This platform for renewable solar energy-to-biofuels conversion combines innovative metabolic engineering with state-of-the-art, large-scale bioprocess engineering, efficient cell harvesting, cost-effective conversion of lipid to biodiesel, and generation of other valuable byproducts. This is possible because the cyanobacterium being used (Synechocystis) is fast growing and robust in accommodating diverse environmental conditions. It can be cultivated over a wide range of salt and fixed-nitrogen concentrations and at CO2 levels of up to 5 percent. The system also requires minimal water consumption.
These traits make the microorganism well suited for growth using flue gas effluent from power plants as a carbon source (recapturing the carbon dioxide from the plant before release into the atmosphere) and using agricultural run-off water contaminated with nitrogenous fertilizer as a fixed-nitrogen source when it is available. When N-contaminated water is not used, fixed nitrogen can be recycled so little new nitrogen will need to be added.
This renewable solar energy-to-biofuels approach is very well suited to arid regions with high levels of sunlight, and Central Arizona is ideal for this purpose. Biofuel production from cyanobacterial photobioreactors should be scalable to a point where it represents a major source of carbon-neutral fuel for the United States, as well as high-quality employment and overall economic growth in the State.
Table 1: Comparison of lipid production ranges per hectare per year for microalgae and oil-producting plants.
In our current phase, we are addressing issues associated with bioreactor scale-up prior to introducing the improved strains and equipment into the large-scale field test bed bioreactor for final validation. The current plan involves scaling to a point where, in two years time, we will have designed and fabricated a field-scale bioreactor. This will allow our laboratory-scale organism optimization to be evaluated for suitability in larger scale bioprocess production under "real-world conditions."
Project funding: BP, Science Foundation Arizona
Collaborators: BP, CH2M-Hill, APS
Recently, at Arizona State University’s Biodesign Institute, N.J. Tao and collaborators have found a way to make a key electrical component on a phenomenally tiny scale. Their single-molecule diode is described in this week’s online edition of Nature Chemistry.
“Requirement for Mouse Hepatitis Coronavirus A59 Nucleocapsid Protein Phosphorylation”
"Pulling Single Biomolecules Apart: Observations and Theory"
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