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
