Category: Blog

Submit your research on algal technologies for publication in Industrial Biotechnology! The Algae Biomass Organization is working with the editors of Industrial Biotechnology to assemble a special issue focused on advances in algal biomass and CO2 utilization technologies for the production of biofuels and biobased products.

If you are interested in submitting a paper for consideration and peer review we want to hear from you! We will need commitments from authors by the end of January 2015.

Please send us a tentative title and brief description of your paper to info@algaebiomass.org.

If accepted, manuscripts would have to be complete by March 1st, 2015. We are aiming for publication in the August 2015 issue.

A guest editor and the editors-in-chief of Industrial Biotechnology will handle peer review of the published papers.

This is a great opportunity for those researching algae-based technologies. Industrial Biotechnology is a peer-reviewed bimonthly research journal focused on biobased industrial and environmental products and processes. The Journal publishes critically reviewed original research in all biotechnology related sciences (biology, biochemistry, chemical and process engineering, agriculture). It also offers expert commentary on current policy, funding, markets, business, legal issues, and science trends. You can read more at: http://www.liebertpub.com/ind

This is also a unique chance for the industry to demonstrate broad commercialization progress in an authoritative, peer-reviewed setting. We look forward to your submissions!

The world is in need of another agricultural revolution — the Green Revolution 2.0 — which will provide stress tolerant food crops to feed our growing populations, and advanced biofuels to power our continued economic growth and human innovation. This symposium will feature top researchers from around the world presenting the latest research in genetics, synthetic biology, bioinformatics, economics, and bio-manufacturing of algae and plant-based biomass to propel the Green Revolution 2.0 forward.

General Registration Fee $200

Organizer: Food & Fuel for the 21^st Century and California Center for Algae Biotechnology – Travis Johnson, 858 534-6383,tlj002@ucsd.edu

Website: www.regonline.com/ff212015

Spend Summer 2015 on the San Juan Islands with nearly 625 species of marine macroalgae!

The University of Washington’s Friday Harbor Laboratories is offering a graduate-level course titled Marine Algae.

The Marine Algae course will consist of extensive field work that will be enhanced by lectures as well as laboratory instruction in the observation and interpretation of morphological and anatomical traits that define species and/or higher taxonomic groups.

Students will acquire practical experience in specimen collection, preservation, and databasing, light microscopy, DNA isolation, amplification and sequencing, and computational approaches to phylogeny reconstruction. The use of combined approaches will be emphasized to answer basic questions; individual and group projects will use morphological, ecological and molecular data to assess the diversity of algal populations and interpret that diversity in its ecological context.

Learn more about labs, application deadlines, tuition and funding opportunities here. Funding is also available through the PSA’s Hannah Croasdale Fellowships .

Instructors: Tom Mumford, Marine Agronomics LLC, tmumford@uw.edu, and Brian Wysor, Roger Williams University, bwysor@rwu.edu

Submit your application before February 1, 2015!

 

 

It’s that time of year again where you find yourself at parties and gatherings of friends, family, co-workers and, well, total strangers. Looking for the perfect way to not only be the life of the party, but also help move the algae industry forward?

Here are a few key talking points that will enable you to dazzle the crowd.

These cups we’re drinking from are recyclable. You know what else we should recycle? Carbon dioxide! 

The CO2 from power generation can be captured and used to grow algae that can be transformed into valuable fuels, foods and chemicals. This approach to combating climate change not only removes greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, it also displaces petroleum fuels. A barrel of algae oil is one more barrel of crude we can leave underground.

Don’t forget to remind your audience that the value of algae-based food, fuel and feeds can also be a source of revenue, which is not at all the case for greenhouse gas disposal options such as sequestration.

Don’t let the headlines fool you — low oil prices won’t hold back the algae industry.

First, few think that low oil prices will last for very long. In fact, now is the time to double down on biofuel technologies that can be the foundation of an energy supply that can insulate us from the volatility of crude prices.

Algae-based biofuels can be made here at home, can be grown on non-agricultural lands, and don’t need freshwater supplies that are dwindling all over the world.

Besides, what’s the result of more investment in oil drilling? We usually just get more access to more expensive oil. Thanks to biotechnology and American innovation, renewable fuel prices get lower every year.

Forget food vs. fuel — how about food AND fuel?

Technologies that use algae to make Omega-3 oils, astaxanthin, plastics and in water treatment services are proving their value as business models.

If anything, low gas prices could ignite consumer confidence and push up demand for sustainable products made from algae.

Perhaps the largest effect of non-fuel applications will be felt in the oceans. Algae fish feeds can reduce pressures on stocks needed to supply aquaculture operations that will become increasingly common as the world adapts to feed a growing population.

And for improved health algal Omega-3 oils are already on the market. This product is incredibly important, and deriving it from algae will save vital fisheries that are otherwise headed for depletion.

Big algae opportunity the Gulf & Southwest

As the cold sets in be sure to remind people that recent research from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Sapphire Energy has identified the most promising locations in America for commercial algae production, and the South is a big winner.

An analysis of climate, infrastructure availability of agriculture inputs found impressive potentials for cultivating algae along the Gulf of Mexico, especially on the Florida peninsula.

While algae can be commercially grown nationwide (check out the great success of BioProcess Algae), the research indicated that the southern coast of Texas, Louisiana and southern Arkansas are particularly attractive.

Turns out spring break students aren’t the only ones who love the sunshine.

And if you really want to impress your guests, mix up some algae cocktails. You can make a blue-green drink (recipe here) or one with actual algae (recipe here).

So make your final toast to a future where algae plays a role in smarter energy security, a stronger economy and a sustainable planet.

 

Happy Holidays!