The algae revolution 2.0: the potential of algae for the production of food, feed, fuel and bioproducts – why we need it now

Journal Article · 14 December 2021 · The Biochemist

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1042/bio_2021_190 · OSTI ID:1853823

Mayfield, Stephen ^[1]; Burkart, Michael ^[2]

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1. Univ. of California, San Diego, CA (United States); University of California, San Diego
2. Univ. of California, San Diego, CA (United States)

Algae made our world possible, and it can help us make the future more sustainable; but we need to change the way we live and adopt new more efficient production systems, and we need to do that now. When the world was new, the atmosphere was mainly carbon dioxide, and no animal life was possible. Along came algae with the process of photosynthesis, and things began to change. Ancient cyanobacteria algae turned carbon dioxide into enormous sums of lipids, proteins and carbohydrates, while they secreted oxygen into the atmosphere. Over a billion years, as oxygen filled the air and algae filled the seas, animal life became possible. Eventually all that algae biomass became petroleum and natural gas, which for eons sat undisturbed in vast underground reservoirs, holding enormous sums of untapped energy. Less than 200 years ago humans learned to tap these energy reserves to create the world we know today, but in so doing, we have released millions of years of stored CO₂ back into the atmosphere. Algae can again help make the world a better place, but this will require new thinking and new ways of producing our food, feed and fuels. We need an algae revolution 2.0.

• Research Organization: Univ. of California, San Diego, CA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Transportation Office. Bioenergy Technologies Office
• Grant/Contract Number: EE0008246
• OSTI ID: 1853823
• Journal Information: The Biochemist, Journal Name: The Biochemist Journal Issue: 6 Vol. 43; ISSN 0954-982X
• Publisher: Portland PressCopyright Statement
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English