So, I've seen this question again and again on this forum and would like to get to the bottom of this issue. I research algae for bioassasement of rivers, lakes, and streams, and also work with algal bioremediation. I'm a casual fan of the whole algae to energy field, and have been doing some research and lab experiments in my spare time for a little bit of fun. Through 6 months of 'oil digging' I have found my favorite marine and freshwater species. For those of you who have put forth a similar dedication, please post a list of your favorites, and we can use this thread to debate the pro's and con's of each species to sort this mess out.

 MARINE SPECIES                                                                                       FRESHWATER SPECIES

1. Dunaliela tertiolecta                                                                                   1. Navicula saprophila

2. Chaetoceros muelleri                                                                                 2. Haematococcus pluvialis

3. Isochrysis galbana                                                                                     3. Neochloris oleoabundans

4. Phaeodactylum tricornutum                                                                        4. Chlorella vulgaris/pyrenoidosa

5. Tetraselamis suecica                                                                                 5. Nannochloropsis oculata

 

                  

Freshwater;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirogyra

and

Hydrodiction reticulatum

Out of the 2...i think Hydrodiction is the most attractive.

 

I am a microbiologist in Toronto and in search for algal species. please tell me where can i get potent algal strains for biodiesal trials.

andy

Jordan,

My favorite is a marine species - CCMP647.  Marc has it as Pleurochrysis Carterae.  This is not based on any work I have done, but on Navid's Doctoral dissertation.

 

 

 

 Bobby:

I mulled over putting 647' on my list but in the report by Navid, it grew slowly at  0.1 g/L/d and I really can't find much information about its TAG yield besides the 33% of dry weight figure in Navid's thesis. Not that I doubt his findings, but it just might be that he had a very productive culture, or grew it under exactly the right conditions. I have problems with the others species too, and am hoping this thread starts some serious dialogue about algae.

Froggy:

I did a senior seminar experiment in college where I grew different kinds of algae to remove nitratrate, ammonia, and solubly (sic) reactive phosphorous from tertiary wastewater effluent, under laboratory conditions. Incidentally, spirogyra was the best performer out of scenedesmus, chlorella, diatom mixtures, cyanobacteria mixtures, and some other flagellated and filamentous green algae that are not oil producers. I looked at oil production, but found that spirogyra did not increase lipid yeilds due to osmotic/temp or nutrient stress. I didn't use a spectrophotometer to measure my TAG ratios, so I could be wrong, but based on my nile red (hydrosulfate) dye comparison, where the spirogyra lipid fraction stayed fairly constant at 10-20% (rough estimate via hemocytometer). This number is still better than what ive seen reported, so I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who's at least looked at spirogyra. It's also the fastest growing algae I know of, I reported an average growth of 1.8 g/L/d and I've heard it can almost reach 5 g/L/d.

Hydrodictyon is one of my favorite algaes to look at under a microscope, it's hard to find in the wild but sometimes I run across it. I wasn't aware that it was being considered for oil production. Good news!

JordanGVSU:

Froggy:

I did a senior seminar experiment in college where I grew different kinds of algae to remove nitratrate, ammonia, and solubly (sic) reactive phosphorous from tertiary wastewater effluent, under laboratory conditions. Incidentally, spirogyra was the best performer out of scenedesmus, chlorella, diatom mixtures, cyanobacteria mixtures, and some other flagellated and filamentous green algae that are not oil producers. I looked at oil production, but found that spirogyra did not increase lipid yeilds due to osmotic/temp or nutrient stress. I didn't use a spectrophotometer to measure my TAG ratios, so I could be wrong, but based on my nile red (hydrosulfate) dye comparison, where the spirogyra lipid fraction stayed fairly constant at 10-20% (rough estimate via hemocytometer). This number is still better than what ive seen reported, so I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who's at least looked at spirogyra. It's also the fastest growing algae I know of, I reported an average growth of 1.8 g/L/d and I've heard it can almost reach 5 g/L/d.

Hydrodictyon is one of my favorite algaes to look at under a microscope, it's hard to find in the wild but sometimes I run across it. I wasn't aware that it was being considered for oil production. Good news!

Who said anything about oil production?

Jordan,

In case you haven't seen it, the Wikipedia has a page on high lipid algaes, claiming 30% or more lipids:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:High_lipid_content_microalgae

They include PC in their list and it has its own page:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pleurochrysis_carterae

Wikipedia is not the definitive source, but there may be some ideas there. 

 

 

Bump.

 

I like the idea of P. cartarae sequestering CO2 via their silica plated shell and think that Navid did a good job on his research (I have print-outs of both papers) but I think that this species of algae is just not the "ace in the sleeve" for the extraction and processing of lipids/carbs for biofuels. My problem is that the coccolithophores and Dinoflagellates have complex reproduction cycles and grow much slower compared to chlorophytes, cyanobacteria, and heterokontophytes. This unfortunately rules out P. cartarae and P. parvum as good candidates for biofuel sources, even if they have considerable lipid to biomass ratios. I also ruled out botryococcus braunii for similar reasons, and the fact that there are numerous problems in the harvesting of this species. My examples are based on the balanced criteria of harvestablility, lipid content, and growability.

Jordan,

Navid has two papers?  I am aware of his dissertation and the Journal article.  I thought they were about the same.  Is there a different paper?

He said that PC doubled every 2 days.  Do the others grow much faster than that?  (I think it was 1.9 +- .9 days.)

I think you are correct about the balanced criteria. 

 

 

I'd have to say that Botryococcus braunii is my favorite. But it appears to me that it's got a bad reputation is being a slow grower, and not giving up its oils easily. I'd like to think that I've found evidence that both of these problems can be solved, but I am a computer programmer and only an armchair phycologist, so I don't presume to know for sure.

 Beyond Bb, I'd have to say that CCMP647 looks promising.
 

It would be nice to see a list of algae species that had

1= % lipid content

2= growth rate

3= environmental conditions needed for optimal growth rate

4= properties of the biodiesel made from said algae

This would IMHO allow a much more useful discussion about which algae species is best used for biodiesel production.  

Voltaire,

You left out of your wish list - 3.5= Nutrients and their feeding levels needed for optimal growth rate.

I feel we are going to have to run tests to determine these answers.  The answers will keep changing as we devise better farming methods.

I doubt you will find much on biodiesel properties - as I mentioned on another thread, the biodiesel made from algae in the history of the world measures in the liters.
 

I would add a column for sensitivity to dissolved oxygen, and maximum cell density in some sort of standardized culture system. DO sensitivity is an indication of how much gas exchange is required to keep a culture from topping out it's density, and the latter is important for because ability to reach high density decreases the volume of liquid that needs to be processed.

Thanks for your suggestions for cataloging the most beneficial algae species to work with. I think that we've established some very good points to continue this discussion. After looking at these parameters, I estimate that the order of criteria that establishes whether or not a particular species can be sucessfully employed starts with thier environmental tolerance, followed by growth rate, maximum cell density, harvestability, and finally oil production.

This does not say a high oil species, with poor tolerance, growth, density, and harvestability (i.e. b. branuii or p. cartarae) are bad choices, but doese infer that there are more technical obstacles to overcome in choosing such species over those that present less problems but don't have nearly as high TAG output (chlorella, navicula, ect...) Unfortunately for us, many parameters besides oil content and growth rate go unreported in published research, so if anyone happens to produce algae in the future, it would be nice to establish said data for future reference.

 

 I might be mistaken, but wouldn't DO sensitivity be overshadowed by the preferred temperature range? Since there is a indirect relationship between temperature and DO conc. couldn't this parameter be just as easily reported by analyzing the pH response to temperature changes? I know what your saying about gas exchange and the need for a culture to be adequately supplied by 02/C02 but I think that this problem could be avoided by monitoring the pH (because of bicarbonate flux due to decreased CO2) and harvesting algae when the pH starts to get too high, or increased surface mixing when the pH starts to get too low. This would be an easy way to deal with gas exchange as long as the researcher was able to keep the temp stable, since the partial pressure of C02 and O2 are both affected by temperature increases.

Actually, you want to get O2 to get out of the media in this case. In the absence of adequate gas transfer, the oxygen produced by the algae will accumulate in solution, inhibiting carbon fixation and thereby growth. This effect is part of what causes a culture's growth to slow as it reaches its maximum density. I don't understand what you mean by "analyzing the pH response to temperature changes", but any relation between DO and temperature would not hold when DO is being added to the system by algae.

A strain which can achieve high cell densities given adequate gas transfer, but which is very sensitive to DO, for instance, might be better suited to a PBR with very good gas transfer. On the other hand if you want to use (less well aerated) open ponds, you might settle for a moderate maximum cell density if you can find a strain with very good DO tolerance. In this way, a measure of DO sensitivity would provide more information than just the maximum cell density in a given system, although the factors are closely related.

I like your list - are you familiar with Nitzschia (or Cylindrotheca) closterium? (the genus was changed) I don't know much of anything about it, but saw listed as a strain with good oil content under nutrient-sufficient conditions. The CCMP entries all use media with Si, can you tell by the taxonomy (or otherwise) whether this is necessary? The link below goes to the list of strains (6) at CCMP.

C.closterium at CCMP

  

 

yes, I'm very framiliar with nitzschia spp. because I use them for bioassesments of 1st and second order streams, they are one of the more common epibenthic species, and I have also heard of them having a relatively high oil content compared to most diatoms, but from my experience and understanding, they only occur as attached to substrates like rocks and plants, and therefore would be difficult to harvest, unless you were purposely growing on a surrogate substrate, ala GS cleantech.

Several of the species on my list are diatoms because they are easy to grow and prefer low nutrient concentrations, can achieve high densities, have a rapid growth rate, and also because the principle storage compound of diatoms is lipid, not carbohydrate. I have found that diatoms are also easier to dry than the green algae, and can pressed with a crucible or grinder to release an oily mixture of proteins and lipids, which can be seperated in a centrifuge (I'm still trying to figure out how to do a lipid distillation without causing the proteins to denature and become sticky). I have also been re-dissolving the leftover frustules to experiment with in my compost tea, which I then feed the algae culture with.

liberty1:

Jordan,

Navid has two papers?  I am aware of his dissertation and the Journal article.  I thought they were about the same.  Is there a different paper?

He said that PC doubled every 2 days.  Do the others grow much faster than that?  (I think it was 1.9 +- .9 days.)

I think you are correct about the balanced criteria. 

 

http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/abstract/112776280/ABSTRACT?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0

 

http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/klu/japh/2006/00000018/00000006/00009075?crawler=true

Jordan,

Thanks for the references.  It appears the first is just a subset of the second - he mentions the O2 and depth effects on productivity in the second reference.

I had problems with the URL - it gave me a cookie error.

This one worked:

http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/abstract/112776280/ABSTRACT