INVESTIGATION ON FRESH WATER ALGAE AND ITS POTENTIAL FOR BIOFUEL IN SOKOTO METROPOLIS

INVESTIGATION ON FRESH WATER ALGAE AND ITS POTENTIAL FOR BIOFUEL IN SOKOTO METROPOLIS

CHAPTER ONE

1.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF STUDY

Global consumption of crude oil is predicted to grow continuously. This explains why despite improvements in the recovery of traditional fossil fuels, more attention needs to be paid to the search for clean and viable alternative renewable energy resources with the
prospect of minimizing increases in atmospheric CO2 by recycling carbon from the atmosphere (Smith et al., 2010; Liu, 2014). Algae are a large and highly diverse group of organisms which can be found in almost all ecosystems (Sturm et al. 2012). Microalgae are a promising feedstock for biofuel production and different applications, such as wastewater purification, biogas production, and extraction of value added compounds for food and pharmaceutical products (Lawton et al., 2013). An important aspect of biodiesel production is the selection of a suitable algal species. Selected strains should have two important key characteristics: high biomass productivity as well as adaptation to regional climatic conditions (Tumuluru et al., 2012). Many microalgae have the ability to produce amounts of triacylglycerols (TAG) of up to 50% dry cell weight as a storage lipid under photo-oxidative stress or other adverse environmental conditions (Hillebrand, 1983). Recent studies prove that algae have inherent advantageous qualities like rapid biomass formation, high lipid content, tolerance for extreme environments, and thus they have generated significantly increased interest as potential feedstocks for biodiesel. One of the potential advantages in the development and utilization of algae-derived biofuels is the greater production efficiency of the required oils compared to other fuel crops. A suitable microalgae candidate for biodiesel production requires not only high lipid productivity, but also suitable fatty acid (FA) composition, as this composition can significantly influence biodiesel fuel properties such as kinematic viscosity, specific gravity, cetane number (CN), cloud point, iodine value (IV), longchain saturated factor (LCFF) and Cold Filter Plugging Point (CFPP). However, inadequacies in research and development, policies and strategies for all the stages of biofuel production chain are still a limiting factor to the full exploitation of algal bioresources.

1.2 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
The problem of green house effect is one of the most discussed issues in the oil and gas industry in Nigeria. In an attempt to lower the greenhouse effect various alternative have been looked into. The study desires to know whether the freshwater algae will have the required potentials to serve as an alternative for biofuel production. Secondly there have been series of studies on algae but not even a single study has been carried out on an investigation on freshwater algae and its potential for biofuel in Sokoto State

1.3 AIM AND OBJECTIVES OF STUDY
The main aim of the research work is to carry out an  investigation on fresh water algae and its potential for biofuel in Sokoto metropolis. Other specific objectives of the study are:
to determine the use of fresh water algae in the production of biofuel in Sokoto State

to examine the level of awareness of the potential of fresh water algae in Sokoto metropolis

to investigate on the factors affecting the availability of fresh water algae in Sokoto metropolis

to proffer solution to the above statd problems

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The study came up with research questions so as to ascertain the above stated objectives of the study. The research questions for the study are:
What is the use of fresh water algae in the production of biofuel in Sokoto State?
What is the level of awareness of the potential of fresh water algae in Sokoto metropolis?
What are the factors affecting the availability of fresh water algae in Sokoto metropolis?

1.5 STATEMENT OF RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS
Hypothesis 1
H0: the fresh water algae do not have good quality attributes
H1: the fresh water algae have good quality attributes

Hypothesis 2
H0: the elemental composition of freshwater is bad
H1: the elemental composition of freshwater is good

1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY
The study will be of immense benefit to the NNPC, the government (local, State and Federal) in the sense that the study will discuss all the quality attributes

INVESTIGATION ON FRESH WATER ALGAE AND ITS POTENTIAL FOR BIOFUEL IN SOKOTO METROPOLIS