Workplan
The production of algae coupled to anaerobic
digestion in a closed vessel system for bio-fuel
production
Group 2:
Anke Hauben
Marine D'Aulisa
Dorien Janssens
Jessica Leonard
Bjorn Tordoor
Aline Verbist
Selien Sanchez
Projectleader: B. Cornelis
The assignment
The theme for the assignment is about ‘introduction to the sector and biotechnology’.
The assignment includes promoting the education agro- and biotechnology on the basis of a semiscientific article about an obtained case-subject. We will do this in cooperation with the students of
HELHA.
Our case-subject is about ‘production of algae coupled to anaerobic digestion in a closed vessel
system for bio-fuel production’
Motivation
In the environmental technology a lot of research is done about bio-fuels. These are a good
substitution for fossil fuels because they exhaust less CO2. After all these are
limited. Cars
increasingly use bio-fuels wherefore the research about methods to produce bio-fuels is on the rise.
The use of algae is a good example. They are unicellular organisms: this fits within the specialization
genetic engineering.
Algae are more advantageous as corn, rapeseed,… because there’s no need for farmland. Also we
don’t use algae as nutrition. The food deficiency is not affected by it. But there can be some
disadvantages. For example the influence on the environment, financial aspects , … This is what we
want to examine.
At school we learn about genetic modification and the use of micro-organisms in industrial
processes. In this project we can study how this works in practice.
Description of the assignment
The assignment includes that we have to find out how algae are produced and in which way we can
use them for the production of bio-fuels.
The demand for energy continues to increase and so the fossil fuel usage will rise likewise. However
the supply of fossil fuels is likely to decrease in the future and its impact on the environment is very
bad. This due to the emissions of greenhouse gas. Therefore there is a significant interest in
alternative renewable sources of fuel that are carbon neutral.
The current available biofuels and bioethanol are derived from corn starch or sugar cane. Biodiesel is
derived from oil crops including oilseed rape and soybean. These have the potential to be
environmentally beneficial, compared to fossil fuels, but there are concerns about the impact that
the use of these crops might have on food availability.
Therefore biofuels derived from the cultivation of algae can be an alternative approach that does not
impact on agriculture. (source: The potential of sustainable algal biofuel production using
wastewater resources)
Constraints and starting-points
Starting points:
-
The production of algae
-
The production of bio-fuels
-
Possible alternatives
-
Pros and contras
-
Some examples
-
The future for the process
Constraints
-
Other uses of algae
-
Other energy sources
Tasks and division
Tasks:
-
Collect information about
o
The production of algae
PHL-students
o
The production of bio-fuels
PHL-students
o
Possible alternatives
PHL-students
o
Pros and contras
HELHA- students
o
Some examples
HELHA- students
o
The future for the process
HELHA- students
-
Layout
HELHA- students?
-
References
Dorien Janssens
-
Contact persons
Selien Sanchez and Marine D’Aulisa
-
Blackboard manager
Anke Hauben
-
Check for repetition and contradictions
Bjorn Tordoor
-
English
HELHA- students
-
Presentation
Selien Sanchez and Marine D’Aulisa
-
Preparation presentation
PHL-students
-
…
Image of the final result
The final result will contain: a semi-scientific article of 6 pages, a summary of max. 1 page, a front
page and a reference list.
-
The production of algae
1,5 pages
-
The production of bio-fuels
1,5 pages
-
Possible alternatives
½ page
-
Pros and contras
½ page
-
Some examples
½ page
-
The future for the process
½ page
The presentation will be 15 minutes and a discussion of also 15 minutes. The presentation will be
done by one student of PHL and one of HELHA
Methods and techniques
We are going to divide the assignment into several parts so everyone can deal with his or her share.
Afterwards everything can be put together en made into one article. The communication between
the students of PHL and HELHA will happen through Wikis. Each week the students gather around
and discuss the work.
To search information we will use scientific databases and books. Also online magazines or research
in libraries can be an option. When we’ve collected the information we need, every student can start
writing his part using Microsoft Office Word. It’s very important to make a reference list because we
have to use scientific sources. We will use ReferenceManager 12 to do this. Eventually the final result
will be presented by two students of our group. This presentation we make using Powerpoint.
Planning (Nog aan te passen)
Week 2: Thursday 30 of September 13:30 – 15:30
Vaste plaats: tussen de rekken van architectuur
Chairman: Bjorn
Notulist: Dorien
Tasks: motivatie aanpassen, begin werkplan opstellen, bespreking van het onderwerp, agenda
opstellen, Tasks verdelen.
Week 3: Thursday 7 of October 13:30 – 15:30
Chairman: Selien
Notulist: Bjorn
Tasks: werkplan afwerken, communiceren met onze Waalse collega’s.
Week 4: Thursday 11 of October
Deadline workplan
Week 4: Thursday 14 of October 13:30 – 15:30
Chairman: Anke
Notulist: Selien
Tasks: werkplan verbeteren?, onderwerpen verdelen
Week 5: Thursday 21 of October 13:30 – 15:30
Chairman: Dorien
Notulist: Anke
Tasks:
Week 6: Thursday 28 of October 13:30 – 15:30
Chairman: Bjorn
Notulist: Dorien
Tasks:
Week 7: Thursday 11 of November 13:30 – 15:30
Chairman: Selien
Notulist: Bjorn
Tasks:
Week 8: Thursday 18 of November 13:30 – 15:30
Chairman: Anke
Notulist: Selien
Tasks:
Week 9: Thursday 25 of November 13:30 – 15:30
Chairman: Dorien
Notulist: Anke
Tasks:
Week 10: Thursday 2 of December 13:30 – 15:30
Chairman: Bjorn
Notulist: Dorien
Tasks:
Week 11: Thursday 9 of December 13:30 – 15:30
Chairman: Selien
Notulist: Bjorn
Tasks:
Week 12: Thursday 16 of December 13:30 – 15:30
Chairman: Anke
Notulist: Selien
Tasks:
Week 13: Thursday 23 of December 13:30 – 15:30
Presentation