Published in the series "Green raw materials" 1. Technology for health and environment; Agenda for sustainable and

healthy industrial applications of organic secondary flows and agro-commodities in 2010, Sietze Vellema and Barbara de Klerk-Engels (2003). 

2. New compostable packaging materials for food applications, Christiaan Bolck, Michiel van Alst, Karin Molenveld, Gerald Schennink and Maarten van der Zee (2003). 

3. Markets for green options: Experiences in packaging, paints and insulation materials, Sietze Vellema (composition) (2003). 

4. Green raw materials in production; Recent developments on the market, Harriëtte Bos and Bert van Rees (2004). 

5. Technological innovation in the chain; Green raw materials under development, Harriëtte Bos and Marc van den Heuvel (2005). 

6. Bioplastics, Christiaan Bolck (2006). 7. Softeners; Green raw materials offer new possibilities, Karin Molenveld

(2006). 8. Breaking the innovation paradox; 9 examples from the Biobased Economy,

Christiaan Bolck and Paulien Harmsen (2007). 9. Agrification and the Biobased Economy; An analysis of 25 years of policy

and innovation in the field of green raw materials, Harriëtte Bos (2008).  10. Biorefinery; To a higher value of biomass, Bert Annevelink and Paulien

Harmsen (2010). 11. Sustainability of biobased products; Energy use and greenhouse gas

emissions of products with sugars as raw material, Harriëtte Bos, Sjaak Conijn, Wim Corré, Koen Meesters and Martin Patel (2011) 

For more information go to www.groenegrondstoffen.nl

Preface The cultivation of microalgae can play an important role in environmental-friendly production of raw materials for biodiesel. In addition, algae offer several other useful materials for the food and chemical industry. This booklet describes the possibilities for economically viable large scale algae cultivation for the production of valuable products, including raw material for biodiesel. Chapter 1 illustrates the potential role of microalgae in developing a more sustainable society. Chapter 2 describes some important groups of algae and the opportunities they offer as producers of useful substances. Chapter 3 deals with the main algae cultivation systems and the current state-of-the-art of algae cultivation in the Netherlands. Chapter 4 discusses the benefits of algae cultivation in relation to other agricultural crops. Chapter 5 analyses the possibilities of cost-effective, large-scale microalgal production and the significant role that the new algae centre in Wageningen, AlgaePARC, will play in the research on optimization of algae cultivation. Chapter 6 is a summary of the conclusions and recommendations for cost-effective microalgae cultivation.

Contents

1.  Introduction .................................................................................. 7 

2.  Microalgae .................................................................................... 9 

3.  Algae cultivation .......................................................................... 13 

4.  Algae in the Biobased Economy ..................................................... 19 

5.  AlgaePARC.................................................................................. 23 

6.  Conclusions ................................................................................ 29 

7.  References ................................................................................. 31 

Colophon ........................................................................................... 34 

1

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Algae are not only promising as waste converters and recyclers. The algal cell contains many useful substances and microalgae are cultivated increasingly for the production of valuable raw materials. For example, it is possible to produce oil, proteins, starch and pigments (e.g., beta-carotene). Applications of these materials are numerous, ranging from biodiesel and bioplastics to colorants and hamburgers.

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Yellow-green algae. They are close relatives of the brown algae, but most of the approximately 600 species are unicellular and live in fresh water. Nannochloropsis is an exception as this fast-growing species is found in the sea. These algae produce large amounts of oil as a food reserve and are therefore highly suitable for the production of raw material for biodiesel.

Blue algae or cyanobacteria. Notorious algae that can produce toxins and, in situations of high concentrations, can seriously affect the water quality. Blue algae store food reserves in the form of starch, while the cell can consist for more than half out of protein. The species Spirulina is cultivated worldwide and used as a dietary supplement.

Raw materials from algae Many algae contain a considerable amount of high-quality oils, partly consisting out of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, which are used as raw material for food supplements. Omega-3 fatty acids in fish originate from microalgae. At the moment numerous agricultural crops are grown for the production of oil or starch-like substances, which can be used for the production of fuel. Algae contain, in addition to raw materials for energy, also a wide variety of other useful components. In recent years more than 15,000 new chemical compounds were discovered in algae. In addition to fatty acids algal cells also contain carotenes (yellow to red pigments) and other colorants, antioxidants, proteins and starch. These components can be used by the chemical- and food industry as raw material for numerous products, and the list of products made from algae is expanding steadily. Besides high-added value products for niche markets, such as algae powder for the dietary supplement industry and algae extracts to control moulds in golf fields, there is also increasing interest in bulk products such as raw materials for bioplastics, biofuels but also algae protein for food applications. Production of valuable substances by algae can be manipulated by the design of cultivation conditions. Especially under suboptimal conditions the algae experience stress and, as a result, produce substances like pigments, starch and oil. For example, excess of light stimulates the production of carotenes in

12

the cell. At the same time these pigments are antioxidants and protect the cell from harmful free radicals generated by the overdose of light. However, growth is then reduced and the colour changes from green to orange. If the supply of the nutrient nitrogen is limited, algae start to especially accumulate oil. Algae producers use this by putting the algae on an obligatory diet, with insufficient nutrients in the culture medium. This inhibits growth, reduces the production of proteins, and increases the production of oil that is stored in the cell as small globules.

3

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17

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nd biodiversbate about ition with fl. Currentrom oil palm of large packs as agrd crops. biofuel protion. Algae biodiversit

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21

areas in Africa or Australia, oceans, roadside verges, flat roofs or contaminated soil are suitable locations for the production of algae. With the introduction of a new species also risks are involved. Products intended for the food chain must be safe for consumer and environment. Large-scale cultivation should not result in overgrowth and displacement of natural populations. Most algae do not contain toxic components and are cultivated under special conditions (high salt concentrations, high pH) and have no competitive advantage over the natural populations. Potential risks should be assessed and limited and these assessments should become an integral part of the research and development programs. Water and nutrient needs Algae are also attractive as a sustainable alternative because they are economical with water and can grow on CO2 and excess nutrients in waste streams. Approximately 5000 litres of freshwater is required for the production of 1 litre of biofuel using oil crops. Algae production in salt water requires potentially only 1.5 litres of freshwater per litre of oil produced. If fuel based on algal oil would replace all transport fuels in Europe (400 billion litres of oil/year) and assuming a yield of approximately 40.000 litres of oil/ha/year, an area of about 10 million hectares is needed. This is about the size of a country like Portugal. That is certainly a large surface, but it fits well within Europe, and Europe would then be self-sufficient for transportation fuels. As a by-product 0.3 billion tonnes of protein are produced, corresponding to 40 times the amount of soy protein currently imported. In summary, algae can produce both food and fuel. In addition to sufficient fuel for European transport, large-scale algae cultivation has positive effects on both the CO2 balance and the surplus of nutrients in waste water and manure. For the growth of this amount of algae a quantity of 1.3 billion tonnes of CO2 (Europe produces yearly 3.9 billion tonnes of CO2) and 25 million tonnes of nitrogen (Europe produces yearly 8 million tonnes of nitrogen in waste water and manure) is necessary. These calculations show that the cultivation of algae does not need to be done at the expense of biodiversity and food production and can substantially contribute to a sustainable economy.

22

Stand-alone systems: the future Large-scale algae cultivation systems are required for the production of sufficient biodiesel for the replacement of fossil fuels. Ideally this would be met by growing algae in areas with lots of sunshine and surface that are not used for agriculture, i.e. deserts. The availability and supply of water, fertilisers such as phosphate and nitrogen, and delivery of CO2 for these kind of remote areas will be problematic in case of large-scale production. The ultimate aim is therefore to design a cultivation system that is independent on the supply of those substances and that produces algae only with salt water, CO2 from the air and without any input of nitrogen and phosphate: a stand-alone system. In deserts freshwater is scarce but usually salt groundwater is available, offering the possibility to grow algae without the use of fresh water. Also the supply of CO2 is possibly no longer necessary in the future. Currently CO2-rich gas is used for algae cultivation. Research on the improvement of the CO2 transfer in cultivation systems may lead in the future to an efficient cultivation on CO2 from the air, which is omnipresent. Finally, a great challenge of this stand-alone system will be the production of algae without the use of nitrogen and phosphate. This is in principle possible because algae contain nitrogen and phosphate, but the oil harvested from the algae does not. If a method is developed to isolate oil from the cells while they stay alive, algae are then ‘milked’, production of algal oil on only sunlight, CO2 and salt water is possible. Currently, a stand-alone system is not yet possible but research is focused on the development of such a system.

5

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The cultivation capacity of microalgae is currently relatively small and inefficient and there is little experience with large-scale, cost-effective production. Therefore, Wageningen UR, together with the industry will investigate the optimization of algae production in outdoor systems. For that reason, a new test facility is built in Wageningen, i.e. the Algae Production And Research Centre, commonly known as AlgaePARC. This facility has been financed by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation, the province of Gelderland and Wageningen UR. The research done at AlgaePARC during the first 5 years is part of the research programme BioSolar Cells. AlgaePARC, in which 18 companies participate, is one of the utilization projects in the Biosolar Cells program. Teams of scientists will study various aspects of the algae cultivation. To make the production of algae competitive at the bulk product market a strong economic and technological boost is needed. Research in AlgaePARC The production costs of algae cultivation must be decreased drastically, to one-tenth of the current level. Increasing the photosynthetic efficiency is one of the most important stipulations. This can be achieved by applying improved reactor designs and use more efficient algae. In addition, a substantial saving on nutrients becomes possible by making use of waste and residual flows and recycling of these nutrients. Furthermore, a considerable reduction of energy consumption can be reached by means of mixing the algae soup less and the use of energy-efficient pumps. Also better harvest and downstream processing methods (biorefining) can significantly contribute to reduce costs, but also to improve the final product. For example, conventional methods to isolate oil from algae cells are quite harsh, i.e. high pressure and temperature disrupt the cell wall causing the oil to be released. However, because of the harsh conditions the proteins will denature resulting in a lower value of the biomass. Therefore, mild biorefinery techniques to isolate the algae products are necessary. Finally, shifting the cultivation to sunnier locations might contribute to a higher efficiency and substantial cost reduction.

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29

6. Conclusions

Algae can play an important role in the biobased economy. Algae are efficiently cultivated in places that are unsuitable for agriculture and where nature is not harmed. Sustainable production of biodiesel, but also many other products such as proteins, colorants and raw material for bioplastics is achievable. To achieve profitable cultivation of algae, the production efficiency must be increased three times and costs must be reduced ten times. In addition, besides oil for biofuel, other useful substances such as proteins must also be extracted from the algae. AlgaePARC will play a key role in the optimization of algae cultivation. The research team will test various cultivation systems and compare them. Based on these results and data obtained from the laboratory, the team will develop a new reactor design for application on commercial scale.

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Colophon

Microalgae: the green gold of the future? Large-scale sustainable cultivation of microalgae for the production of bulk commodities Authors: Hans Wolkers, Maria Barbosa, Dorinde M.M. Kleinegris, Rouke Bosma, René H. Wijffels Editor: Paulien Harmsen June 2011 © Wageningen UR ISBN 978-94-6173-062-6 Print: Propress, Wageningen Wageningen UR Postbus 9101 6700 HB Wageningen Internet: www.algae.wur.nl, www.AlgaePARC.com E-mail: info.algae@wur.nl

The publication is made possible by the support of policy research theme Biobased Economy (BO-12.05-002), financed by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture & Innovation. It is the twelfth in a series of publications on the use of agro commodity and secondary flows in safe and healthy products for consumer and industrial markets.