Arizona State University Study Algae Culture Crashes; Could This Research Make Algae a More Viable Feedstock?

Predator contamination can decimate a crop of algae, but researchers at the University of Arizona are trying to find ways to deal with the problem; this would make algae a more economically reliable feedstock.

Despite claims of land efficiency and high oil yields, microalgae have pests just like any other crop. These pests come in the form of zooplankton; various predatory microbes that can consume algae like a swarm of locusts on a corn field. This ends in a culture crash as the algae are consumed by predators and the batch is lost.

Culture crashes are one of the biggest hurdles for cultivation of algae as a feedstock for biofuel or biochemical applications as one of the cheapest methods of cultivating algae (in open ponds) is also the most susceptible to culture crash. Closed systems (such as photobioreactors) are more resistant to culture crashes but are also more expensive, sometimes prohibitively so. If particular risk factors for culture crashes could be identified they could be avoided or mitigated. If so, this would improve the productivity of algae, which could (depending on the cost of the method) make algae a more commercially viable feedstock.

Arizona State University recently received a million dollar grant for the next five years from the US Department of Agriculture for research into factors contributing to crop failure. Project leader Prof Qiang Hu is the co-director of the Arizona Center for Algal Technology and Innovation (AzCATI). He stated that the lack of detailed understanding of the factors influencing the occurrence, population dynamics, impact and control of zooplankton, it could make algae an impractical feedstock; his research team will endeavor to fill in the gaps in scientific understanding.

They will study zooplankton in commercial algae production facilities and also in their own algae facilities at ASU using bioimaging and DNA fingerprinting to determine the organisms present to build a detailed picture of culture crash by predation. This could lead to early warning monitors for commercial algae production; rather than waiting for the culture to start dying off as an indicator, an anti-microbial agent could be administered early to prevent infection from escalating and wiping out the batch. The studies could also be used to build more realistic pictures of the output of algae production facilities when predation is factored into the equation. 

The potential for improving algae technology that this line of research could offer is great; if technology and best-practice based solutions are made available they could make algae a more viable way to produce chemicals and fuel. The directors of AzCATI have stated that their findings will be made widely available as publications, journal articles and training courses, so that the algae industry as a whole can benefit. As these solutions are made available, AzCATI may well find itself in high demand for a growing algae industry.