ABO Blog

Arguably known to be one of the most established microbial biomass (algae, yeast, fungi, etc) oil extraction companies in the world, POS Bio-Sciences has been collaborating for more than a decade with major ABO member organizations on the extraction, fractionation, and purification of algae based oils and bioactives for the fuel and nutraceutical markets; as well as conducting algae research for the resulting algae meals. POS’s facility is capable of processing between 10 to 15 MT of dry biomass per week, for both research and commercial purposes.

POS Bio-Sciences opened as a research facility to study grain and oilseed processing and ingredient development for the food industry in 1977. POS has since expanded to include cosmetics, wellness,agriculture biotechnology, feed, and industrial bio-products such as biofuels. The organization has served over 5,400 clients from 40 different countries and has increased its global staff from 18 to 96 team members.

On April 1, 2014 the POS group expanded its services through the introduction of the POS BPC Manufacturing Corp.(“POS BPC”), providing commercial scale custom processing services for biological materials at the Innovation Place research park in Saskatoon. POS BPC has increased the capabilities of the POS group of companies with the addition of a 12,000 sq ft processing area capable of completing custom production scale volumes for commercial markets.

POS Bio-Sciences has been an important stakeholder for the algae industry. The POS group of companies help organizations get the most out of their R&D budget through the guidance of POS staff, expertise in process development, award-winning analytical services, and custom processing.

POS Bioscience’s goal is to provide an one-stop shop for all their partners’ R&D needs, allowing partners to enter the market faster by limiting their capital investments and to generate revenue sooner. ABO is pleased to have POS Bio-Sciences as a Corporate Member.

The team at POS can be reached at 800.230.2751 or pos@pos.ca.

This ABO Member Profile originally appeared in Algae Insights, ABO’s monthly newsletter. Click here to subscribe.

Biofuels are among many exciting products that can come from algae. However, quite a bit of investment is being directed at other applications as well.

Just this week, Algal Scientific Corp., a manufacturer of algae-based chemicals for the food and beverage industries announced the successful end of a $3 million venture- capital round to fund the company’s commercialization efforts. This round was lead by German-based Evonik Ventures, San Francisco-based Formation 8 and Chicago-based Independence Equity.

“The completion of this funding allows us to begin the commercial-scale production and marketing,” said company founder and chief science officer, Geoff Horst in Crain’s Detroit Business.

This is an exciting accomplishment for such a young company, and will likely accelerate more technology development. In addition to the food and beverage applications, Algal Scientific also operates a unit commercializing an algae-based wastewater treatment system.

You can read more about Algal Scientific at: http://www.algalscientific.com/

 

 

As advanced biofuels get more attention from the media, governments and the public it is important to remember that not all biofuels are alike. The technologies to make them are varied, the locations they can be made are diverse, and the inputs needed to make them can range from crops, to wood, to streams of industrial waste gases. And of course, there are algae!

Algae-derived fuels come with some unique advantages:

Algae reduce greenhouse gas emissions

Producing fuels and other products from algae has been shown to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Recent research has demonstrated that Sapphire Energy’s algae-based fuel results in a 68% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared with fossil fuels. Algenol’s process can utilize one tonne of CO₂ to produce more than 140 gallons of algae-derived ethanol. BioProcess Algae is operating a production facility that grows algae with CO₂ generated as a byproduct of ethanol production. Accelergy Corporation has developed carbon capture and recycling technology that utilizes CO₂ emitted during coal-to-liquid fuel production to grow concentrated algae.

Some estimates have shown that annual production of 2.4 million barrels of gasoline with algal oil would consume 1.5 billion tons of CO₂, or more than 40% of total U.S. annual emissions from stationary sources.

Algae don’t need freshwater

Algae grow in saltwater, allowing us to grow fuel, feed and other products without diverting a lot of the freshwater we need for other uses.

In 2012, Dr. Stephen Mayfield, a professor of biology at UC San Diego demonstrated the commercial feasibility of growing productive algae species in saltwater environments.  Unlike fresh water, saltwater is not a limited resource. Algae can be produced in ocean or brackish water, or on agricultural land where crops can no longer grow because of high salt content.

Many algae companies are taking advantage of algae’s ability to multiply in sources other than freshwater. Algenol combines seawater and CO₂ to produce 8,000 gallons of ethanol and other liquid fuels per acre annually. Sapphire Energy grows their algae in ponds filled with brackish water that is not suitable for human consumption or farming. Sapphire’s model is zero-waste, allowing for 100% of the water to be recycled throughout the process. BioProcess Algae acquires its wastewater for algae production from the neighboring Green Plains’ ethanol plant to satisfy demand for cost-effective fuel, food and animal feed.

Algae don’t need land that can be used to grow food

Algae have much larger yields than any other crop and can grow on land that isn’t used for agriculture or other purposes. Deserts and marginal lands, even the open seas, can all be used to grow a new generation of sustainable products in a way that enhances, not diminishes, our ability to grow food. Algae can yield more than 5,000 gallons of oil per acre per year – tenfold more than other crops.

Algae could be used with existing available resources to produce a large portion of our fuel needs. In 2011, a study by a team of scientists at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory concluded that with current technology, algae could provide a volume of oil equivalent to 48% of current U.S. petroleum imports for transportation.

All of these issues will play a big role As advanced biofuels become commercially available. Fortunately, the scientists and entrepreneurs in the algae industry have each of them covered!

By Margaret McCormick, PhD, Algae Biomass Organization Board Chair

Carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) is getting increased attention these days, but one potential oversight in the public discussion and in policy circles could hinder progress for the algae industry as well as our ability to slow greenhouse gas emissions.

Fuels, feeds, chemicals and bioplastics derived from algae can play a unique role in a process called carbon capture and utilization (CCU). Rather than dispose of carbon dioxide underground, this approach would permit utilities and other industries to mitigate their emissions by recycling the carbon into renewable and marketable products.

Next month, the EPA will close the comment period on its draft proposal that sets guidelines for new power plants to bury their CO2 underground. Currently the draft does not permit utilities to recycle or reuse their emissions to meet their carbon reduction goals.

Regulators need to understand the opportunity they have to modify the proposal to better promote the use of algae and other utilization technologies:

First, underground storage alone will not reduce emissions as much as a combination of approaches that includes utilization. Some estimates have shown that annual production of 2.4 million barrels of gasoline with algal oil would consume 1.5 billion tons of CO2, or more than 40% of total U.S. annual emissions from stationary sources. Algae-derived fuels and bioproducts also displace petroleum-derived products, resulting in a net reduction of emissions.

Second, reusing carbon emissions will be much more cost-effective than CCS, since the wide range of algal products can introduce revenue streams that underground storage cannot.

Third, algae companies have shown that reuse is just as viable as underground storage. A few examples: Sapphire Energy‘s algae-based fuel has been shown to result in a 68% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared with fossil fuels. Algenol‘s process can utilize one tonne of CO2 to produce more than 140 gallons of algae-derived ethanol. BioProcess Algae is operating a production facility that grows algae with CO2 generated as a byproduct of ethanol production. Accelergy Corporation has developed carbon capture and recycling technology that utilizes CO2 emitted during coal-to-liquid fuel production to grow concentrated algae.

These are examples from companies for just the past year. The algae industry’s progress toward commercial operations is remarkable.

Importantly, the EPA’s proposed approach violates the well-established waste management hierarchy set forth in the Pollution Prevention Act, a national policy favoring the prevention or reduction of waste, followed by recycling, treatment, and disposal, in that order. Disposal is the least-favored option under the statute.

Further, the EPA’s proposal hinders innovation by mandating the use of geologic sequestration and categorically prohibiting reuse technologies. In essence, the EPA is picking a “technology winner” instead of leaving it to the market to decide.

The EPA should clarify their proposed rules so that beneficial reuse technologies that employ simple sunlight, algae, and CO2 to produce renewable fuel and other products may be used by utilities to meet CO2 emission limits.

As the conversation around carbon capture heats up please speak up, make these points known.

New policies and technologies will always be shaping our industry. It is important for all of us to be part of the conversation.

The above post was featured in Algae InSight, ABO’s monthly newsletter. Sign up for our monthly newsletters here to stay updated on the latest algae industry news.

ATP3 offers regular education and training in the use of microalgae as feedstock for biofuels and coproducts. Their next opportunity will be May 5-9 in Mesa, Arizona at the Arizona Center for Algae Technology and Innovation.

These valuable workshops are designed to enhance the knowledge of those who are already familiar with algae, and also provide an introduction to algae culture management for those with no prior experience. Many topics are of direct relevance for those who are interested in commercialization of algae.

More information is available at http://atp3.org/education-and-training/.