SBIR Phase I: Large Scale Cultivation of Phytoplankton via Novel Photo-Bioreactor Technology

这个小企业技术转让（STTR）项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力将是开发一种可持续的，低成本的，可复制的微藻生物质大规模生产方法。微藻生产是一种水产养殖形式，能够生产有价值的产品，包括营养品，特种化学品，药品，鱼类，贝类和牲畜的饲料，以及人类消费的食物。 此外，它可以用作生物燃料的原料，同时从环境中去除二氧化碳。 然而，要使藻类养殖充分发挥其商业潜力，必须改进技术。 虽然典型的藻类培养依赖于高密度细胞生长，但该项目将专注于低密度藻类培养的科学，以实现高生产率，同时最大限度地减少对补充能源和浓缩二氧化碳的工艺要求。 此外，开发一个封闭系统的光生物反应器，重点是低成本和模块化设计，将使这一过程很容易在全国各地的各种土地上复制，否则价值很低。因此，该系统可以成为一个强大的水产养殖和生物燃料产业的基础，从而促进边缘社区的经济发展，并为不断增长的世界人口提供可持续产品。该STTR第一阶段项目建议开发一个大规模的藻类生产系统。目前大规模生产微藻的方法受到技术问题的限制，这使它们无法可靠和可扩展。这些问题包括频繁的污染、低生产率以及由于水和能源的低效使用而增加的运营成本。我们的系统的目标是保持低密度藻类培养物的高生产力超过两个月，而不受污染，同时需要很少或不需要额外的冷却和CO2补充。 通过使用专门设计的收获装置，计划进行定期收获循环，以保持培养物处于低密度状态。 使用重力沉降，生物质将在去除之前浓缩100倍，以最大限度地减少系统中的水损失。 为了表征系统的性能，将监测细胞生长速率、批次温度、pH值和溶解CO2水平。 氮气/CO2喷射试验将用于确定反应器的气液传质系数。 将比较补充和不补充浓缩CO2的生产率，每天通过显微镜检查评估培养物纯度。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) project will be to develop a sustainable, low-cost, and replicable method for large-scale production of micro-algal biomass. Microalgae production is a form of aquaculture capable of producing valuable products including nutraceuticals, specialty chemicals, pharmaceuticals, feed for finfish, shellfish, and livestock, as well as food for human consumption. Moreover, it can be used as a feedstock for biofuels while simultaneously removing CO2 from the environment. However, for algae cultivation to achieve its full commercial potential, the technology must be improved. While typical algal cultivation relies on high-density cell growth, this project will focus on the science of low-density algal cultivation to achieve high productivity, while minimizing process requirements for supplemental energy and concentrated CO2. In addition, the development of a closed-system photo-bioreactor with emphasis on low cost and modular design will allow the process to be easily replicated across the country on a variety of lands with otherwise marginal value. As such, the system can become the basis for a robust aquaculture and biofuels industry, leading to greater economic development in marginal communities and a source of sustainable products for the growing world population. This STTR Phase I project proposes to develop a large-scale algal production system. Current methods of large-scale microalgae production are limited by technological problems, which prevent them from being reliable and scalable. These problems include frequent contamination, low productivity, and increased operating costs due to inefficient use of water and energy. The goals for our system are to maintain a low-density algal culture with high productivity for greater than two months without contamination, while requiring little or no additional cooling and CO2 supplementation. With the use of a specially designed harvest apparatus, the plan is to perform periodic harvest cycles in order to maintain the culture in a low-density state. Using gravity settling, the biomass will be concentrated by a factor of 100x prior to removal in order to minimize the loss of water from the system. To characterize the performance of the system, cell growth rate, batch temperature, pH, and dissolved CO2 levels will be monitored. Nitrogen/CO2 sparging tests will be used to determine the gas-liquid mass-transfer coefficient of the reactor. Productivity rates will be compared with and without the supplementation of concentrated CO2, and culture purity will be assed daily via microscopy checks.