Microalgae Biofuels: The global demand for petroleum as a transportation and heating fuel is predicted to increase 40% by 2025. Liquid biofuels from plants and microalgae feed stocks represent a renewable, sustainable alternative to petroleum energy when greenhouse gases released during the combustion of these biofuels are partially neutralized by the carbon dioxide required for their growth.

     The greatly minimized acreage estimates, high lipid content and growth rate, and more efficient carbon dioxide sequestration capacity suggests that biofuels derived from lipids produced in microalgae may circumvent many of the limitations ascribed to petroleum fuel and plant-based biofuels. Work in our lab focuses on two fundamental aspects of microalgae biofuel production. These are microalgae functional genomics and population stability.

Functional Genomics: Because genomes have not been sequenced for lipid enriched microalgae, our group is currently utilizing 454 pyrosequencing to describe the transcriptome of microalgae and to develope gene expression microarrays. The availability of these sequences and microarrays should mark a significant advancement in biofuel research by providing the tools to explore functional genetics in lipid-enriched microalgae.

Population Stability: Although pure strains of lipid-enriched microalgae have been identified and genetically modified strains proposed, microalgae reactor feeds are not sterile and contain indigenous microalgae and bacteria that may out-compete seeded pure culture strains. Work in our lab has demonstrated that for lipid-enriched strains that can tolerate flue gas carbon dioxide levels (10%-20%), elevated carbon dioxide allows for maintenance of lipid-enriched strains in unsterile wastewater fed reactors. In addition increases in total lipid per volume productivity and enrichment of total lipids in triglyceride content is observed at these elevated carbon dioxide concentrations.

Funding: Our work in microalgae biofuels if funded by the Connecticut Center for Advanced Technologies and the National Science Foundation.