METHOD OF PROCESSING ALGAE, CARBONACEOUS FEEDSTOCKS, AND THEIR MIXTURES TO BIOCRUDE AND ITS CONVERSION INTO BIOFUEL PRODUCTS

摘要

The present invention relates to an integrated method for processing algal biomass comprising a marine algal strain or a freshwater (non-marine) algal strain or a plurality of marine algal strains or a plurality of freshwater (non-marine) algal strains or any combination thereof or other carbonaceous feedstocks like biosolids or any combination of algae/algae mixtures and carbonaceous feedstocks to produce biofuel. The method includes subjecting the algae/algal mixture to hydrothermal liquefaction/co-liquefaction using subcritical water to produce a biocrude. The biocrude is pretreated using a renewable biocatalyst to remove impurities which include Nitrogen (N), Sulfur (S), Oxygen (O) and salts and the pretreated biocrude is mixed with a petrocrude to form a biocrude - petrocrude blend. The biocrude-petrocrude blend is distilled and the distillate fractions are treated using the renewable biocatalyst to remove impurities and finally hydrotreated to produce biofuels. The recovered biocatalyst/biochar which is rich in nutrients is used for agricultural applications to improve soil fertility.