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Turning Algae into Fuel

Turning Algae into Fuel

March 16, 2011

Alternative Energy, Medical Research

Prof. Sammy Boussiba

Prof. Sammy Boussiba

“People are surprised that we can cultivate algae in the desert,” explains Prof. Sammy Boussiba of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU). “But it’s actually a green environment for growing algae. We have a lot of brackish water and sunshine, the best conditions.

Plus land is not expensive, and we’re remote from people and industry so we can avoid pollution.”

Boussiba is director of the Landau Family Microalgal Biotechnology Laboratory at BGU’s Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research.

Most of us associate algae with polluted lakes or brown tides. Why devote a sophisticated high-tech facility––complete with marine scientists, aquaculture technologists and 15 students—to such lowly organisms?

Prof. Boussiba explains, “We live in the desert and we need to see how we can sustain ourselves in this harsh environment. We’re trying to do things people can’t imagine we can do in these conditions.”

Boussiba and his team have demonstrated after three decades of working with micro algae, that they are potential sources of high-value products. One such product is a substance called astaxanthin. It is a pigment derived from the Haematococcus algae and is customarily fed to farm-raised salmon. It gives them their red color, which in the natural environment is produced by a diet that includes algae.

Astaxanthin is also a potent antioxidant and fights free radicals that are considered factors in macular degeneration, heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and other age-related illnesses. One result of the lab’s algal research is the world’s largest photobioreactor, developed to cultivate these organisms in a desert environment.

Another high-potential use for micro algae is energy production. “It’s one of the options on the table for alternative, green energy,” Boussiba notes. “Besides the fact that it can be grown in saline water, micro algae grow faster than plants, have high lipid content, and can be cultivated in brackish water. And it doesn’t compete with any food like corn or soybeans, so it’s good for fuel biomass.”

Boussiba has been working on the scientific challenges of turning algae into fuel since the mid 1980s, when the U.S. Department of Energy assigned the lab a project to evaluate micro algae as a source of lipids.

“We know the factors and the problems and think we can help put this technology a bit forward,” Boussiba says. “We have world experts in the area of lipid metabolism and can build whatever photobioreactors are needed. We also know it can take a long time to reach the goal.”