Drying characteristics of a microalgae consortium developed for biofuels production

dc.contributor.author	Viswanathan, T	en
dc.contributor.author	Mani, S	en
dc.contributor.author	Das, KC	en
dc.contributor.author	Chinnasamy, S	en
dc.contributor.author	Bhatnagar, A	en
dc.date.accessioned	2014-06-06T06:50:53Z
dc.date.available	2014-06-06T06:50:53Z
dc.date.issued	2011	en
dc.identifier.issn	21510032	en
dc.identifier.uri	http://62.217.125.90/xmlui/handle/123456789/5214
dc.relation.uri	http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-84855596205&partnerID=40&md5=b9d1dff8b2b4b7141b170025fce050a5	en
dc.subject	Drying constant	en
dc.subject	Drying kinetics	en
dc.subject	Effective diffusivity	en
dc.subject	Microalgae	en
dc.subject	Thin-layer drying	en
dc.subject.other	Drying constants	en
dc.subject.other	Drying kinetics	en
dc.subject.other	Effective diffusivities	en
dc.subject.other	Micro-algae	en
dc.subject.other	Thin layer drying	en
dc.subject.other	Algae	en
dc.subject.other	Biofuels	en
dc.subject.other	Case hardening	en
dc.subject.other	Centrifugation	en
dc.subject.other	Diffusion	en
dc.subject.other	Feedstocks	en
dc.subject.other	Microorganisms	en
dc.subject.other	Moisture	en
dc.subject.other	Drying	en
dc.subject.other	alternative fuel	en
dc.subject.other	biochemical composition	en
dc.subject.other	biofuel	en
dc.subject.other	biological production	en
dc.subject.other	biomass	en
dc.subject.other	biomass power	en
dc.subject.other	diffusivity	en
dc.subject.other	experimental study	en
dc.subject.other	extraction method	en
dc.subject.other	green alga	en
dc.subject.other	industrial production	en
dc.subject.other	lipid	en
dc.subject.other	microalga	en
dc.subject.other	moisture content	en
dc.subject.other	reaction kinetics	en
dc.subject.other	renewable resource	en
dc.subject.other	temperature profile	en
dc.subject.other	algae	en
dc.subject.other	Chlamydomonas	en
dc.subject.other	Chlamydomonas globosa	en
dc.subject.other	Chlorella (Chlorellales)	en
dc.subject.other	Chlorella (Prasiolales)	en
dc.subject.other	Chlorella (unclassified Chlorophyceae)	en
dc.subject.other	Chlorella (unclassified Trebouxiophyceae)	en
dc.subject.other	Chlorella minutissima	en
dc.subject.other	Chlorophyta	en
dc.subject.other	Scenedesmus	en
dc.subject.other	Scenedesmus bijuga	en
dc.title	Drying characteristics of a microalgae consortium developed for biofuels production	en
heal.type	journalArticle	en
heal.publicationDate	2011	en
heal.abstract	Microalgae are a promising renewable biomass feedstock that can be used to produce a wide range of bioproducts and biofuels. Drying is a critical step in algal biomass production as it improves shelf life, facilitates easier transport and storage, and enhances the extraction efficiency of lipids and other value-added compounds. This article investigated the thin-layer drying characteristics of a robust consortium of green algae consisting of Scenedesmus bijuga, Chlamydomonas globosa, and Chlorella minutissima grown in an open raceway pond. The microalgae consortium samples were harvested with 20% solids content using a centrifuge and were used for conducting thin-layer drying experiments in a convective oven. The change in moisture with time at each selected drying temperature (30°C, 50°C, 70°C, and 90°C) was recorded until the sample reached equilibrium moisture content. A typical drying curve for a microalgae consortium indicated that microalgae drying occurred at a falling rate, and the rate of drying was limited by diffusion. Three thin-layer drying models (Newton, Page, and Henderson-Pabis) were used to fit the microalgae drying data. The Page model fitted well with the drying data with high R 2 (0.99) and low RMSE (0.02) values. Effective diffusivity of moisture from the microalgae was determined using the Henderson-Pabis model and increased from 1.94 × 10 -10 to 1.74 × 10 -9 m 2 s -1 with increase in drying temperature from 30°C to 90°C. The low value of moisture diffusion rate from the microalgae samples may be attributed to shrinkage and case hardening of algae cells at the top drying surface. Both the effective diffusivity and the drying constant had significant dependence on drying temperature and were related with Arrhenius-type relationships. Biochemical compositions and fuel characteristics of the dried microalgae consortium were determined, and the dried microalgae can be an attractive feedstock for biofuel production. © 2011 American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers.	en
heal.journalName	Transactions of the ASABE	en
dc.identifier.issue	6	en
dc.identifier.volume	54	en
dc.identifier.spage	2245	en
dc.identifier.epage	2252	en