What’s algae worth? The Digest’s 2017 Multi-Slide Guide to algae biomass valorization

The US Department of Energy has established a project to reduce cost of algal biofuels by increasing intrinsic algal biomass value, with two specific goals. First, to Identify and isolate scalable, high-value key products in biomass and process streams to improve algal biofuels economics. Second, to quantitatively integrate biomass composition and carbon efficiency with cultivation parameters in a multi-product algae biorefinery model.

Additional project goals are to reduce uncertainty around process inputs and outputs, establish a common language for characterization of range of species and process configuration, and to solicit input on the commercial need for standards.

Lieve M. Laurens of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory presented these illuminating slides on the project’s progress and prospects at the 2017 DOE Project Peer Review meeting.