Biotransformation of a by-product from the dairy industry by microalgae for the production of a biofuel intended for maritime transport

The Agropur Cooperative wants to develop new ways of valorizing their dairy by-products (milk and whey ultrafiltration (UF) permeates). In collaboration with the CRBM, Innofibre, Innovation maritime and Greenfield Global, a project aimed at the biotransformation of dairy industry UF permeates by microalgae to produce a biofuel (biocrude) for maritime transport began in 2021.

To date, the first phase of this project has allowed to:

• Develop an efficient biotransformation process for milk and whey permeates into microalgal biomass and demonstrate it at a 500-L bioreactor scale
• Demonstrate the possibility of converting this biomass into biocrude with excellent yields
• Demonstrate the possibility of using the biocrude thus produced directly (drop-in) or blended with marine fuels for the shipping industry (work in progress)
• Produce a preliminary technical and economic analysis of the process

The technology developed through this project could ultimately result in all permeates available in Quebec to be processed into biocrude, producing up to 30 million litres per year. This could replace approximately 10% of the heavy fuel oil used in Quebec's shipping industry.