ODU algae research aims to fuel bioeconomy

In Virginia, researchers from the Batten College of Engineering and Technology at Old Dominion University discovered a proprietary process that can make algae applications scalable for commercialization through partnerships with the private sector.

The technology involves extracting the proteins from algae in a scalable and inexpensive way to make it viable for industrial use, as well as a process that utilizes flash hydrolysis to recover proteins, carbohydrates and lipids from algae oil, and hydrothermal mineralization to recover inorganic nutrients for recycling.

Patrick Hatcher, Batten Endowed chair of Physical Science Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, said, “We have been developing the technology to utilize algae as a good fuel source for a number of years and Old Dominion University holds several patents as a result. Our work also focuses on developing other parts of algae not used for fuel into high-value and economical chemicals.”

The U.S. Department of Energy, Environmental Protection Agency and the National Science Foundation funded the research.