COMMERCIALISING SLIMECommercial Production of Fine

Chemicals and Biofuels from Microalgae

Michael A. Borowitzka

What are algae?

Habitats

• Water (freshwater to hypersaline brines)

• Soil

• Trees etc.

• Symbionts of lichens, ferns, cycads, sponges, molluscs, corals, flatworms etc etc.

• Salinity: freshwater to saturated brines

Size –

~40m to ~1μm

μ

Aphanothece

Nostoc

Amphidinium

• Photoautotrophy– Light + inorganic nutrients

– Most microalgae

• Heterotrophy– Organic compounds (dark)

– Some species (esp. greens, euglenoids & dinos)

• Mixotrophy– Mixture of phototrophy + heterotrophy

• Phagotrophy

ALGAE NUTRITIONAL MODES

Products

CarotenoidsFatty AcidsPhycobilinsEnzymesVitaminsPolysaccharidesBioactive CompoundsBiomassBiofuels

Scytophycin B

Scytonema, Tolypothrix, Cylindrospermum

Anti-cancer & Anti-fungal

Cryptophycin 1Anti-Cancer

Nostoc sp.

Amphidonolide A

Amphidinolide B & D (isomeric at C21)

Amphidinium sp.

Anti-leukemia activity

Zooxellatoxin A & B

Symbiodinium microadriaticum

Vasoconstrictor (Ca2+ transport enhancer)

anti-inflammatory & anti-amphetamine activity, tremorigenic

anti-inflammatory activity

anti-amphetamine activityNo activity

Rivularia firma

Species Used for Where grown Main culture system(s)

Estimated cost of production ($AUS.kg-1)

Chlorella spp Health food, health food extracts

Japan, Indonesia, Germany

Open circular pivot ponds, raceway ponds. Tubular photobioreactors (Germany only)

15+

Spirulina spp Health food, health food extracts

Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, USA,China, India

Raceway ponds 8-12

Dunaliella salina β-carotene Australia, India Extensive open ponds, raceway ponds (in India)

~5

Haematococcus pluvialis

astaxanthin USA, Israel Raceway ponds (USA), closed photobioreactor (Israel)

40+ (photobiore

actor)

Crypthecodinium cohnii

DHA USA Heterotrophic cultivation on glucose

~2

Chaetoceros spp.Nannochloropsis spp.Navicula spp.Tetraselmis spp.Pavlova sp.etc.

Feed for aquaculture species

Throughout the world

Raceway ponds, tanks, large bag reactors

80-2000