useful can be obtained through microalgae making it a
from the combustion chamber is directed into absorber. Gas win-win situation. Microalgae has been used as an effective biodiesel
having higher affinity towards the absorbent gets dissolved feedstock because of its high lipid content and extremely high oil
(till the point the solvent gets saturated at a given pressure). yield per unit of area used for culture compared to the traditional
The mixed gas feed gets rich in low affinity component. It is feedstock such as jatropha, soybean and palm oil [23]. Apart from oil,
then withdrawn through the outlet valve. Pressure of the proteins carbohydrates and other nutrients [24] form a major part of
absorption bed is gradually reduced and the absorbed gas is micro algal biomass and hence the residue can be used as animal and
recovered [15,12]. The most crucial constraint in PSA is the fish fodder along with its viability as an effective organic fertilizer.
selection of absorption bed. It should possess high surface area
as it would further increase the efficiency of entire process. 1.3. Need for biofuels
Zeolites are proposed to be used as a desiccant to sequester
carbon from flue gas which can later be generated by reheating A quick glance at the trend associated with petroleum and
of zeolite in the range of 50–100 1C [16]. Problem encountered energy industry as illustrated by Fig. 13 [25] above reveal quite a
with this is the possible reaction of zeolite with SOx in the flue lot. Production of petroleum products stand at 190.36 Mts, 5.9%
gas. Moreover there might be an issue as to number of times
the zeolite can be reused before complete replacement. Other Table 2
option are molecular sieves, activated carbon but zeolite 13X is Disadvantages of different CO2 capture and sequestration technology.
a better adsorbent still due to its higher working capacity and
Technology Disadvantages Advantages
equilibrium selectivity [17].
IV. Mineral carbonation technology: This technique proposes to Chemical Absorption Technology
accumulate CO2 from different sources and makes them react Physical Absorption Technology
with Calcium or Magnesium based silicate minerals and form Membrane Technology
Adsorption Process
highly stable carbonated solids. CO2 storage capacity of this Mineral Carbonation Technology
carbonated product is very high compared to others options on
hand. These products are stored in environmentally appro-
priate sites or reused in mine reclamation and construction or
for land filling [18]. This technique mimics the natural process
of carbonation of metal oxide containing minerals with atmo-
spheric CO2 taking place spontaneously at low partial pressure.
This method tends to accelerate this reaction process in order
for it to become industrially viable. The chemical reactions
involved in this technique are [19]:

CaO þCO2-CaCO3 þ179 kJ/mol

MgOþ CO2-MgCO3 þ118 kJ/mol

V. Direct injection techniques: Geologic and oceanic injection is
suggested to sequester.CO2. It requires the CO2 produced to be
pumped into the ground. Geologic injection is not extensively
studied in India and a detailed study is required to identify
suitable locations for injection and after effects of these activities.
Also there could always be some leakage back to the environ-
ment [20]. It has been known in case of oceanic injection that Fig. 13. Oil consumption and reserves in India.
1066 S.S. Baral et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 49 (2015) 1061–1074

Fig. 15. CO2 emission of some countries.

Fig. 14. Power demand and supply in India.

Table 3
Indian coal v/s Indonesian and South African coal.

Parameter Indian coal Indonesian coal South African coal

Moisture 5.98 9.43 8.5

Ash 38.63 13.99 17
Volatile matter 20.7 29.79 23.28
Fixed carbon 34.69 46.79 51.22

stronger than 2010. The oil production trend above shows the
increasing imports and stagnant domestic production capability.
Total petroleum commodities produced in 2010–2011 was Fig. 16. CO2 emission per capita of some countries.
190.36 Mt. Of the total domestic production 41% was high speed
diesel. Oil consumption is estimated to expand at a CAGR of 3.4% Table 4
during FY2008–16F to 4.0 mbpd by 2016. These numbers do Efficiency and emission of some Indian coal based power companies.
provide a very subtle picture of the scale of the Indian oil industry,
its depleting oil reserves and reliance on imports which are Company Net emission (kg Efficiency net
CO2/kW h) HHV (%)
expected to go up in the future. These huge numbers do provide
a signal towards the carbon print they would leave once let loose AP Power Generation Co ltd. 1.00 32.6
in the environment for consumption. Continued reliance on fossil Bihar State Electricity Board 1.79 18.2
fuel energy resources is heavily unsustainable, owing to both, Calcutta Electric Supply company 1.15 28.4
Chattisgarg State Electricity board 1.14 28.6
depleting resources and environmental considerations. The situa-
Damodar valley Corp 1.22 26.7
tion thus demands a source of energy which if cannot substitute Gujarat State Electricity company 1.14 28.8
can, at least, complement the existing sources and be sustainable Neyveli Lignite Corp 1.46 24.8
and eco-friendly. Microalgae proposed for carbon sequestration Haryana Power Generation Company 1.16 28.1
provides a way of producing fuel like biodiesel as a by-product. It Maharashtra State Power Generation 1.21 23.8
Company Ltd.
has several favorable qualities [26] such as renewable and energy NTPC Ltd. 0.98 33.3
efficient can be efficiently blended with normal high speed diesel Punjab State Electricity Board 1.13 28.9
up to 20% without significant modifications in the machine and Reliance Energy Ltd. 0.96 34
can reduced air toxin and greenhouse gas emissions. Source for Tamil Nadu Electricity Board 1.07 30.5
UP Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Ltd. 1.19 27.4
biofuel production can be classified into 3 generations namely
West Bengal Power Development 1.35 24.2
first, second and third [23]. Corporation Ltd.
Jharkhand State Electricity Board 1.85 17.7
 First generation of biofuel: They have now attained economical Karnataka Power Corporation 1.06 30.8
levels of production in some parts of the world. Fuel is
extracted from food and oil crops. This generated a lot of All India 1.10 30.1
controversy due to their influence on food market and adverse
effect on food security. In addition, they were low on efficiency
[27] and had high demand for water and nutrients to accom-  Third generation of biofuels: More recently, microalgae have
plish commercially feasible results. evolved as the third generation biofuel feedstock. The criterion
 Second generation of biofuel: It involved crops like Jatropha of economically feasible biofuel, i.e. cheap, environmentally
curcas [21], lignocellulose material which are considered non- friendly and less burden on agriculture, can be efficiently met
food stuff which solved the problem of food vs. fuel and with it although the costing part requires rigorous data
provides vast avenues of valuable by-products like bioethanol evaluation. Detailed discussion follows in chapter two.
but the yields obtained have not been enough to satisfy the
market demand and attain economic sustainability for the During the course of this paper, we have focused on a 146 MW
parties involved. To get high yield, incredible amount of area thermal power plant producing 1.1 Mts of CO2 per year. Strategy
was top priority. adopted throughout this paper is to strike a balance between the
 S.S. Baral et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 49 (2015) 1061–1074 1067

Table 5 Table 7
Efficiency and emission of some Indian gas based power companies. The type and category-wise coal resources of India as on 1/4/2012.

Company Net emission (kg Efficiency net Type of coal Proved (Mt) Indicated (Mt) Inferred (Mt) Total (Mt)
CO2/kW h) HHV (%)
(A) Coking:-
Assam Power Generation Company 0.78 25.2 Prime coking 4,614.35 698.71 0 5,313.06
AP Power Generation Company 0.41 48.2 Medium coking 12,836.84 11,951.47 1,880.23 26,668.54
Gujrat Industrial Power Corporation 0.45 43.8 Semi-coking 482.16 1,003.29 221.68 1,707.13
Ltd. Sub-total coking 17,933.35 13,653.47 2,101.91 33,688.73
GMR Energy Ltd. 0.55 35.9 (B) Non-coking:- 99,617.65 128,416.04 30,282.09 258,315.78
Gujrat State Electricity corporation 0.45 43.8 (C) Tertiary coal 593.81 99.34 799.49 1,492.64
Ltd.
Grand total 118,144.81 142,168.85 33,183.49 293,497.15
GVK Power and Infra Ltd. 0.45 43.6
Maharashtra State Power Generation 0.42 47
Company Ltd.
North Eastern Electric Power Corp Ltd. 0.61 32.3 Table 8
NTPC Ltd. 0.45 43.8 Composition of flue gas (t/year).
Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan 0.43 45.8
Nigam Ltd. CO NOX SO2 SPM CO2
Tamil Nadu Electricity board 0.41 48.1
Tripura State Electricity Corp Ltd. 0.77 25.6 448 1433 293 219 1100,000
All India 0.47 41.9

Table 6
Coal reserves in India.

Formation Proved (Mt) Indicated (Mt) Inferred (Mt) Total (Mt)

Gondwana coals 117,551.01 142,069.51 32,383.99 292,004.51

Tertiary coals 593.81 99.34 799.49n 1,492.64
Total 118,144.82 142,168.85 33,183.49 29,3497.15

two approaches to come up with an extensive flow sheet which

can integrate production of algae with major energy guzzlers like a
thermal power plant. This paper makes an effort to come up with a
solution to this versatile problem of climate change and fuel
shortage. Furthermore, results obtained can be used to extrapolate
and hence calculate the total biodiesel produced taking in the Fig. 17. Composition of water effluent.

entire CO2 emission from thermal power plants in India.

increase of fossil fuel CO2 emission in India is 7%. However, still
1.4. India’s power scenario India’s emission is less than many countries like China, USA. Fig. 15
[29] shows the CO2 emission of some countries. Fig. 16 [29] shows
In the recent year’s India has emerged as one of the largest the per capita emissions of the same countries. Although India ranks
growing economies in South Asia, this is coupled with a high 5th in terms of total emissions, in case of per capita emissions it is
population growth rate. With 1.3 billion mouths to feed, transport, the least in India. This can be attributed to the large population of
power has become an important parameter which will decide India and also shows the enormous emission by the developed
whether India could sustain its economic growth or not. Day by countries like US, Canada. As mentioned earlier the efficiency of
day the gap between power supply and power demanded is Indian power sector is more than the global average, which is quite
increasing. Fig. 14 [3] shows the trend of power demanded v/s power evident in Fig. 16 [30] average and Table 4 [30]. They illustrate the
supplied in India from 1997 to 2009. This supply and demand gap efficiency of some Indian power companies along with their CO2
can be narrowed down by increasing our power generation. Majority emission. We can clearly see that the best performer among the
of our power plants run on coal as the primary fuel. Coal is present in Indian power companies is NTPC Ltd. Another feasible fuel for power
abundance in India. Despite this abundance, Indian coal provides a plants is natural gas. After coal, gas is used as a fuel for power plants.
challenge to the power sector. Indian coal has lower carbon content Gas Based power plants in India have a higher efficiency of 41.9% as
and has a high ash content which creates many environmental compared to coal based 30.1%. Also, they have a lower CO2 emission
challenges and also affects the efficiency of the plant. Table 3 [28] as compared to the coal based power plants. Table 5 [30] shows the
compares the Indian coal with the Indonesian and South African coal. efficiency and CO2 emission of gas based power plants in India. As
We can clearly see that, Indian coal has much less carbon content previously discussed, the total amount of CO2 generated from every
(34.69%) as compared to that of Indonesia (46.79%) and South Africa thermal power unit combined amounts to 500,000 Mt. With this
(51.22%). In addition, the fly ash content of Indian coal is more than amount of CO2, 2.778  108 kg/yr algal biomass which will produce
twice of that of others. 110.2 MMTA (million metric tonnes per annum) of biomass.
Despite the low fixed carbon content of Indian coal, the efficiency
of Indian power plants is higher than the global average. It is
primarily due to the efficient working practices of Indian power 2. The energy industry
generation companies. High power generation is usually synon-
ymous with high CO2 emission. As per the Carbon Dioxide Informa- The Indian energy industry has evolved as one of the biggest
tion Analysis Centre (CDIAC), USA estimates the annual rate of source and sink of resources in the past few decades. Since there
1068 S.S. Baral et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 49 (2015) 1061–1074

are very few tangible alternatives to derive power from sources into atmosphere. Bright side of this being the immense energy
other than fossil fuels, this industry needs special attention to which drives the entire country, the flip side is the cataclysmic
make it more efficient and hence sustainable. Coal has emerged as environmental contamination. In a study by The Guardian, it came
one of the favorite source for all the raw power and is used in large out that oil, coal and gas companies like Essar, BP etc. are among
amounts. So, thermal power plants are identified as one of the the largest carbon emitters. These industries dump CO2, NOx, SOx,
largest contributors towards carbon emissions all over the world in catastrophic amounts. Also, the water effluent stream is laden
and India is no exception. with metals. The following data in Table 8 [32] and Fig. 17 [32]
illustrates the concentrations of effluent streams for a 146 MW
thermal power plant operating with bituminous grade coal as
2.1. Coal reserves in India utility [32,33].

India has one of the largest reserves in the world. As a result of

exploration carried out up to the maximum depth of 1200 m a 2.2. Biofuel policy of India
cumulative total of 293,497 million tons of geological resources of
coal have so far been estimated in the country as on 4th of January The government of India approved the National Biofuel policy
2012. The coal resources of India are available in older Gondwana in September 2008 setting the target of 20% blending of Bio-
formations of peninsular India and younger tertiary formations of ethanol and Biodiesel with gasoline and mineral diesel respec-
north-eastern region and the distribution is shown in Table 6 [31]. tively till 2017. The biodiesel production proposed under the
Table 7 gives the categorization of coal resources [31]. Since coal is scheme employs the cultivation of non-edible oil seeds (e.g.
found in abundance and variety as demonstrated by Tables 6 and Jhatropa) on waste lands. Government plans to provide a Mini-
7, the obsession for it in the energy industry can be easily mum purchase price on Biodiesel to promote consumers and
explained. This results in huge energy guzzlers bellowing effluents producers [46]. The government plans, however, to raise the

Table 9
Comparison between algae and plant process parameter.

Biodiesel from algae Biodiesel

from
plants

Technology Cell bioengineering, Agriculture

produced in pilot plant in farm
Production 5–7 Days batch Several
period cultivation months
Oil content More than 40–50% Less than
20%
Development Unlimited (work just Limited
potential beginning)

Fig. 18. Carbon sequestration and biodiesel production process.

 S.S. Baral et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 49 (2015) 1061–1074 1069

ethanol blending to 10% in 2008 were delayed due to unavail- amounts of Fatty Acid Methyl Esters (FAME) at costs much less if
ability of sugar molasses which is the primary ethanol feedstock. seen on a large scale keeping the factor of time in mind. Table 9
The idea of using non-edible oil seeds like jhatropa for biodiesel gives the comparison between biodiesel obtained from algae and
production appeared short on practicality since the production plants [35]. The problem starts with no proper availability of
costs were way ahead of purchase cost. So, the 2003 directive of process designs which can harness the complete potential micro-
planting 11.2 million hectares of barren land with jhatropa failed. algae has to offer. The design provided in the report illustrates a
Economic incentives in the form of exemption from state excise complete process which can help in scaling up the algae cultiva-
duty and subsidized loans are provided on biodiesel [47]. The tion to an industrial level. It takes a stride towards providing a
government would further ensure the free movement of biodiesel solution to this twofold problem. The feasibility of this idea, if it
in and across states. A biofuel coordination committee was also proceeds towards industrial scale up, is the topic on the table.
proposed to be created under the direct supervision of the Prime Literature reviews related to cost reveals that the production cost
minister and a steering committee under cabinet secretary in of algal biomass in a raceway pond lies in the range of 1.6 €/kg to
order to keep a tab on implementation of the policy [48]. However, 1.8 €/kg. The same cost for a Tubular PBR lies in the range of 9 €/kg
the program can be scrutinized for a few flaws. The massive scale to 10 €/kg [50]. An ideal case was also considered in which the raw
plantation is in itself a challenge in India. It obviates the problem materials were relatively cost free. This lead to reduction in
of food vs fuel but it does compete for land, a lot of it, which is a production cost of Algal biomass using PBR by 90%. The new cost
valuable resource. The plants take a considerable amount of time incurred was 3.8 €/kg which was still more than that for a raceway
to grow. The microalgae proposition fits in this policy because the pond. Cost incurred in raceway ponds is operational in nature. In
land requirement for the target blending is considerably less than contrast, the capital cost of PBR itself dominates the scene let
stated in the policy. Above all, it demonstrates the unique alone the operating costs. Thus, it can be inferred that extensive
capability of carbon capture and biofuel production. The option reductions in the capital costs are necessary if the intention is to
is much less capital intensive if biodiesel production is not the get this system produce biofuel which can be served profitably in
primary target as then, co-firing would come into picture. the market. But algal growth in PBR is way more efficient than a
raceway Significant cost reductions (450%) is possible if CO2,
water and nutrients are available at minimal cost [51]. The first
2.3. The microalgae proposition two are present in abundance at no cost with location chosen for
the facility of production in the proposed flow sheet. In addition,
Use of microalgae for the capture of CO2 emitted from power the land requirements are also met since the majority of power
plants is an attractive and promising suggestion as it comes in plants are built at the outskirts of cities with more than enough
with a lot of incentives. They are capable of fixing CO2 from the waste land around. But it should be kept in mind that the process
atmosphere with photosynthetic efficiency of greater than 10% is not aimed solely at making profit. A bigger vision of carbon
compared to 0.5% of terrestrial plants [21]. They can be grown in a sequestration lies behind this proposal which also gives carbon
number of environments considered unsuitable for growing other credit to the power plants.
crops and has a typical oil level in the range of 30–50% [21]. The
problem of food vs. fuel is eliminated and when cultivated and
extracted with proper skill and technology, algae can produce 3. The proposed route
valuable co-products or by-products such as biopolymers, pro-
teins, carbohydrates and biomass. After oil extraction the resulting 3.1. Details of the process
algae biomass can be processed into ethanol, methane or simply
can be used as livestock feed, organic fertilizer (due to its high N:P The process scheme shown in Fig. 18 illustrates the series of
ratio), or simply burned for energy cogeneration [34]. NH4þ , NO3  , steps involved in the process of cultivating algae in a controlled
PO34  are required by algae as macro-nutrients and hence it can be environment and further extraction of biodiesel. A few observa-
grown in contaminated water. It provides a method of waste water tions are imperative before diving into the detailed study of the
treatment. Oil production and subsequent processing can provide design. The power plant in the center of entire calculation is a

Fig. 19. Flow sheet of biodiesel production facility.

1070 S.S. Baral et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 49 (2015) 1061–1074

146 MW unit generating power through burning bituminous grade contains suspended carbon particles and high amount of SO2
coal. The strain of algae used has an affinity towards certain which is lethal to algae as it forms sulfate in water which is in
compounds. These are termed as macro and micro nutrients. fact used to contain situations of algal growth thus nullifying our
NO3 PO34  and SiO4 are categorized under macro nutrients; purpose. Since SO2 has the maximum solubility in water compared
thiamine’s, vitamin B12, biotin are sorted under micro nutrient to other constituents of flue gas (39.4 mg/l) [37], scrubber is
[34]. Since the flue gas from power plant is used as raw material, introduced which gets rid of the SO2 and SPM from the stream.
nitrate is provided automatically along with the crucial CO2. The water which provides the medium for algal bloom comes from
Silicates can be found in the plant (blow down). Phosphate is the effluent stream of power plant and is taken equivalent to the
the macro nutrient which has to be fed from outside as there is no reactor volume of 867,052.02 l. As reported, algae are vulnerable to
source of it in any of the effluent stream. Micro nutrients are to be concentration of Cr and Zn in water. Zn 40.44 mg/l is lethal so is
provided from outside but considering the meager quantity they Cr40.13 [38]. An Ion exchange mechanism is put into place which
are required in; it should not be much of a problem. brings down the concentrations to the desired level. Optimized
Numerical figures are involved with every unit in the design. growth is guaranteed when pH of water is in the range of 7–9 and
1 kg of dry algal biomass sequesters approximately 1.8 kg of CO2 temperature in range of 16–27 1C [39]. In order to maintain the pH
[33]. Density of the flue gas as observed is 7 kg/m3 [33]. There are of water use of a suitable base is advised although its effect on
several strains of algae available to fulfill the demand of the algae should be studied first.
process. Corella sp., which can grow in effluent water, Spirulina The treated effluent streams are routed to the photo bioreactor
sp., which has high sequestration capability and grows rapidly where microalgae are cultivated. PBRs are tubular which would
around 301, Chlorococcum littorale, which can be cultivated in high ensure maximum area exposed to sunlight. The optimum algae
concentration of CO2 up to 40%, and many more. But in order to production requires 16 light hours and 8 dark hours [39]. Hence
make the process industrially feasible, strain of algae which can the location of the thermal power plant plays a crucial role.
provide the highest lipid content is the prudent choice. Dry Calculations are carried out for one day and the plant is supposed
biomass content of the selected algae strain Scenademus is to run entire week hence parallel reactors would be needed to
3.46 g/l; lipid content is 0.061 g/l and lipid content in biomass is ensure a continuous supply of products. After gestation, a product
43.6% by weight [1]. Efficiency of the employed soxhlet apparatus from photo bioreactor consists of water and biomass. This is
is 80% though higher efficiencies have been reported. The basis of followed by drying of biomass and recycling of water back to the
calculation chosen is the weight of biomass cultivated and it is input treated feed from ion exchanger. The process of drying is
taken as 3 t/day. The amount of conversion observed during trans- preceded by centrifuging of the wet algal biomass obtained from
esterification of lipids is 90% [36]. The process comes to life in the PBR. Remaining traces of moisture can be removed either by
three parts: natural (solar) drying or using artificial means.

 Algal cultivation
 Biomass processing
 Fuel production 3.3. Lipid extraction

After drying, the biomass is fed to a soxhlet apparatus for lipid

3.2. Algae cultivation extraction, in which hexane is used as the separating agent. The
lipid extracted will contain hexane which is needed to be recov-
For 3 t of biomass, the amount of CO2 required keeping the ered and recycled. For this purpose, rotatory evaporator/distilla-
conversion figure into consideration is 5.4 t. Back calculation tion column is put up. The remaining dry biomass/cake is used as a
renders the entire flue gas amount as 29.83 t. This much flue gas fertilizer or manure. Lipids obtained acts as a source of raw
doesn’t come in the exact form as required for algal growth. It material for biodiesel production.

Fig. 20. An overview of the proposed strategy.

 S.S. Baral et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 49 (2015) 1061–1074 1071

Fig. 21. Proposed algal co firing scheme.

3.4. Bio-diesel production Table 10

Chemical composition of algal biomass.
Fig. 19 takes the process forward, towards the production of
Component Concentration (%)
biodiesel. Lipid from solvent recovery system is fed to the trans-
esterification reactor, along with methanol where the added NaOH Lipids 40
serves as a catalyst. Care must be taken so that the amounts of Protein 30
lipids and methanol are in the ratio 1:6 [40] as the reaction being Carbohydrates 20
reversible requires methanol in excess. Product of this reaction is Residual 10

glycerol, biodiesel, unreacted methanol, lipid and catalyst i.e.

NaOH. Next in the line lies the refining of biodiesel which involves
series of distillation and stripping columns. It starts with removal pre requisite if this plant has to be taken into consideration for
of methanol. This stream then enters into the stripper with water production reality. Literature survey on the energy requirements
running down taking NaOH and glycerol with it while the indicates that consumption of energy exceeds the production for
biodiesel and unreacted oil are removed from the top. This a normalized PBR. The reason behind this observed phenomena
sequence is succeeded by distillation column separating the oil is: 1. PBR systems can achieve greater algal biomass concentra-
and biodiesel. In parallel, an entrainer (H3PO4) is added to the tion; 2. The cultivation stage of PBR consumes high amount of
glycerol stream containing NaOH to react with NaOH and hence energy. Cultivation stage requires constant pumping of the
facilitate its removal as tri sodium phosphate. Tri sodium phos- culture around the reactor overcoming friction. This demands
phate is treated back to form NaOH and H3PO4 by addition of huge amount of energy and attracts losses as well. For compar-
water and recycled to respective points in the plant along with the ison, the energy fraction for Tubular PBR is considerably more
unreacted oil obtained from the overhead distillation column. than its flat plate counterpart (Energy fraction 88–92% compared
to 22%) [49]. It must be kept in mind that the cost discussion in
the previous section was for algal biomass production. The
4. Alternative flow sheet addition of biofuel production facitlity will further escalate the
capital investment in the facility to a higher level. To save the
This may be argued that such a comprehensive process shown trouble of biodiesel production, a method called co-firing can be
above might cause economic troubles and the purpose of plant looked at, which gives promising avenues to the energy and
might not get fulfilled in the first place. A detailed cost analysis is pollution problem.
1072 S.S. Baral et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 49 (2015) 1061–1074

Table 11 5. Atomic carbon balance for process flow sheet

Carbon balance.
Since the aim of this report is to suggest processes for carbon
Carbon input Tons of Carbon output Tons of
carbon carbon capture. Hence, there is a need to analyze wherever carbon goes in
the process. In order to account for the carbon transaction taking
Carbon dioxide 32.4 Fame (C19) output 22.61 place in the process flow sheet, calculations are carried out up on
injection the carbon content of feed and product streams.
Methanol input 0.23 Protein (C5) in biomass 5.25
Carbohydrates (C6) in 3.6
biomass 5.1. Carbon input
Glycerol 0.39
Ash in biomass 0.06
Cultivation of microalgae is a batch process during which it
Total carbon in 32.63 Total carbon out 31.91
Total in–total out 0.72 matures. The duration is usually 6 days. Till then it has to be
Error 2.2% supplied with CO2 and other micro-nutrients. In the simulation 3 t
of micro algal biomass is taken per day as the basis for calcula-
tions; however this amount of algae will be obtained after 6 days
in the photo bioreactor. Each day, 5.4 t of CO2 has to be supplied.
4.1. Co-firing of microalgae in thermal power plant 130 kg of methanol is used in the process to produce biodiesel.

Co-firing is the combustion of two or more types of fuels at the 5.2. Carbon output
same time. Direct co-firing of the algal biomass produced in the
PBRs with the coal in the boiler system of the power plant has The major product of the plant is biodiesel, which is primarily
been proposed keeping in mind the above mentioned idea. This methyl oleate (C19), the algal plant releases 1.19 t of biodiesel [45].
scheme is illustrated in Fig. 20. The ultimate goal is to reduce the The dry biomass is mostly the proteins, carbohydrates and
percentage of coal in the feed without reducing the electricity cellulose and carbon ash. The algal biomass contains 35% protein.
produced. The advantages of this process will be financial and The protein in abundance is Glutamic acid (C5) [44]. Carbohy-
environmental as less amount of coal will be needed. The coal drates and cellulose consist of 20% of the algal biomass. The mist is
used in power plants contains sulfur, which burns producing Sox, a abundant in the carbohydrate mannose (C6). Algal biomass con-
major pollutant and one of the GHGs. Algal biomass is primarily tains 2% of ash residue which is primarily pure carbon. One of the
desulfurized and its co-firing will reduce the amount SOx released by-products of trans-esterification process is glycerol (C3). The
to produce the same amount of energy. Burning of coal produces plant produces 130 kg of glycerol. The complete carbon atom
ash, which is a major health hazard. On the other hand, burning of balance is shown in Table 11. It has been observed that the major
algal biomass produces no ash. carbon input is through the flue gas. Majority of the carbon went
into biodiesel, while the rest came out with the dry algal biomass.
A leakage of 720 kg is observed which may be attributed to the
fact that some component in biomass are in little concentration
4.2. Flow sheet for co firing process integration with power plant which is beyond the least count of the apparatus and is not
measured.
4.2.1. Sequence of operations
Fig. 21 makes it distinctly clear that initial steps in the flow
sheet remain identical to the process involving the production of 6. Advances in India
biodiesel. The air and water fed to the photo bioreactor are treated
beforehand. The only complicated piece of machinery and process Thermal power plant at Angul, Orrisa is commissioning a pilot
involved is the photo bioreactor and the cultivation of algae which plant aimed to capture CO2 which involves algal farming. Similarly,
is identical to the previous process. From the PBR, the stream is Kolaghat thermal power station in West Bengal will also com-
then directly transferred to the centrifuge where it is separated mence the carbon capture process through microalgae. Capacity of
from the accompanying water. Further in the process, it is dried this plant is reported to be 1260 MW and its approximate carbon
and the dry algal biomass is obtained. The dry biomass is then fed dioxide footprint is 15,000 t/day. 50% of this CO2 will be redirected
into the boiler with the input coal. This process can be seen as a towards microalgae cultivation. The cake left after the oil extrac-
subset of previous one and huge setups can pull off both of these tion procedure is to be used to fuel the plant. A similar strategy is
processes simultaneously. suggested in the flow sheets above. The waste lands nearby is
intended to be used for this purpose. So, the technology is slowly
gaining grounds in India as well.

4.2.2. Salient features about co firing

The calorific value of coal is 27,000 kJ/kg. Thus a plant of 7. Conclusion
126 MW productions will consume around 430 t of coal per day
[41]. The algal biomass has the calorific value of 28,000 kJ/kg [42]. Since electricity demand is rising exponentially, there is a need
The algal plant produces 3 t of algal biomass per day. This can save to find a carbon neutral source of energy to sustain this rising
the plant 3.11 t of coal per day and 1026 t of coal per year. The algal population since the existing ones are not sustainable options.
biomass contains proteins, carbohydrates and lipids. These are free Biodiesel derived from culture of biological organisms like micro-
from sulphur and thus the product of combustion will be free from algae has emerged as an alternative to polluting sources of energy.
SOx, however, because of the high Nitrogen content there will be a This paper represents a systematic procedure of coupling a micro
large amount of NOx in the product stream [43]. The following algal cultivation plant with a thermal power plant to help reducing
Table 10 [44] gives the composition of different components in the the carbon dioxide emissions which can also lead to production of
algal biomass. Being a heavy hydrocarbon fuel some amount of value added products like biodiesel. Out of 3000 t of carbon dioxide
methane is observed in the product stream. released per day in a thermal power plant, 5.4 t of carbon dioxide
 S.S. Baral et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 49 (2015) 1061–1074 1073

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