microalgae and cyanobacteria

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May | June 2011 Feature title: Microalgae and cyanobacteria The International magazine for the aquaculture feed industry International Aquafeed is published five times a year by Perendale Publishers Ltd of the United Kingdom. All data is published in good faith, based on information received, and while every care is taken to prevent inaccuracies, the publishers accept no liability for any errors or omissions or for the consequences of action taken on the basis of information published. ©Copyright 2009 Perendale Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means without prior permission of the copyright owner. Printed by Perendale Publishers Ltd. ISSN: 1464-0058

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Microalgae and cyanobacteria provide us a high percentage of the oxygen we need to breathe. They are also in the aquatic environment, the first link in the food chain. We therefore owe our lives to them ... and they will change our way of life.

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Page 1: Microalgae and cyanobacteria

May | June 2011

Feature title: Microalgae and cyanobacteria

The International magazine for the aquaculture feed industry

International Aquafeed is published five times a year by Perendale Publishers Ltd of the United Kingdom.All data is published in good faith, based on information received, and while every care is taken to prevent inaccuracies, the publishers accept no liability for any errors or omissions or for the consequences of action taken on the basis of information published. ©Copyright 2009 Perendale Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means without prior permission of the copyright owner. Printed by Perendale Publishers Ltd. ISSN: 1464-0058

Page 2: Microalgae and cyanobacteria

Microalgae and cyanobac-teria provide us a high percentage of the oxygen we need to breathe. They

are also in the aquatic environment, being the first step in the food chain. We therefore owe our lives to them ... and they will change our way of life.

Indeed, in the near future, they are going to be able to generate clean energy and second-generation biofuels, as well as other products of benefit to mankind. This will also contribute to a sustainable develop-ment and to improve the environment on our planet.

Energy is an essential component of economic and social development in our times, and economic activity would be considerably limited without the thermal, mechanical and electrical energy generated by burning fuel.

Studies conducted by the International Energy Agency show that world evolution of the demand for primary energy is set to increase at a rate of 1.8 percent per year, going from the 10,000Mtoe (million tonnes of oil equivalent) produced in 2000 to the 17,000Mtoe estimated for 2030.

The significant increase in atmospheric emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) and

their contribution to climate change is also a reality that is endangering the future of the earth and mankind. Is sustainable development still possible in view of all this?

Microalgae & biofuelsMicroalgae are microorganisms that

contain chlorophyll and other pigments and are able to perform oxygenic photosynthesis, releasing oxygen into the atmosphere through water photolysis and synthesising organic material from oxidised forms of the primordial bioelements such as carbon dioxide or CO2, all at the expense of an inexhaustible energy source: sunlight. Over 30,000 spe-cies of microalgae exist on our planet, with a multitude of shapes, sizes and colours. Together with the higher plants, as we have mentioned, they are the basic support of life on earth and oxygenation of the atmosphere.

The making of liquid biofuels for vehicles (biodiesel and bioethanol), from certain microalgae and cyano-bacteria is a very promising alterna-tive as the production represents a sustainable and scalable process, it uses sea water, brine or waste

water and it does not compete with human food because it does not require the use of agricultural land.

Microalgae cultivation consumes harmful CO2 gas as an essential nutrient (the main agent of the anthropogenic GHGs that result from burning the fossil fuels used for energy production in various industries

Microalgae and cyanobacteriaWe owe them our lives ... and they will change our way of life

by Juan Pablo Jiménez Martín, Agricultural Engineer, Sales Manager, AlgaEnergy SA, Spain

Table 1: Comparison of some sources of biodiesel (Chisti 2007; Biotechnol. Adv. 25, 294)

Crop Oil yield(L/ha)

Land area

needed (Mha)a

Percent of existing US cropping

areaa

Corn 172 1,540 846

Soybean 446 594 326

Canola 1,190 223 122

Jatropha 1,892 140 77

Coconut 2,689 99 54

Oil Palm 5,950 45 24

Microalgaeb 136,900 2 1.1

Microalgaec 58,700 4.5 2.5a For meeting 50% of all transport fuel needs in the

United States.b 70% oil (by wt) in biomass.c 30% oil (by wt) in biomass.

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F: Microalgae

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and for transport), and the flue gases from conventional energy generation facilities can therefore be used as a source of CO2 for large-scale microalgae cultivation installations.

The production of liquid biofuels for vehicles (biodiesel and bioethanol), is a very promising alternative

A series of factors must be taken into account when selecting microalgae as a source of biofuel precursors, such as: high productivity, temperature tolerance, toler-ance to pH, high performance in fermenta-ble carbohydrates for ethanol production or in fatty acids transformable to biodiesel, for example.

We also need to establish the most suitable type of cultivation system to be used (open, closed or mixed), and the most favourable operating conditions (batch, semi-continuous, continuous, number of phases, etc.).

Tables 2 and 3 below show some exam-ples of cyanobacteria as potential sources of fermentable carbohydrates for ethanol production and the lipid content of some microalgae for biodiesel production.

The expectations raised by microalgae as a source of second-generation bio-fuels have led to the creation of a large number of companies, some of which have made significant investment. Our company AlgaEnergy is convinced that in the near future microalgae will be able to provide us with these forms of clean energy so necessary for the sustainable economic development of our societies. Not only is constant research and development the basis for a continuous innovation process

required to achieve this ambitious goal, but also the combination of this process with a realistic Strategic and Business Plan.

R&D and a realistic Business Plan

AlgaEnergy is developing a responsible scientific agenda aimed at achieving the commer-cially viable production of biofuels derived from microalgae. The R&D programmes provided for that purpose include the selection and genetic engineering work on various types of microalgae, which carry substantial quantities of lipids or carbohydrates (some of which are patented), the development of

new photobioreactors more efficient and with lower costs, and the establishment of a suitable and scalable production process.

At present, biofuels produced from microalgae are not financially competitive with the first-generation bio-fuels obtained from conven-tional agricultur-al crops, and bio-mass production and processing must therefore be substantially improved so that the price of the product can be reduced by an order of magni-tude at least.

A l gaEnerg y is currently engaged in the construction of its first plant, a Techno log i ca l Platform for Experimentation with Microalgae ( P T E M ) , located at the I n t e r n a t i o n a l Airport of Madrid-Barajas. This is intended to be a model platform of its

kind, which will incorporate four types of photobioreactors (PBR): columns, tubular reactors, semi-open and in a second stage, raceways. The plant will be entirely auto-mated and controlled by specially designed software, which manages all the cultivation parameters. Its goal is to research and develop new PBR processes and technolo-gies in this field. For this reason, the plant will have the flexibility and capacity to grow simultaneously different species of micro-algae in different growing conditions, using indoor and outdoor PBR. The cultivation area will be initially of about 1,000 m2 and the culture volume up to 72,000 l.

AlgaEnergy’s plant will be visited during the 3rd Algae World Europe congress that

Table 2: Cyanobacteria as a potential source of fermentable carbohydrates (Vargas et al. 1998, J. Phycol. 34, 812)

StrainCarbohydrates

(% of dry weight)

Anabaena sp. ATCC 33047 28.0 ± 2.0

Anabaena variabilis 22.3 ± 2.5

Anabaenopsis sp. 16.3 ± 1.5

Nodularia sp. (Chucula) 16.9 ± 2.6

Nostoc commune 37.6 ± 2.5

Nostoc paludosum 26.6 ± 1.9

Nostoc sp. (Albufera) 26.8 ± 4.0

Nostoc sp. (Caquena) 23.3 ± 1.7

Nostoc sp. (Chile) 23.3 ± 2.0

Nostoc sp. (Chucula) 15.7 ± 1.8

Nostoc sp. (Llaita) 20.2 ± 1.5

Nostoc sp. (Loa) 32.1 ± 1.2

Figure 1: AlgaEnergy’s CO2BIOCAP mobile laboratory

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Page 3: Microalgae and cyanobacteria

programmes have enabled the company to begin working in the aquaculture and cosmetics sectors. AlgaEnergy has paid special attention to the aquaculture sector, and it now markets biomass from differ-ent microalgae with outstanding properties and performance, under its brand name

The research being conducted by AlgaEnergy is linked to major microalgae research centres at outstanding universi-ties in this field – Seville, Almeria, and Santiago de Compostela – and other organisations of international projection and renown, including the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO).

At the moment, the production takes place at the Las Palmerillas Experimental Station, which is equipped with large-sized closed vertical and horizontal tubular photobioreactors that work in continuous mode, enabling AlgaEnergy to ensure an excellent quality and hygienisation in the production process for its two key strains Nannochloropsis gaditana PREMIUM and Isochrysis galbana, which have demonstrated outstanding properties as food for rotifers and for the green waters technique.

Another market we expect to enter in the near future is in the weaning and finish-ing feed for aquaculture. We consider that animal feed needs to be provided with extra quality, and this can be achieved through the use of microalgae. However, the current low price of fattening feed makes it difficult for microalgae to be incorporated to it.

In any case, taking into account both the price variations of vegetable proteins and the quality that would be provided by the cells of these organisms, with their high omega-3 acid content, we believe that microalgae

could be included in microparticu-late, weaning or finishing feed, as a partial substitute for the flour and fish oil used at present.

ConclusionIn the distant past, oxygenic

photosynthesis by cyanobacte-ria and microalgae created the conditions that enabled a huge energy revolution to occur in the living world, allowing the devel-opment of aerobic respiration and the emergence of new forms of life based on it, which finally led to the appearance of human beings on our planet.

Cyanobacteria and micro-algae may now be called upon to play a leading role in a new

of high added value products related to food for human consumption, animal feed, pigments, dermocosmetics, nutraceuticals, biomedicine and even wastewater treat-ment. Considerable development of these applications and their corresponding bioin-dustries is to be expected until the produc-tion of biofuels from microalgae is made profitable. The chart below shows some of the products derived from microalgae, their destination markets and their prices.

Microalgae in the aquaculture sectorAlgaEnergy has identified the market requirements and set up major R&D pro-grammes with the corresponding budget. The results being obtained from these

will take place in Madrid on May 16-17, 2011. The company is also corporate spon-sor of such an important international event it the algae field.

Products derived from microalgae

Apart from biofuel production, these photosynthetic microorganisms provide a whole host of business opportunities for the totally natural products derived from them. Microalgae are therefore an important and exclusive natural source of many compounds and essential products for meeting the needs of numerous markets today.

Microalgae in fact have a huge bio-technological potential for the generation

Figure 2: Tubular photobioreactors at the Estación Experimental “Las Palmerillas”, where AlgaEnergy is currently producing its microalgae.

Table 3: comercially produced microalgae: amounts, locations, applications and market value (2004) (Brennan and Owende 2010)

Microalga Annual Production Producer Country Application/Product Price

Arthrospira (Spirulina) 3000t d.w.China, India,

U.S.A., Myanmar, Japan

Human nutritionAnimal nutrition

CosmeticsPhycobiliproteins

36€/kg

11€/mg

Chlorella 2000t d.w. Taiwan, Germany, Japan

Human nutritionCosmetics

Aquaculture

36€/kg50€/L

Dunaliella salina 1200t d.w. Australia, Israel, U.S.A., Japan

Human nutritionCosmetics

Beta carotene

215-2150€/kg

Aphanizomenon flos-aque 500t d.w. U.S.A. Human nutrition

Haematococcus pluvialis 300t d.w. U.S.A., India, Israel

AquacultureAstaxanthin

50€/L7150€/kg

Crypthecodinium cohnil 240t DHA oil U.S.A. DHA oil 43€/g

Shizochytrium 10t DHA oil U.S.A. DHA oil 43€/g

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F: Microalgae

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the world. AlgaEnergy therefore trust that its findings, technologies and microalgae-derived products will contribute to this progress and to preserving the environ-ment and nature and life on our planet. Microalgae, these living beings, can be paid a tribute in one phrase: “we owe them our lives... and they will change our way of life”.

and environment. If this is not done, this threefold crisis will worsen and give rise to unpredictable consequences over time, therefore we therefore need to acquire a more in-depth knowledge of microalgae today and give greater use to their enormous potential, as this is of huge significance and will bring sustainability and wellbeing to the different regions of

revolution, this time led by mankind, with the objective of remedying the triple crisis affecting humanity: food, energy

Figure 3: AlgaEnerg's CO2BIOCAP mobile laboratory

Table 4: Oil content of some microalgae(Chisti, 2007; Biotechnol. Adv. 25, 294)

StrainOil content (% of dry weight)

Botryococcus braunii 25-75

Chlorella sp. 28-32

Crypthecodinium cohnii 20

Cylindrotheca sp. 16-37

Dunaliella primolecta 23

Isochrysis sp. 25-33

Monallanthus salina > 20

Nannochloris sp. 20-35

Nannochloropsis sp. 31-68

Neochloris oleoabundans 35-54

Nitzschia sp. 45-47

Phaeodactylum tricornutum 20-30

Schizochytrium sp. 50-77

Tetraselmis suecica 15-23

26 | InternatIonal AquAFeed | May-June 2011 May-June 2011 | InternatIonal AquAFeed | 27

F: Microalgae

LSL

MCC 2

LSL

MM

LS

DP

LS

MCC 1

66

LS

M

LS

LS

LS

4

5

10

6

DP

IAF11.03.indd 27 04/05/2011 09:08

Page 4: Microalgae and cyanobacteria

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VOLUME 14 I S SUE 3 2 011

THE INTERNATIONAL MAGAZINE FOR THE AQUACULTURE FEED INDUSTRY

Aquaculture: Natural ingredients for sustainable

aquaculture

Maturation diets:diets for shrimp – Is there alternative to

natural food?

β-glucans:Preliminary effects of β-glucans on Nile tilapia

health and growth performance

Microalgae Microalgae and cyanobacteria

IAF11.03.indd 1 04/05/2011 09:07

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