Microalgal biomass production in Europe is seen as a promising option for biofuels production regarding energy security and sustainability. Since microalgae can be cultivated in photobioreactors on non-arable land this technology could significantly reduce the food vs. fuel dilemma. To obtain high yields microalgae need high amounts of CO₂ which may be provided by industrial or power plants. Thus the potential and the economics of algae production will be dependent on the spatial distribution of production sites and CO₂ sources.

Against this background a GIS-based model is developed to determine the biomass production from microalgae on potential production sites at certain costs. Suitable sites are identified using land use data, data on protected areas and a digital elevation model. The yield and the accompanying CO₂ demand at those sites are derived from solar radiation and temperature data. Depending on the site conditions the production costs of the algal biomass without CO₂ costs is calculated. To determine the CO₂ costs these data are combined with the spatial distribution of CO₂ sources from energy and industrial plants by using techno-economic models for CO₂ capture and transportation to calculate spatially explicit biomass potentials at certain microalgal biomass costs.

The database and the model developed within this PhD-project will be modified and adapted to be used for the project Energetic Algae.

Publication of Dissertation:

Skarka, J.
Potenziale zur Erzeugung von Biomasse aus Mikroalgen in Europa unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der Flächen- und CO₂-Verfügbarkeit - Dissertation. Karlsruhe: Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT) 2015
Abstract deutsch/htm

Skarka, J.; Rösch, Chr.; Posten, C.
Microalgal biomass for biofuels in Europe - production potential with regard to land and CO₂ availability. Poster presentation on the 1st International Conference on Algal Biomass, Biofuels & Bioproducts im Westin Hotel St. Louis. St. Louis, Missouri, USA, 17.-20.07.2011

Skarka, J.; Rösch, Chr.; Posten, C.
The potential of energy production from microalgae in Europe with particular reference to land and CO₂ availability. Speech on the 19th European Biomass Conference and Exhibition. Berlin, 06.-10.06.2011