Photosynthetic microalgal can have growth rates which surpass biomass generation by higher plants. Depending on the microalgal stain and the culturing conditions, the algal biomass can contain highly interesting compounds for potential biotechnological applications. Our research aims at identifying strains which are characterized by fast & easy growth and can produce valuable compounds, e.g. high amounts of fatty acids. Microalgae from algae collections as well as new isolates from the environment are investigated.
Microalgal strains in liquid culture
The production of biogas from biomass is gaining increasing importance world wide. The knowledge of the biological processes which take place in a biogas production facility is limited today, therefore research in this field is needed and important to improve the biomethane production process.
In this context, the department for Algae Biotechnology & Bioenergy of the University of Bielefeld initiated a collaboration with the company Biogas Nord AG (http://www.biogas-nord.de/docs/home.html) and the Stadtwerke Bielefeld (http://www.stadtwerke-bielefeld.de) in December 2006. This collaboration has led to the foundation of the consortium Bioenergy OWL which is focused on investigating all aspects of the biogas production process, biological processes as well as technical parameters. Research is carried out in model fermenters and commercial biogas plants. Investigations can be expanded to a newly constructed, 500 kW plant equipped with state of the art analytical tools in the future. Utilisation of microalgae as alternative biomass for biomethane production and possible synergetic effects of biohydrogen and biogas generation are also aspects of current research.
Biomethane production facility
The development of clean, sustainable and economically viable energy supply for the future is one of the most urgent challenges of our generation, given that oil production will decrease in the future. Hydrogen, produced by microalgae, could be an alternative energy carrier because of a it´s potentially high energy density and environmentally clean combustion, resulting in pure water.
Biosolar hydrogen production with Chlamydomonas reinhardtii cultures in test reactors
In our research project we use Wild Type and patented, high H2 producing mutants of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii to address the main rate limiting steps of algal H2 production. These rate-limiting steps are:
Microalgal strains for liquid biofuel production should ideally show very high biomass productivities, efficient biosynthesis of lipids, be easy to harvest and be accessible to metabolic engineering strategies. Furthermore, important characteristics for renewable liquid biofuel production include the degree of saturation of fatty acids and the proportion of triacylglycerol. Both parameters can be highly influenced by various factors,e.g. the presence or absence of specific nutrients depending on the respective strains. We investigate microalgal species regarding their lipid profiles to identify species with superior characteristics, which can be promising candidates for multiple future applications, e.g. for biofuels production or the food industry.
Microalgal lipid extraction and purification
