skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: DISCOVR Strain Screening Pipeline - Part III: Strain Evaluation in Outdoor Raceway Ponds

Journal Article · · Algal Research

In our previous studies, as described in the corresponding Part I and II manuscripts in this Special issue, we selected 12 promising microalgae strains from 38 strains for high biomass productivity based on their salinity preferences, temperature profiles, and biomass growth under simulated outdoor conditions. The 12 strains include 6 cold season strains (Micractium reisseri NREL14-F2, Monoraphidium minutum 26B-AM, Monoraphidium sp. MONOR1, Chlorella vulgaris LRB-AZ-1201, Tetraselmis striata LANL1001, Phaeodactylum tricornutum UTEX646) and 6 warm seasons strains (Scenedesmus obliquus DOE0152.z, Scenedesmus obliquus UTEX393, Chlorella sorokiniana DOE1116, Picochlorum renovo NREL39-A8, Picochlorum celeri TG2-WT-CSM/EMRE, Porphyridium cruentum CCMP7765). Because the preceding screening efforts were completed in indoor systems, this study focuses on quantitatively assessing these strains in outdoor raceway ponds to further eliminate those perform poorly under outdoor conditions. The trials presented in this study, categorized as either cold or warm season experiments based on water temperature, were carried out between February and June in 2018, 2019 and 2020. For each season, a benchmark strain, M. minutum 26B-AM for the cold season and S. obliquus UTEX393 for the warm season, was grown side-by-side with the new strains to provide a baseline for comparing strains cultivated under different weather conditions. The results showed that the cold season benchmark, M. minutum 26B-AM, remained the most productive cold season strain, but two new strains, P. triconutum UTEX646 and T. striata LANL1001, demonstrated robust growth in the presence of weather changes and biological contaminants. For the warm season trials, P. celeri TG2-WT-CSM/EMRE and P. cruentum CCMP675 were 39% and 11% more productive than the benchmark with substantially improved culture stability. Biomass compositional analyses of the strains showed that the carbohydrate, lipid (measured as fatty acid methyl esters) and protein account for 5.2-20.6%, 7.2-11.9%, and 21.7-53%, of the ash-free dry matter, respectively.

Research Organization:
National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Transportation Office. Bioenergy Technologies Office; USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Transportation Office. Vehicle Technologies Office; USDOE DISCOVR Consortium
DOE Contract Number:
AC36-08GO28308
OSTI ID:
1959067
Report Number(s):
NREL/JA-2700-82823; MainId:83596; UUID:5b5b36a2-7e78-4179-8257-c8a34ef4b05b; MainAdminID:67683
Journal Information:
Algal Research, Vol. 70
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

References (61)

DISCOVR strain pipeline screening – Part II: Winter and summer season areal productivities and biomass compositional shifts in climate-simulation photobioreactor cultures journal December 2022
Harmonization of experimental approach and data collection to streamline analysis of biomass composition from algae in an inter-laboratory setting journal July 2017
A data-driven comparison of commercially available testing methods for algae characterization journal March 2021
Down-Selection and Outdoor Evaluation of Novel, Halotolerant Algal Strains for Winter Cultivation journal October 2018
Feasibility of biodiesel production and CO2 emission reduction by Monoraphidium dybowskii LB50 under semi-continuous culture with open raceway ponds in the desert area journal April 2018
Identification of Monoraphidium contortum as a promising species for liquid biofuel production journal April 2013
Biomass production and nutrient assimilation by a novel microalga, Monoraphidium spp. SDEC-17, cultivated in a high-ammonia wastewater journal September 2016
Characterization and classification of highly productive microalgae strains discovered for biofuel and bioproduct generation journal April 2016
Enhanced lipid productivity of Chlorella pyrenoidosa through the culture strategy of semi-continuous cultivation with nitrogen limitation and pH control by CO2 journal May 2013
Chlorella vulgaris as a green biofuel factory: Comparison between biodiesel, biogas and combustible biomass production journal February 2019
Tetraselmis chuii biomass as a potential feed additive to improve survival and oxidative stress status of Pacific white-leg shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei postlarvae journal August 2017
Evaluation of growth, survival and body composition of larval white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) fed the combination of three types of algae journal February 2015
Review of energy balance in raceway ponds for microalgae cultivation: Re-thinking a traditional system is possible journal February 2013
Comparison of continuous and day time only mixing on Tetraselmis suecica (Chlorophyta) in outdoor raceway ponds journal September 2014
Comparison of Microalgae Cultivation in Photobioreactor, Open Raceway Pond, and a Two-Stage Hybrid System journal August 2016
Continued studies of high algal productivities in a shallow flume journal January 1986
Oil and eicosapentaenoic acid production by the diatomPhaeodactylum tricornutumcultivated outdoors in Green Wall Panel (GWP®) reactors journal July 2017
Productivity and biochemical composition of Phaeodactylum tricornutum (Bacillariophyceae) cultures grown outdoors in tubular photobioreactors and open ponds journal July 2013
Photoacclimation of Phaeodactylum tricornutum (Bacillariophyceae) cultures grown outdoors in photobioreactors and open ponds journal April 2012
Attached cultivation technology of microalgae for efficient biomass feedstock production journal January 2013
Strategies to increase the potential use of oleaginous microalgae as biodiesel feedstocks: Nutrient starvations and cost-effective harvesting process journal July 2018
Pilot cultivation of the chlorophyte microalga Scenedesmus obliquus as a promising feedstock for biofuel journal May 2014
Biomass productivity of two Scenedesmus strains cultivated semi-continuously in outdoor raceway ponds and flat-panel photobioreactors journal September 2015
Effects of nitrogen source and concentration on biomass and oil production of a Scenedesmus rubescens like microalga journal January 2011
Microalgal biodiesel production at outdoor open and polyhouse raceway pond cultivations: A case study with Scenedesmus accuminatus using low-cost farm fertilizer medium journal January 2019
An open outdoor algal growth system of improved productivity for biofuel production: An improved productivity algal growth system journal August 2018
Photosynthetic production of microalgal biomass in a raceway system under greenhouse conditions in Sendai city journal January 2000
Climate-simulated raceway pond culturing: quantifying the maximum achievable annual biomass productivity of Chlorella sorokiniana in the contiguous USA journal September 2017
Raceway pond cultivation of a marine microalga of Indian origin for biomass and lipid production: A case study journal October 2014
Demonstration of the potential of Picochlorum soloecismus as a microalgal platform for the production of renewable fuels journal November 2019
Development of a high-productivity, halophilic, thermotolerant microalga Picochlorum renovo journal October 2019
A validated model to predict microalgae growth in outdoor pond cultures subjected to fluctuating light intensities and water temperatures journal January 2016
High-light selection produces a fast-growing Picochlorum celeri journal December 2018
Picochlorum celeri as a model system for robust outdoor algal growth in seawater journal June 2021
The feasibility of mass cultivation of Porphyridium journal January 1985
The extracellular polysaccharides of porphyridium cruentum and porphyridium aerugineum journal July 1979
Optimization of renewal regime for improvement of polysaccharides production from Porphyridium cruentum by uniform design journal May 2009
The Mass Culture of Porphyridium cruentum journal March 1962
On the mass culture of microalgae: Areal density as an important factor for achieving maximal productivity journal January 1988
Quantitative assessment of the major limitations on productivity ofSpirulina platensis in open raceways journal September 1990
Temperature dependence of photosynthesis and thylakoid lipid composition in the red snow alga Chlamydomonas cf. nivalis ( Chlorophyceae ) journal March 2014
Shedding some light on cold acclimation, cold adaptation, and phenotypic plasticity journal March 2013
Temperature and algal growth journal December 1988
Carotenoid profiling of five microalgae species from large-scale production journal June 2019
Biomass nutrient profiles of the microalga Porphyridium cruentum journal August 2000
Biodiesel from algae: challenges and prospects journal June 2010
Strategies to control biological contaminants during microalgal cultivation in open ponds journal March 2018
Salinity Tolerance of Picochlorum atomus and the Use of Salinity for Contamination Control by the Freshwater Cyanobacterium Pseudanabaena limnetica journal May 2013
Sustainable saline microalgae co-cultivation for biofuel production: A critical review journal October 2017
A GIS Cost Model to Assess the Availability of Freshwater, Seawater, and Saline Groundwater for Algal Biofuel Production in the United States journal April 2013
Microalgal carbohydrates: an overview of the factors influencing carbohydrates production, and of main bioconversion technologies for production of biofuels journal September 2012
The effects of cultivation depth, areal density, and nutrient level on lipid accumulation of Scenedesmus acutus in outdoor raceway ponds journal September 2015
Scaling-Up and Semi-Continuous Cultivation of Locally Isolated Marine Microalgae Tetraselmis striata in the Subtropical Island of Gran Canaria (Canary Islands, Spain) journal July 2021
Growth and Biochemical Composition of Porphyridium purpureum SCS-02 under Different Nitrogen Concentrations journal February 2019
Impact of heterotrophically stressed algae for biofuel production via hydrothermal liquefaction and catalytic hydrotreating in continuous-flow reactors journal March 2016
Micro-algae as a source of protein journal March 2007
Microalgae: A potential alternative to health supplementation for humans journal March 2019
Outdoor cultivation of Chlorella pyrenoidosa in paddy-soaked wastewater and a feasibility study on biodiesel production from wet algal biomass through in-situ transesterification journal December 2020
Chlorella pyrenoidosa cultivation in outdoors using the diluted anaerobically digested activated sludge journal December 2015
Chlorella for protein and biofuels: from strain selection to outdoor cultivation in a Green Wall Panel photobioreactor journal January 2014
Sustainable cultivation of Nannochloropsis gaditana microalgae in outdoor raceways using flue gases for a complete 2-year cycle: a Circular Economy challenge journal January 2019