Room: King Willem Alexander
Date: Friday, 22 May 2026
Time: 09:00 - 10:00 CEST
Session code 4DO.1
Biomass pre-treatment for innovative application pathways
Development of Microalgae Treatment Using Hydrated Inorganic Salts for the Production of Advanced Liquid Fuels.
Short Introductive summary
The FUELGAE project from Horizon Europe aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by developing sustainable technologies for the production of advanced liquid fuels (ALF) from microalgal biomass. These microalgae are promising due to their high CO2 absorption capacity and energy potential, although their resistant cell walls make it difficult to extract lipids and carbohydrates. The study evaluates the use of hydrated inorganic salts (ZnCl2·4H2O, LiBr·xH2O, and FeCl3·6H2O) as alternative pretreatment agents to enhance cell disruption under mild conditions, reducing energy consumption and environmental impact. The results show that FeCl3·6H2O achieved effective cell disruption without emulsification, allowing clean lipid extraction with efficiencies close to 90%. This positions FeCl3·6H2O as a promising and sustainable pretreatment agent for microalgal biomass, with potential to optimize industrial-scale ALF production processes and contribute to decarbonization and the circular bioeconomy.
Presenter
Sofía HIDALGO RUIZ
Instituto de Catálisis y Petroleoquímica - Consejo superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Instituto de Catálisis y Petroleoquímica (CSIC), SPAIN
Presenter's biography
I have a degree in Chemistry and a Master's in Nanoscience and Molecular Nanotechnology. I am currently pursuing doctoral studies at the CSIC, focusing on emerging pretreatment methods for different types of biomass intended for obtaining bioproducts.
Biographies and Short introductive summaries are supplied directly by presenters and are published here unedited
Co-authors:
J.M. Campos Martin, Instituto de Catálisis y Petroleoquímica - Consejo superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Madrid, SPAIN
S. Morales de la Rosa, Instituto de Catálisis y Petroleoquímica - Consejo superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Madrid, SPAIN
Session reference: 4DO.1.4