Algal Biomass: Occurrence of the Main Inorganic Elements and Simulation of Ash Interactions with Bed Material

The work presented here provides greater insight into the occurrence of the main inorganic elements in algae and how this varies for different species of algae and production methods. It also provides valuable insights into the behavior of algal ashes during combustion, particularly in regard to their interaction with quartz bed material, which is of direct relevance to agglomeration in fluidized bed reactors. A diverse range of algal species was selected for this work using a species of marine microalgae (Tetraselmis sp.) and marine macroalgae (Derbesia tenuissima) and a species of freshwater macroalgae (Oedogonium sp.). Two samples of Oedogonium were tested. One sample was cultivated using a standard nutrient addition regime, and the other was starved of essential nutrients at the completion of the culture cycle. Samples of algae were subject to chemical fractionation and the mode of occurrence of the main inorganic elements was inferred from their leaching behavior. Both the relative proportions of the...