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Potential process ‘hurdles’ in the use of macroalgae as feedstock for biofuel production in the British Isles
Author(s) -
Milledge John J,
Harvey Patricia J
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
journal of chemical technology and biotechnology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.64
H-Index - 117
eISSN - 1097-4660
pISSN - 0268-2575
DOI - 10.1002/jctb.5003
Subject(s) - raw material , biofuel , biomass (ecology) , production (economics) , scale (ratio) , aviation biofuel , waste management , process (computing) , environmental science , pipeline (software) , renewable energy , bioenergy , biochemical engineering , engineering , natural resource economics , ecology , economics , computer science , geography , biology , mechanical engineering , cartography , electrical engineering , macroeconomics , operating system
This review examines the potential technical and energy balance hurdles in the production of seaweed biofuel, and in particular for the MacroBioCrude processing pipeline for the sustainable manufacture of liquid hydrocarbon fuels from seaweed in the UK . The production of biofuel from seaweed is economically, energetically and technically challenging at scale. Any successful process appears to require both a method of preserving the seaweed for continuous feedstock availability and a method exploiting the entire biomass. Ensiling and gasification offer a potential solution to these two requirements. However there is need for more data particularly at a commercial scale. © 2016 The Authors. Journal of Chemical Technology & Biotechnology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.