Author: Carrie Cox

A Texas AgriLife Research scientist, Dr. Tryon Wickersham, and graduate student, Merritt Drewery, have been conducting feeding trials of algae leftover products (after oil extraction, in powdered form) on Angus steers. Two of the three phases of the trials are currently complete and the third phase is slated for completion in June, according to researchers.

Their research is part of an overall bioenergy research program led by AgriLife Research and is supported by the Department of Energy as a component of the National Alliance for Advanced Biofuel and Bio-Products. “The first project tested palatability,” Drewery said. “We offered 12 different supplements with different levels of algae inclusion. We measured how long they took to completely finish the allotted supplement.”

The experiment used 13 percent crude protein hay and 2.2 pounds of supplement offered daily. The algae co-product, which is 20 percent crude protein, was blended with dried distiller’s grains at 31 percent crude protein or cottonseed meal at 52 percent crude protein. The co-product was introduced at 0 percent, 20 percent, 40 percent, 60 percent and 100 percent blends. Additionally, a commercial liquid supplement was also blended with algae.

“The algae could be blended up to 60 percent with distiller’s grains or cottonseed meal, but as a liquid supplement or alone, intake was markedly reduced,” Drewery said. “The study results show a 54 percent completion rate and lower rate of consumption when the algal co-product was offered alone.
“For the second project we used raw algae. We compared this to cottonseed meal supplementation and found forage intake and utilization was stimulated to a similar extent when algae was used.”

This experiment used Angus steers that had free choice to low-quality hay with 4 percent crude protein, and supplements were administered ruminally. “We would administer the supplement in the morning just prior to feeding hay,” Drewery said. “Supplementation rate was based on steer body weight.”

Steers were initially offered the supplement for one hour in the first experiment, but when offered supplements containing 100 percent algae for the whole day during the third experiment, they would completely finish it. “We were worried they wouldn’t eat all of it this time around, but there haven’t been issues with supplement refusals,” Drewery said.

in visual observations, the steers would eat half the supplement within 10 minutes and then finish the rest sometime during afternoon hours. “They would also eat hay and drink a lot of water,” she noted.

Wickersham said they were also attempting to get the algae in a form that was “easily deliverable to cattle. We are trying to identify the best processing method to feed it to grazing cattle. The algae co-product is high in salt, as the algae is a saltwater product.”

Wickersham said there are still questions to be answered, such as how much would the beef cattle industry pay for this product compared to distiller’s grains and cottonseed meal, a common ingredient found in cattle feed today. “Crude protein is 20 percent, but half of the chemical composition is ash,” he said. “In comparison to cottonseed meal, you have to feed twice as much algae to get the same effect. Additional research is required to fully explore the value of feeding algae to grazing cattle.”

Wickersham said the algae feed “performed much better than expected compared to cottonseed.”

“This is very novel (research) and there’s not much out there,” Drewery added

Washington, DC —Two Department of Energy (DOE)-supported programs are helping the Crow Tribe in Montana produce energy with minimal environmental impact, educate future generations, and prepare its community for future jobs in energy fields.

At the heart of the Work Readiness Program and the Cultivation and Characterization of Oil Producing Algae Internship are 6-week intensive courses of study that teach real-world skills and provide opportunities for academic and industrial advancement in science, math, and energy.

The programs are supported in part by the Office of Fossil Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), as well as the Many Stars Project, Accelergy Inc., the University of North Dakota’s Energy & Environmental Research Center, Little Big Horn College, and Montana State University. Ultimately, the two programs are helping the Crow Tribe take steps toward preserving local resources and jobs, and ultimately improving their reservation.

The Work Readiness Program teaches students classroom basics as well as specific job skills and how to apply these skills in a professional work setting. Students learn the basics of carpentry, welding, electrical work, rigging, reading blueprints, equipment operations, and safety standards. Students graduating from the program are well-positioned to help improve the quality of life within the reservation. For example, Fernando Long Soldier, a Crow Tribe member and program alumnus, is applying electrical skills learned in the program to infrastructure projects on the reservation, where he currently holds a supervisory position.

Members of the sponsoring organizations serve as teachers and mentors for the Work Readiness Program, but qualified Crow Tribe members are also encouraged to become instructors and contribute to the learning process. Robert Stewart, a Crow Tribe member and core education instructor for the program, helped design practical hands-on experiences, including an assigned task of building a 16-foot flatbed trailer. “When the class was finished building the trailer, they were so proud of themselves that they had actually built it and it worked,” said Stewart. “They were telling each other they are going to start building and selling their own trailers. That’s what I wanted to hear!”

The Cultivation and Characterization of Oil Producing Algae Internship places students in a laboratory alongside established researchers to study local algae samples and evaluate their possible use in energy applications. The project focuses on Accelergy’s integrated coal-to-liquid (ICTL) technology, which reforms local Montana bituminous coal and indigenous biomass feeds, like algae, into a liquid that is economical to transport and use as fuel. The student interns are involved in every aspect of the research. During last summer’s program, students collected algae at two different pond sites outside of the reservation, built bioreactors to grow the algae, harvested the algae, and then freeze-dried their samples to check the algae for oil quantities that could be useful to the ICTL technology.

Crow Tribe member Amanda Not Afraid, who completed the algae internship, said her experiences taught her “to see all the opportunities that lie outside of the reservation and what skills it would take to succeed there.” Since graduating from the program, Amanda has enrolled as a freshman at Little Big Horn College and is pursuing a degree in pre-medicine.

Acceptance into the two programs is competitive. Similar to applying for college, students are required to submit a packet of personal information, essays, and letters of recommendation which are reviewed by a board of four members. Of the 70 applicants in 2011, 45 were chosen and 38 graduated. The students who successfully completed the internship program are now in the workforce or attending one of the sponsoring institutions.

Because of the programs’ success, DOE has awarded additional funding to the algae internship, and outside funding was granted to Work Readiness Program, ensuring that both will be available to a new wave of students in summer 2012.