Isolation, Preliminary Characterization and Preliminary Assessment of Scale-Up Potential of Photosynthetic Microalgae for the Production of Both Biofuels and Bio-Active Molecules in the U.S. and Canada: Cooperative Research and Development Final Report, CRADA Number CRD-10-372

Combustion flue gases are a major contributor to carbon dioxide emissions into the Earth's atmosphere, a factor that has been linked to the possible global climate change. It is, therefore, critical to begin thinking seriously about ways to reduce this influx into the atmosphere. Using carbon dioxide from fossil fuel combustion as a feedstock for the growth, photosynthetic microorganisms can provide a large sink for carbon assimilation as well as a feedstock for the production of significant levels of biofuels. Combining microalgal farming with fossil fuel energy production has great potential to diminish carbon dioxide releases into the atmosphere, as well as contribute to the production of biofuels (e.g., biodiesel, renewable diesel and gasoline and jet fuel) as well as valuable co-products such as animal feeds and green chemicals. CO2 capture may be a regulatory requirement in future new coal or natural gas power plants and will almost certainly become an opportunity for commerce, the results of such studies may provide industries in the US and Canada with both regulatory relief and business opportunities as well as the ability to meet environmental and regulatory requirements, and to produce large volumes of fuels and co-products

Algal Biofuels: Ponds and Promises

Presentation on past and current algal biofuels researc

Potential for Biofuels from Algae

Presentation on the potential for biofuels from algae presented at the 2007 Algae Biomass Summit in San Francisco, CA

Synthesis, characterization, and reactivity of a heterobimetallic organometallic complex with a trans bidentate ligand for catalytic carbon-hydrogen bond activation

Our group is interested in exploiting cis-alkynyl transition metals to form trans-bidentate ligands in order to explore C—H activation. The p-cymene-supported ruthenium(II) complex (p-cym)Ru(PMe3)(C22-py)2 (where C2-2-py = 2-ethynylpyridine) has been prepared and characterized by NMR spectroscopy. We are interested in the interaction of palladium(II) acetate utilizing the Ru(II) center as a hinge in order to force the pyridine ligands to act as a trans-bidentate ligand. The synthesis and characterization of (p-cym)Ru(PMe3)(C22-py)2, reactivity with Pd(OAc)2, and comparisons to the previously reported Cp*2Ti(C2-2-py)2

An alternative biorefinery approach to address microalgal seasonality:Blending with spent coffee grounds

An effective method for the production of fuels and chemicals from microalgae is to ferment the carbohydrate fraction, extract the lipids and convert the resulting solids through hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL). In this process, known as Combined Algal Processing (CAP), multiple fuel precursors are produced effectively. However, one of the key challenges associated with a microalgae-based biorefinery is the reduced productivity of algae in the colder seasons. In this investigation, the potential for spent coffee grounds (SCG), a potentially valuable waste stream, to be blended with biomass from the microalgae Scenedesmus acutus (HCSD) to make up for the productivity shortfalls in periods of lower microalgae productivity to maximize the capacity for downstream equipment throughout the year was evaluated. Two different blend ratios were compared to only microalgae biomass or SCG, one representing winter season (40% microalgae and 60% SCG-blend 1) and another representing autumn and early spring (60% microalgae and 40% SCG-blend 2). Pretreatment of the blends showed higher monosaccharide release yields compared to microalgae alone, with an increase in mannose and galactose specifically. In the fermentation of the pretreated slurries, all the monosaccharides were consumed, resulting in ethanol titers of up to 23 g L-1 for the SCG blend, compared to 14 g L-1 ethanol for the algae alone. The lipid extraction from the blends resulted in yields of 95.5-99.7% (which translates to 173.8-193.5 kg per tonne of dry biomass processed in this biorefinery scenario) compared to 92.2% in HCSD (216.2 kg per tonne of dry biomass) and 68.1% in SCG (90.8 kg per tonne of dry biomass) alone. The residual solids left after fermentation and lipid extraction were converted via hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) to produce bio-crude. The bio-crude yield was higher for microalgae (24.6%) than for the two blend cases (blend 1-17.5% and blend 2-19.7%). Theoretical energy calculations showed that the addition of SCG gave similar yields of fuel (gallon of gasoline equivalents) from the blends when compared to microalgae alone (94.7-96.5% depending on the blend of SCG). This work demonstrates that SCG can be easily incorporated with microalgae into a combined processing methodology and can therefore be used effectively during periods of lower availability of microalgae maintaining maximum operating levels of the conversion process equipment year-round. Moreover, co-processing algae with SCG not only leads to increased ethanol titers in the fermentation but also improves the lipid extraction yields. This journal is </p

Hydrogen production from the catalytic supercritical water gasification of process water generated from hydrothermal liquefaction of microalgae

The integration of hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) and hydrothermal gasification (HTG) is an option for enhanced energy recovery and potential biocrude upgrading. The yields and product distribution obtained from the HTL of Chlorella vulgaris have been investigated. High conversion of algae to biocrude as well as near complete gasification of the remaining organic components in the aqueous phase was achieved. The aqueous phase from HTL was upgraded through catalytic HTG under supercritical water conditions to maximise hydrogen production for biocrude hydrotreating. High yields of hydrogen were produced (∼30 mol H2/kg algae) with near complete gasification of the organics (∼98%). The amount of hydrogen produced was compared to the amounts needed for complete hydrotreating of the biocrude. A maximum of 0.29 g H2 was produced through HTG per gram of biocrude produced by HTL. The nutrient content of the aqueous phase was analysed to determine suitability of nutrient recovery for algal growth. The results indicate the successful integration of HTL and HTG to produce excess hydrogen and maintain nutrient recovery for algal growth

Renewable Diesel from Algal Lipids: An Integrated Baseline for Cost, Emissions, and Resource Potential from a Harmonized Model

The U.S. Department of Energy's Biomass Program has begun an initiative to obtain consistent quantitative metrics for algal biofuel production to establish an 'integrated baseline' by harmonizing and combining the Program's national resource assessment (RA), techno-economic analysis (TEA), and life-cycle analysis (LCA) models. The baseline attempts to represent a plausible near-term production scenario with freshwater microalgae growth, extraction of lipids, and conversion via hydroprocessing to produce a renewable diesel (RD) blendstock. Differences in the prior TEA and LCA models were reconciled (harmonized) and the RA model was used to prioritize and select the most favorable consortium of sites that supports production of 5 billion gallons per year of RD. Aligning the TEA and LCA models produced slightly higher costs and emissions compared to the pre-harmonized results. However, after then applying the productivities predicted by the RA model (13 g/m2/d on annual average vs. 25 g/m2/d in the original models), the integrated baseline resulted in markedly higher costs and emissions. The relationship between performance (cost and emissions) and either productivity or lipid fraction was found to be non-linear, and important implications on the TEA and LCA results were observed after introducing seasonal variability from the RA model. Increasing productivity and lipid fraction alone was insufficient to achieve cost and emission targets; however, combined with lower energy, less expensive alternative technology scenarios, emissions and costs were substantially reduced

Transcriptional Analysis of Lactobacillus brevis to N-Butanol and Ferulic Acid Stress Responses

The presence of anti-microbial phenolic compounds, such as the model compound ferulic acid, in biomass hydrolysates pose significant challenges to the widespread use of biomass in conjunction with whole cell biocatalysis or fermentation. Currently, these inhibitory compounds must be removed through additional downstream processing or sufficiently diluted to create environments suitable for most industrially important microbial strains. Simultaneously, product toxicity must also be overcome to allow for efficient production of next generation biofuels such as n-butanol, isopropanol, and others from these low cost feedstocks.This study explores the high ferulic acid and n-butanol tolerance in Lactobacillus brevis, a lactic acid bacterium often found in fermentation processes, by global transcriptional response analysis. The transcriptional profile of L. brevis reveals that the presence of ferulic acid triggers the expression of currently uncharacterized membrane proteins, possibly in an effort to counteract ferulic acid induced changes in membrane fluidity and ion leakage. In contrast to the ferulic acid stress response, n-butanol challenges to growing cultures primarily induce genes within the fatty acid synthesis pathway and reduced the proportion of 19:1 cyclopropane fatty acid within the L. brevis membrane. Both inhibitors also triggered generalized stress responses. Separate attempts to alter flux through the Escherichia coli fatty acid synthesis by overexpressing acetyl-CoA carboxylase subunits and deleting cyclopropane fatty acid synthase (cfa) both failed to improve n-butanol tolerance in E. coli, indicating that additional components of the stress response are required to confer n-butanol resistance.Several promising routes for understanding both ferulic acid and n-butanol tolerance have been identified from L. brevis gene expression data. These insights may be used to guide further engineering of model industrial organisms to better tolerate both classes of inhibitors to enable facile production of biofuels from lignocellulosic biomass