Water-Energy-Environment Nexus Assessment: Phycoremediation, Biofuel Production, and Carbon Capture Using Microalgae

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Department of Renewable Energy Engineering, Faculty of Mechanic and Energy, University of Shahid Beheshti, Tehran, Iran

10.22059/ses.2023.365967.1040

Abstract

This study analyzes the water-energy-environment nexus by simultaneously evaluating the potential of microalgae for phycoremediation, biofuel production, and carbon capture. The LEAP software was employed to investigate the treatment and biodiesel production capacity. The impact of replacing biofuel in the urban public transportation system, considering different mixing ratios of biodiesel including B5, B10, B20, and B50, was also studied using EnergyPLAN software. The results showed that the produced biodiesel with these ratios could provide 4.25%, 8.58%, 17.43%, and 45.78% of the total annual energy requirement, respectively. These replacement rates correspond to a reduction of 2.9%, 5.9%, 12.7%, and 31.7% in CO2 emissions. Furthermore, assuming a 5% annual growth rate in the input of the wastewater treatment plant, after 12 years, the proposed model can reduce the annual carbon emission costs by $414 million while meeting 46% of the annual energy demand using B50 and decrease annual CO2 emissions by 32%.

Keywords

Main Subjects


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