the LCA (Lifecycle Analysis) than energy input from fossil fuel generated
heat.
Engineering the integration of solar thermal energy for HTL biooil
rather than electricity generation has not been widely reported
by other authors’. The objectives of this study were to investigate a
techno-economic analysis (TEA) of factors influencing the unification
of HTL and CSP parabolic troughs for the processing of
microalgae biomass into bio-oil. CSP parabolic troughs yield a temperature
of up to 400 C with oil as the heat transfer liquid (HTF);
the use of molten salts as a HTF can attain a temperature much
higher [39] whilst beneficial operational temperature requirements
for HTL occur within the range of 250–350 C [36,40]. A
thermodynamic assessment of parabolic troughs [41] with an economic
analysis using experimental field trials of microalgae productivity
justifies the potential viability of this technology
unification. Aspen plus and custom sizing equations have been
used to determine the economic viability of the process. Finally,
the influence of estimated parameters on the economic results
was assessed via sensitivity analysis.
2. Materials and methodology
2.1. Process