FY 1987 Aquatic Species Program: Annual report

Technical Report · Tue Sep 01 04:00:00 EDT 1987

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/5694556· OSTI ID:5694556

Johnson, D. A.; Sprague, S.

The goal of the Department of Energy/Solar Energy Research Institute Aquatic Species Program is to develop the technology base to produce liquid fuels from microalagae at prices competitive with conventional alternatives. Microalgae are unusual plants that can accumulate large quantities of oil and can thrive in high-salinity water, which currently has no competing uses. The algal oils, in turn, are readily converted into gasoline and diesel fuels. The best site for successful microalgae production was determined to be the US desert Southwest, with potential applications to other warm areas. Aggressive research is needed, but the improvements required are attainable. The four prime research areas in the development of this technology are growth and production, engineering design, harvesting, and conversion. Algae are selected for three criteria: tolerance to environmental fluctuations, high growth rates, and high lipid production. From 1982 to 1986, the program collected more than 3000 strains of microalgae that are more than twice as tolerant to temperature and salinity fluctuation than the initial strains. Productivity has been increased by a factor of two in outdoor culture systems since 1982, and lipid content has also been increased from 20% of body weight in 1982 to greater than 66% of body weight in 1987. Research programs are ongoing in lipid biochemistry and genetic engineering so that ultimately strains can be modified and improved to combine their best characteristics. An outdoor test facility is being built in Roswell, New Mexico.

• Research Organization: Solar Energy Research Inst., Golden, CO (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC02-83CH10093
• OSTI ID: 5694556
• Report Number(s): SERI/SP-231-3206; ON: DE88001111
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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ABSTRACTS
ALGAE
AQUACULTURE
BIOLOGICAL VARIABILITY
BIOMASS
DESIGN
DOCUMENT TYPES
ENERGY SOURCES
GENETIC VARIABILITY
LEADING ABSTRACT
LIPIDS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
PLANTS
PONDS
PRODUCTION
PROGRESS REPORT
RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES
RESEARCH PROGRAMS
SURFACE WATERS