TY - JOUR
T1 - Down-selection and outdoor evaluation of novel, halotolerant algal strains for winter cultivation
AU - Dahlin, Lukas R.
AU - Van Wychen, Stefanie
AU - Gerken, Henri G.
AU - McGowen, John
AU - Pienkos, Philip T.
AU - Posewitz, Matthew C.
AU - Guarnieri, Michael T.
N1 - Funding Information:
We would like to thank Nick Sweeney (National Renewable Energy Laboratory, NREL) for contributions to culture and facilities maintenance, Jeff Wolfe (NREL) for assistance with FAME analyses, and Theresa Rosov and Thomas Dempster (Arizona Center for Algae Technology and Innovation) for their contributions to outdoor cultivation. Funding. This research was supported by the Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) under Agreement No. 22000. The views and opinions of the authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof. Neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, expressed or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 Dahlin, Van Wychen, Gerken, McGowen, Pienkos, Posewitz and Guarnieri.
PY - 2018
Y1 - 2018
N2 - Algae offer promising feedstocks for the production of renewable fuel and chemical intermediates. However, poor outdoor winter cultivation capacity currently limits deployment potential. In this study, 300 distinct algal strains were screened in saline medium to determine their cultivation suitability during winter conditions in Mesa, Arizona. Three strains, from the genera Micractinium, Chlorella, and Scenedesmus, were chosen following laboratory evaluations and grown outdoors in 1000 L raceway ponds during the winter. Strains were down-selected based on doubling time, lipid and carbohydrate amount, final biomass accumulation capacity, cell size and phylogenetic diversity. Algal biomass productivity and compositional analysis for lipids and carbohydrates show successful outdoor deployment and cultivation under winter conditions for these strains. Outdoor harvest-yield biomass productivities ranged from 2.9 to 4.0 g/m2/day over an 18 days winter cultivation trial, with maximum productivities ranging from 4.0 to 6.5 g/m2/day, the highest productivities reported to date for algal winter strains grown in saline media in open raceway ponds. Peak fatty acid levels ranged from 9 to 26% percent of biomass, and peak carbohydrate levels ranged from 13 to 34% depending on the strain. Changes in the lipid and carbohydrate profile throughout outdoor growth are reported. This study demonstrates that algal strain screening under simulated outdoor environmental conditions in the laboratory enables identification of strains with robust biomass productivity and biofuel precursor composition. The strains isolated here represent promising winter deployment candidates for seasonal algal biomass production when using crop rotation strategies.
AB - Algae offer promising feedstocks for the production of renewable fuel and chemical intermediates. However, poor outdoor winter cultivation capacity currently limits deployment potential. In this study, 300 distinct algal strains were screened in saline medium to determine their cultivation suitability during winter conditions in Mesa, Arizona. Three strains, from the genera Micractinium, Chlorella, and Scenedesmus, were chosen following laboratory evaluations and grown outdoors in 1000 L raceway ponds during the winter. Strains were down-selected based on doubling time, lipid and carbohydrate amount, final biomass accumulation capacity, cell size and phylogenetic diversity. Algal biomass productivity and compositional analysis for lipids and carbohydrates show successful outdoor deployment and cultivation under winter conditions for these strains. Outdoor harvest-yield biomass productivities ranged from 2.9 to 4.0 g/m2/day over an 18 days winter cultivation trial, with maximum productivities ranging from 4.0 to 6.5 g/m2/day, the highest productivities reported to date for algal winter strains grown in saline media in open raceway ponds. Peak fatty acid levels ranged from 9 to 26% percent of biomass, and peak carbohydrate levels ranged from 13 to 34% depending on the strain. Changes in the lipid and carbohydrate profile throughout outdoor growth are reported. This study demonstrates that algal strain screening under simulated outdoor environmental conditions in the laboratory enables identification of strains with robust biomass productivity and biofuel precursor composition. The strains isolated here represent promising winter deployment candidates for seasonal algal biomass production when using crop rotation strategies.
KW - Algae composition
KW - Algae screening
KW - Algal biofuels
KW - Microalgae
KW - Outdoor winter cultivation
KW - Winter algae
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UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85058785833&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3389/fpls.2018.01513
DO - 10.3389/fpls.2018.01513
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85058785833
SN - 1664-462X
VL - 871
JO - Frontiers in Plant Science
JF - Frontiers in Plant Science
M1 - 1513
ER -