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Ultrahigh bioproductivity from algae

Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology volume 76, pages 969–975 (2007)Cite this article

Abstract

The potential for dramatic increases in bioproductivity in algal photobioreactors relative to current biomass approaches, e.g., for converting sunlight into biofuels, by an unorthodox integration of photonics and biotechnologies is described. The key to greater biomass yields—projected as high as 100 g dry weight m−2 h−1—is a pronounced heightening of algal flux tolerance, achieved by tailoring the photonic temporal, spectral and intensity characteristics with pulsed light-emitting diodes. Such tailored photonic input is applied in concert with thin-channel ultradense culture photobioreactors with flow patterns that produce rapid light/dark algae exposure cycles. The artificial-light scheme is globally feasible only with electricity generated from renewables. Recent advances in ultra-efficient concentrator photovoltaics, as well as high-performance light-emitting diodes, create a practical reality for converting sunlight into pulsed red light and delivering it to indoor photobioreactors, with characteristic pulse times and intensities optimally suited to the rate-limiting dark reactions of photosynthesis. Cellular engineering built upon recent progress in modifying algal chlorophyll antenna size, in combination with metabolic engineering, could further enhance bioproductivity. The proposed strategy requires no major advances for implementation and adopts existing technologies.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Solar Energy and Environmental Physics, Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Sede Boqer Campus, 84990, Israel

    Jeffrey M. Gordon

  2. The Pearlstone Center for Aeronautical Engineering Studies, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beersheva, 84105, Israel

    Jeffrey M. Gordon

  3. Department of Biology, Brooklyn College of the City University of New York, 2900 Bedford Ave, 200 NE, Brooklyn, NY, 11210, USA

    Juergen E. W. Polle

Authors
  1. Jeffrey M. Gordon
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  2. Juergen E. W. Polle
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Correspondence to Jeffrey M. Gordon.

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Revision submitted to Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology on 25 June 2007.

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Gordon, J.M., Polle, J.E.W. Ultrahigh bioproductivity from algae. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 76, 969–975 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-007-1102-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-007-1102-x

Keywords

  • Photosynthesis
  • Algae
  • Photonics
  • Solar energy
  • Light-emitting diodes
  • Biofuels