Evaluation of Technical and Economic Indicators for the Production Process of Microalgae Lipids Considering CO2 Capture of a Thermoelectric Plant and Use of Piggery Wastewater

Abstract

Microalgae are highly studied microorganisms for the production of high-value products due to their high content of proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, and chlorophyll. These compounds are refined to obtain profitable industrial products. This article analyzes the lipid production of Chlorella sp. biomass, considering 18 scenarios for its production, with 9 of these being partially supplemented with swine wastewater. A 1 ha area was considered for biomass cultivation, primary and secondary biomass harvesting, and lipid extraction. Using simulation in the software SuperPro Designer v10, parameters such as CO2 capture (from a thermoelectric power plant), freshwater consumption, wastewater consumption, energy consumption, and unit production cost were evaluated. The results show that the production cost is high, ranging from 836.9 US $/kg to 1131.5 US $/kg of produced lipids, with a maximum CO2 capture of 454 kg of CO2/kg of lipids. The use of wastewater reduces the production cost by approximately 10%. The evaluation of technical and economic parameters allows us to identify bottlenecks and implement strategies to reduce production costs.