Author: Carrie Cox

It’s sometimes easy to forget that algae can be used for an incredible range of products and processes. When we talk about the range of fuels algae can produce we shouldn’t ignore the fact that the oils, proteins and carbohydrates in the organisms can be much more valuable on a per ton basis in many other markets.

Good algae entrepreneurs aren’t letting the opportunities get by them. This week Crain’s Detroit Business writes how one company’s initial focus on using algae to treat wastewater opened up access to a market for algae-based animal feed supplements. 

It’s worth the read to learn how versatile algae technologies can be, and for an example of how disruptive they could be to countless markets once companies have operations up and running.

A few weeks ago Propel Fuels and Solazyme teamed up to offer consumers in California the first algae-derived biodiesel ever available for drivers at the pump. Today the Imperial Valley News reports that the state’s Department of Food and Agriculture’s Division of Measurement Standards (DMS) has declared the fuel compliant with quality specification standards.

“Samples were tested to ensure overall high-quality engine performance and to ascertain that exhaust
emissions will remain low. The tests were also good indicators that engine deposits and engine wear will be minimal, and that corrosion and filter plugging are reduced – very important factors for fuel used in diesel engines.”

Hard evidence that the research and commercialization efforts of the algae industry are starting to pay off!

 

Domestic Fuel writes today about research at Iowa State University that shows algae can be used to remove the ammonia that is a by-product of raising poultry. The ammonia, which if released can contribute to acid rain, would be fed to algae that can later be used to create biofuels, feed, biochemicals or other products.

The tests showed that up to 96% of the ammonia could be removed from air exhausts in poultry houses. You can read more about this fascinating application of algae here.

It’s another example of algae’s ability to take something that was considered a harmful waste and turn it into a valuable product–the organisms are already well-known for their ability to soak up greenhouse gases and contaminants in wastewater.

 

It has been easy to make the case for algal biomass as a sustainable source for fuel, food, feed and other commodities, but this week we were stunned to learn of the latest use for algae – as a new treatment for cancer.

That’s right. Algae just might be able to cure cancer.

This takes the importance of what our industry is doing to a whole new level, and ought to serve as a powerful justification for continued public and private investment in algae.

This week, news published in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences from the prolific lab of Dr. Stephen Mayfield at the University of California at San Diego, showed that scientists had developed a way, using algae, to create a human therapeutic drug to treat cancer. According to UCSD, this development “opens the door for making these and other ‘designer’ proteins in larger quantities and much more cheaply than can now be made from mammalian cells.”

“Because we can make the exact same drug in algae, we have the opportunity to drive down the price down dramatically,” said Stephen Mayfield, a professor of biology at UC San Diego and director of the San Diego Center for Algae Biotechnology or SD-CAB, a consortium of research institutions that is also working to develop new biofuels from algae.

This new development showcases the incredible power of algae to address some of our world’s most pressing issues, whether it’s fueling our vehicles, remediating waste water and CO2, or creating sustainable animal feed and human health foods. Come to think of it, there really isn’t much that algae can’t do.