Published in the series "Green raw materials"

1. Technology for health and environment; Agenda for sustainable and

healthy industrial applications of organic secondary flows and agro-
commodities in 2010, Sietze Vellema and Barbara de Klerk-Engels (2003). 
2. New compostable packaging materials for food applications, Christiaan
Bolck, Michiel van Alst, Karin Molenveld, Gerald Schennink and Maarten
van der Zee (2003). 
3. Markets for green options: Experiences in packaging, paints and insulation
materials, Sietze Vellema (composition) (2003). 
4. Green raw materials in production; Recent developments on the market,
Harriëtte Bos and Bert van Rees (2004). 
5. Technological innovation in the chain; Green raw materials under
development, Harriëtte Bos and Marc van den Heuvel (2005). 
6. Bioplastics, Christiaan Bolck (2006). 
7. Softeners; Green raw materials offer new possibilities, Karin Molenveld
(2006). 
8. Breaking the innovation paradox; 9 examples from the Biobased Economy,
Christiaan Bolck and Paulien Harmsen (2007). 
9. Agrification and the Biobased Economy; An analysis of 25 years of policy
and innovation in the field of green raw materials, Harriëtte Bos (2008).  
10. Biorefinery; To a higher value of biomass, Bert Annevelink and Paulien
Harmsen (2010). 
11. Sustainability of biobased products; Energy use and greenhouse gas
emissions of products with sugars as raw material, Harriëtte Bos, Sjaak
Conijn, Wim Corré, Koen Meesters and Martin Patel (2011) 

For more information go to www.groenegrondstoffen.nl

Preface

The cultivation of microalgae can play an important role in environmental-

friendly production of raw materials for biodiesel. In addition, algae offer
several other useful materials for the food and chemical industry.
This booklet describes the possibilities for economically viable large scale
algae cultivation for the production of valuable products, including raw
material for biodiesel.
Chapter 1 illustrates the potential role of microalgae in developing a more
sustainable society.
Chapter 2 describes some important groups of algae and the opportunities
they offer as producers of useful substances.
Chapter 3 deals with the main algae cultivation systems and the current
state-of-the-art of algae cultivation in the Netherlands.
Chapter 4 discusses the benefits of algae cultivation in relation to other
agricultural crops.
Chapter 5 analyses the possibilities of cost-effective, large-scale microalgal
production and the significant role that the new algae centre in Wageningen,
AlgaePARC, will play in the research on optimization of algae cultivation.
Chapter 6 is a summary of the conclusions and recommendations for cost-
effective microalgae cultivation.
Contents

1.  Introduction.................................................................................. 7 

2.  Microalgae .................................................................................... 9 

3.  Algae cultivation .......................................................................... 13 

4.  Algae in the Biobased Economy ..................................................... 19 

5.  AlgaePARC.................................................................................. 23 

6.  Conclusions ................................................................................ 29 

7.  References ................................................................................. 31 

Colophon ........................................................................................... 34 

 7

1. Intrroduction
n

Em
merging ec
conomies and
a the grrowing worrld populatiion rely he
eavily on the
na
atural resources of th
he earth. In
n 2050, the
e world pop
pulation is estimated to
be
e around nine
n billion people; th
his is 1.5 times
t the current
c pop
pulation. The
T
de
emand for commodities will rise explosively. Never before the n
necessity and
ch
hallenge forr a sustaina
able society
y was large
er than in th
his century
y.
Su
ustainable production methods for food an
nd energy are necesssary if we do
no
ot want to
o convert all
a available
e nature in
nto agriculttural land. In additio
on,
th
here is a ne
eed for alte
ernatives fo
or the finite
e oil reserv
ves. The so
ociety focus
ses
increasingly on sustainability and therefore on
o the recy
ycling of wa
aste stream
ms,
ustainable production
su p and efficie nt use of energy.

P
Photo 1: Grreen algae cells with o
oil droplets inside and wder (source
d algae pow
Wild Fron
ntiers/Hans
s Wolkers)

Th
he cultivation of mic
croalgae ca
an make an
a importa
ant contrib
bution to the
trransition to a more su
ustainable society or biobased economy.
e A
Algae are not
n
nly suitable
on e for envirronmentally
y friendly production
p of many ccommoditie
es,
bu
ut also for the use of
o waste sttreams. They grow ex
xcellent on
n e.g. carbon
dioxide from
m flue gases
s, residual water of ag
gro-industrrial compan
nies and even
diluted diges
state from manure.
m In
n return the
ey produce valuable ra
aw materials.
Allgae recycle nutrientts that thu
us remain available in the nu
utrient cycle,
instead of be
eing wasted
d and pollutte the wate
er.
8

Algae are not only promising as waste converters and recyclers. The algal cell
contains many useful substances and microalgae are cultivated increasingly
for the production of valuable raw materials. For example, it is possible to
produce oil, proteins, starch and pigments (e.g., beta-carotene). Applications
of these materials are numerous, ranging from biodiesel and bioplastics to
colorants and hamburgers.
 9

2. Micrroalgae

Sp
pecies
Microalgae, also called phytoplan
nkton by biologists, are very sm
mall plant-like
orrganisms between
b 1--50 microm
metres in diameter
d without
w rootts or leave
es.
To
ogether witth the seaw
weeds (maccroalgae orr large aquatic plants)), microalgae
arre part of th
he so-called
d aquatic b
biomass.
Microalgae are
a very common (hun
ndreds of thousands species
s exisst) and occ
cur
oth in freshwater and
bo d seawaterr where th
hey form th
he basis fo
or most food
ch
hains. Mostt species co
ontain chlorrophyll, use
e sunlight as
a an energ
gy source and
co
onvert carb
bon dioxide
e (CO2) into
o biomass. In this pro
ocess of ph
hotosynthes
sis
th
he algae prroduce oxy
ygen (O2). On a globa
al scale microalgae p
produce mo
ore
th
han 75% off the oxygen required for animals
s and huma
ans.
Normally microa
algae are n
not visible by
the naked
n eye, but if tthe water is
eutrop
phic, massive algal b
blooms occu
ur,
chang
ging the wa
ater in a g reen, brow
wn,
blue, or orange liquid masss. Only a fe
ew
tens of thousan
nds, out o
of a total of
000 to 800
200,0 0,000 differrent specie
es,
have been descrribed in lite
erature. With
so many
m unkno
own algae
e species an
almos
st inexha
austible source of
possib
bilities existts.
The genetic
g analysis and rranking of all
types of microalgae is stil l in progre
ess
and there
t is no
ot yet a ccomplete and
consis
stent classification. Att the mome
ent
taxonomists ave
ha disting
guished the
wing main groups:
follow

Ph
hoto 2: Exp
perimental algae reacttor (source Wageningen Universiity)
10
0

 Green algae. With 7500 speccies they fo

orm one of the large
est groups of
hese algae contain ch lorophyll (llike in plants) and a llarge amou
algae. Th unt
of proteins. In addition, unde
er stress co
onditions th
hey producce starch and
d inside th
oil that are stored he cell. Gre
een algae exist as u
unicellular or
ular species
multicellu s. Chlorella
a is a well-k
known single-celled sp
pecies, whiich
also is grrown comm
mercially.
 Red algae are a gro
oup of 500
00 mostly multicellula
m r marine s pecies, living
dal zone of the sea.
in the tid
 Diatoms. With more
e than 100
0.000 speciies, this group of uniccellular algae
s most of the
produces t biomasss on earth
h. They are
e an indisp
pensable food
source fo
or the zoöp
plankton in freshwater and seaw
water. Thesse algae have
a particu
ularly attrac
ctive skeletton of silica
a that fits together
t lik
ke two halv
ves
of a sph
here. Diatoms producce mainly oil that is stored in the cell. By
varying the
t amountt of oil they
y can regula
ate their bu
uoyancy.

P
Photo 3: Alg
gal cells acc
cumulating
g carotenoid
ds (left pho
oto, source Wageninge
en
University)) and culturres of two g
green algae
e (middle and right ph
hoto, source
e
Wild Fron
ntiers/Hans
s Wolkers)

 Brown algae. Virtually all 15 00 species are multiccellular algae

500 to 200
existing almost exc
clusively in
n the sea. Brown alg elp are often
gae like ke
n the beach
found on h, and are therefore regarded by people as the
b many p
traditiona
al seaweed.
 Gold alga
ae. This grroup of 100
00 species of beautifu
ully coloure
ed unicellular
algae exists mainly
y in fresh w
water, but also a num
mber of ma
arine speciies
wn. They po
are know ossess flage
ella that are
e used for displaceme
d ent.
 11

 Yellow-green algae. They are close relatives of the brown algae, but most
of the approximately 600 species are unicellular and live in fresh water.
Nannochloropsis is an exception as this fast-growing species is found in
the sea. These algae produce large amounts of oil as a food reserve and
are therefore highly suitable for the production of raw material for
biodiesel.
 Blue algae or cyanobacteria. Notorious algae that can produce toxins and,
in situations of high concentrations, can seriously affect the water quality.
Blue algae store food reserves in the form of starch, while the cell can
consist for more than half out of protein. The species Spirulina is
cultivated worldwide and used as a dietary supplement.

Raw materials from algae

Many algae contain a considerable amount of high-quality oils, partly
consisting out of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, which are used as raw
material for food supplements. Omega-3 fatty acids in fish originate from
microalgae.
At the moment numerous agricultural crops are grown for the production of
oil or starch-like substances, which can be used for the production of fuel.
Algae contain, in addition to raw materials for energy, also a wide variety of
other useful components. In recent years more than 15,000 new chemical
compounds were discovered in algae. In addition to fatty acids algal cells also
contain carotenes (yellow to red pigments) and other colorants, antioxidants,
proteins and starch. These components can be used by the chemical- and
food industry as raw material for numerous products, and the list of products
made from algae is expanding steadily.
Besides high-added value products for niche markets, such as algae powder
for the dietary supplement industry and algae extracts to control moulds in
golf fields, there is also increasing interest in bulk products such as raw
materials for bioplastics, biofuels but also algae protein for food applications.
Production of valuable substances by algae can be manipulated by the design
of cultivation conditions. Especially under suboptimal conditions the algae
experience stress and, as a result, produce substances like pigments, starch
and oil. For example, excess of light stimulates the production of carotenes in
12

the cell. At the same time these pigments are antioxidants and protect the
cell from harmful free radicals generated by the overdose of light. However,
growth is then reduced and the colour changes from green to orange.
If the supply of the nutrient nitrogen is limited, algae start to especially
accumulate oil. Algae producers use this by putting the algae on an obligatory
diet, with insufficient nutrients in the culture medium. This inhibits growth,
reduces the production of proteins, and increases the production of oil that is
stored in the cell as small globules.
 13

3. Alga
ae cultiva
ation

Cu
ultivation Systems
S
Microalgae have
h been grown
g for d
decades at small scale
e, especially
y in Asia and
orth Amerrica, mainly for app
No plication in
n food and
d feed. Ho his
owever, th
co
oncerns only a small number o
of species; Spirulina and Chlore
ella are we
ell-
kn
nown exam
mples. Grow
wers produ
uce these species especially forr the dieta
ary
su
upplement industry. At this mo
oment app
proximately 5000 ton
nnes of dried
algae are pro
oduced perr year world
dwide.
our differen
Fo nt cultivatio
on systems are curren
ntly in use by
b algae gro
rowers:

1.. Open ponds or racew

ways
Open ponds or racewa
ays are sha
allow, annu els where mixing tak
ular channe kes
place using paddle wheels. These
e are the most
m comm
mon cultiva
ation system
ms
worldwide. An
A important advanta
age of this basic design is the rrelatively lo
ow
ost. On the other hand
co d, a large o
open pond is difficult to monitor compared to
a closed culttivation sys
stem. Wate
er evaporattion takes place
p and tthe system is
su
usceptible to
t infections, limiting the choice of algae to
o resistant, fast-growing
sp
pecies.

Photo 4: Raceway
R po
ond at Ingrrepro (sourc ontiers/Hanss Wolkers)
ce Wild Fro
14
4

Allgae ponds are not the most effe

ective cultivation systtem. Theorretically up to
10
0% of the energy fro
om solar lig
ght can be
e converted
d in chemiccal energy in
biomass via photosynthesis, wh ile the rem
maining pa
art is lost as heat. In
prractice how
wever, this photosynth
hetic efficie
ency is much lower. F
For example,
fo
or an algae pond this is about 1.5
5%. This is
s caused by
y the limited
d penetration
off sunlight in
nto the turb
bid algae p ond. As a result
r only the algae ccells near the
su
urface rece
eive a lot of light w
which they
y cannot efficiently
e convert in
nto
biomass.
Algae cu
ultivation in sunnier
regions is
s potentially
y much mo
ore
productive
e, provide
ed that the
utilization of solarr energy is
more efficient. By reduction of
the antenna size of algae by
genetic modification
m ble
it is possib
to decrease the am
mount of lig
ght
absorbed by the alg
gae. Reduced
absorption
n of light a
at the surfa
ace
will result in more lig
ght
penetratio
on into the
e algae pon
nd,
thus prov
viding more
e algae with
sunlight for photossynthesis. A
possible drawback
k of th
his
method is that the
e genetica
ally
altered algae might be
eted by wild
outcompe d type algae.

hoto 5: Allgae cultiv

Ph vation in h
horizontal tube reacttor at the
e Hogescho
ool
Ze
eeland in cooperation
n with Wa
ageningen University for the Ze
eeuwse Tong
prroject (sourrce Wild Fro
ontiers/Han
ns Wolkers))
 15

2.. Single-lay
yer or horizontal tube reactors
Th
his is a closed culture system,, composed of a sin
ngle layer of horizontal
tu
ubes. In su
uch a tube
e reactor i t is easierr to contro
ol the proccess and the
prroductivity per squarre meter iss higher than in a pond. In a
addition, th
his
sy
ystem is ea
asy to scale by simply extending the tube le
ength.
A major draw
wback of th
his design iss the high light intens
sity on the ttube surfac
ce.
Th
his is detrrimental to
o the algae
e, growth is reduced
d and as a result the
prroductivity is lower. Another d
disadvantag
ge of tube
e reactors is the high
en
nergy cost of circulatting the liq
quid suspe
ension. Also
o the gas exchange in
th
hese system
ms is not op
ptimal; O2 a
accumulate
es and this is toxic to algae at high
co
oncentrations. In addition, the cconstruction
n costs mig
ght be high
her comparred
to
o open cultivation systtems.

3.. Three-dim
mensional tu
ube reactorrs
This system is composed
d of multip
ple
s
layers of tubes that are placed
vertically on top
p of each other and in
this manner
m fo
orm a con
nstruction of
vertical panels of tubes. This type of
or has partlly the same
reacto e advantag
ges
and disadvantag
d ges as the
e single-lay
yer
tube reactor,
r but the three
e-dimension
nal
tube reactor do
oes not su
uffer from a
high light inttensity b
because the
vertically placed
d tubes arre placed in
each other's sha
ade. The p roductivity is
higher compared
d to a sing
gle-layer tube
or because more tube
reacto es fit on the
same horizonttal surfacce, thereby
increa
asing the yield per squ
uare meter.

Ph
hoto 6: Thrree-dimensional tube rreactor at AlgaePARC
A (source Wi
Wild
Frrontiers/Ha
ans Wolkers
s)
16
6

4.. Flat plate reactors

Th
hese are closed
c reac
ctors consttructed fro
om series of flat, pa
arallel plate
es.
Th
hese system
ms are in theory the m
most produ
uctive. Therre is no acccumulation of
th
he toxic O2 and also
o the lightt intensity at the su
urface is n
not too hig
gh.
Disadvantage of this sy
ystem is th
he relatively
y high amo
ount of ene
ergy requirred
or mixing off nutrients and keepin
fo ng the alga
ae in suspension. Besiides this high
en
nergy cons
sumption, adding ex
xtra CO2 is
s more difficult and
d scale-up is
co
omplex.

Photo 7:
7 Variation
n on flat pla
ate reactor at Proviron
n (source Pr
Proviron)

Allgae cultiva
ation in the Netherland
ds
Allgae cultiva
ation is a re
elatively ne
ew activity in the Neth
herlands. M
Many projec
cts
sttarted to in
nvestigate cultivation
c of microalg
gae. For ex
xample, the
e Foundation
Ze
eeuwse Tong studies the possib
bilities of la
and fish fa
arming in a closed loop
sy
ystem: wa
aste water from sol e breeding
g serves as a food
d source for
f
cu
ultivation off siliceous algae,
a also known as diatoms. The cultured
d diatoms are
a
in turn food for shellfish. The firrst results are promis
sing. The d
diatom cell is
 17

vu
ulnerable, but the siliceous alga
ae can be cultivated in the new
wly designed
re
eactor of tra
ansparent perspex
p tub
bes.
So
ome Dutch companies
s such as A
AF&F, Algae
elink, Aquaphyto, Lge
em, Ingreprro,
Maris and Ph
hycom grow
w algae on a small sca
ale for a number of ye
ears, focusing
n niche ma
on arkets. Ingrepro, loca
ated in Borc
culo (Gelde
erland), pro
oduces algae
ately 4000 m2 in tota
in two open ponds of approxima al. Large pa els
addle whee
eep the alg
ke gae suspen
nded and th arvest is do
he daily ha one fully a
automatically.
Affter harves
sting, the algal
a suspe
ension is thickened and
a dried tto paper-th
hin
sh
heets. The dried algae
e, whether or not com
mpressed to
o small pelle
ets, form the
ba
asic raw material for a range off algae pro
oducts that the compa
any produc
ces
fo
or a wide ra
ange of customers.

Ph
hoto 8: Hig
ghly concen
ntrated alga
al soup, driied paper-tthin sheets and the fin
nal
prroduct, sma
all pellets, at
a Ingrepro
o (source Wild
W Frontiers/Hans Wo
olkers)

Gem also serves a nic

LG che markett. This company produ
uces Nanno
ochloropsis in
th
hree closed cultivation of flexible tubes of 300 m2 per sy
n systems o ystem. When
th
he density is high en
nough the algal susp
pension is harvested . A powerful
ce
entrifuge se
eparates th
he algae fro
om the water and tra
ansforms th
he algal soup
in a sticky, green pastte. LGem p
produces on
n average about 30 k
kilos of algae
aste per da
pa ay, correspo
onding to a
approximate
ely 3 kilo of dry algae . After free
eze
drrying and grounding
g in
nto a deep green alga
ae powder, the final prroduct is
18
8

Costs of open
o and closed cultiv
vation syste
ems
The costs of
o algae biom
mass producction in open
n systems wo
ould in theorry always
be lower th
han in closed
d systems. H
However, thiis is only true for the exiisting
systems, because
b so fa
ar closed ph otobioreacto
ors have only
y been used
d for the
production
n of algae witth very high market valu
ues (niche markets).
m The
e design
was never adapted forr large-scale production of bulk prod
ducts. An exttensive
calculation
n of the costs
s of productiion in open ponds
p and cllosed photob
bioreactors
showed tha
at production costs in bo
oth systems did not diffe
er much from
m each
other. Yet, the costs off closed systtems can be reduced to a larger exte
tent
compared to open systtems by imp
proving the design.
d There are still ma
any
uncertain factors
f and challenges
c th
hat need to be addresse
ed. It is still ttoo early to
state that some
s system
ms are bette
er than otherrs. Innovatio
ons are nece
essary to
reduce cos
sts and impro
ove sustaina
ability of the
e technology to make com
mmercial
production
n of algal biomass for bullk products possible.
p

eady for sale.

re s LGem
m delivers algae pro
oducts esp
pecially to the dieta
ary
su
upplement industry, but also to
o fish farm
mers that cultivate
c fissh larvae by
us
sing algae. The produ
uction costss for the paste
p on this relatively
y small sca
ale
arre more tha
an € 40 per kilo of dry matter, no
ot taking into account the costs for
f
fre
eeze drying
g and pack
kaging. On the other hand,
h the market
m pricces of freez
ze-
drried algae powder
p varry around € 400 to 50
00 per kilo.
 19

4. Alga
ae in the
e Biobase
ed Econo
omy

Co
ost Reductiion
Co
ost reduction is not a top prior ity for com
mpanies tha
at make alg
gae produc
cts
fo
or niche ma
arkets because of the high marke
et price for these prod
ducts.
La
arge-scale production makes le ss sense because
b the small ma uld
arkets wou
be
ecome oversaturated.. In the mu
uch larger market forr bulk prod ucts of low
wer
qu
uality, such
h as raw material
m forr biodiesel,, reduction
n of producction costs is
vital as these
e products must comp
pete with already
a exis
sting raw m
materials. The
T
prrice of alg
gal oil should approa
ach the prrice level of
o commod
dity oils like
pe
etroleum an
nd palm oill before alg
gae can be used for co
ommercial p
production of
biodiesel at large
l scale.

alue of the algal biomass

Va
Cu
urrently the value of palm oil iss approximately 0.50 €/kg. We think we will
w
be
e able to reduce
r the production
n costs of one kilogra
am of alga
al biomass to
0..50 €/kg. Iff that biom
mass consistts of 40% of
o oil it is clear
c that itt is necessa
ary
to
o exploit all other va
aluable com
mponents present
p in the algae as well. By
fractionating the allgal bioma
ass
into differrent compo
onents, each
with a certtain value, a calculation
is made off the total v
value of 1 kg
algae.
For mple,
exam con
nsider algae
biomass is
s composed
d of 40% oil,
o
50% prottein and 10% suga
ars
(see Figure 1). Part o
of the oil will
w
be used for the p
production of
nd the othe
biofuels an er part serv
ves
as raw ma
aterial for the chemic
cal
industry.

Ph
hoto 9: Algal oil (sourrce: Wild Frrontiers/Hans Wolkers
s)
20
0

W
Water solublle proteins can be use
ed in food instead of soy protei n, and partly
in cattle feed
d. Also the sugars hav
ve numerou
us applications. In add
dition, the O2
prroduced by
y algae and the re moval of nutrients from resid
dual stream
ms
ge
enerate inc
come.
In
n total, the
e algal biom
mass is wo
orth 1.65 €/kg
€ at a production
p cost of 0.50
€//kg. That means tha
at in theorry it is wo
orthwhile to produce algae for a
co
ombination of productts including
g biofuel. In
n this calcu
ulation biorrefinery cos
sts
arre not inclu
uded.

Figure 1: Value off ingredientts in algal biomass

b

ood, fuel an
Fo nd biodivers
rsity
Th
here is deb
bate about the sustai nability, th
he negative n biodiversity
e impact on
an
nd competiition with food
f s produced from e.g. palm oil and
crops of biofuels
ra
apeseed oil. Currently a large eeded for biodiesel is
e part of the oil ne
orriginating frrom oil palm
m and rape
eseed. Palm
m oil plantations, howe
ever, exist at
th
he expense of large pa
arts of trop
pical rainforest. Also the
t rapesee
ed cultivation
ha
as drawbac
cks as agricultural la
and is occu
upied that could also be used for
f
grrowing food
d crops.
Th
he current biofuel pro
oduction co
ompetes in many cas
ses with ra in forest and
fo
ood producttion. Algae
e have fewe
er disadvantages in the
t field off competition
fo
or food and biodiversitty, making this form of
o agricultu
ure an attra
active optio
on.
Microalgae can
c be cultivated inten
nsively in closed syste
ems on placces where no
otther agriculture is po
ossible and where nature is nott harmed. Some dese
ert
 21

areas in Africa or Australia, oceans, roadside verges, flat roofs or

contaminated soil are suitable locations for the production of algae.
With the introduction of a new species also risks are involved. Products
intended for the food chain must be safe for consumer and environment.
Large-scale cultivation should not result in overgrowth and displacement of
natural populations. Most algae do not contain toxic components and are
cultivated under special conditions (high salt concentrations, high pH) and
have no competitive advantage over the natural populations. Potential risks
should be assessed and limited and these assessments should become an
integral part of the research and development programs.

Water and nutrient needs

Algae are also attractive as a sustainable alternative because they are
economical with water and can grow on CO2 and excess nutrients in waste
streams. Approximately 5000 litres of freshwater is required for the
production of 1 litre of biofuel using oil crops. Algae production in salt water
requires potentially only 1.5 litres of freshwater per litre of oil produced.
If fuel based on algal oil would replace all transport fuels in Europe (400
billion litres of oil/year) and assuming a yield of approximately 40.000 litres of
oil/ha/year, an area of about 10 million hectares is needed. This is about the
size of a country like Portugal. That is certainly a large surface, but it fits well
within Europe, and Europe would then be self-sufficient for transportation
fuels. As a by-product 0.3 billion tonnes of protein are produced,
corresponding to 40 times the amount of soy protein currently imported. In
summary, algae can produce both food and fuel.
In addition to sufficient fuel for European transport, large-scale algae
cultivation has positive effects on both the CO2 balance and the surplus of
nutrients in waste water and manure. For the growth of this amount of algae
a quantity of 1.3 billion tonnes of CO2 (Europe produces yearly 3.9 billion
tonnes of CO2) and 25 million tonnes of nitrogen (Europe produces yearly 8
million tonnes of nitrogen in waste water and manure) is necessary.
These calculations show that the cultivation of algae does not need to be done
at the expense of biodiversity and food production and can substantially
contribute to a sustainable economy.
22

Stand-alone systems: the future

Large-scale algae cultivation systems are required for the production of
sufficient biodiesel for the replacement of fossil fuels. Ideally this would be
met by growing algae in areas with lots of sunshine and surface that are not
used for agriculture, i.e. deserts. The availability and supply of water,
fertilisers such as phosphate and nitrogen, and delivery of CO2 for these kind
of remote areas will be problematic in case of large-scale production. The
ultimate aim is therefore to design a cultivation system that is independent on
the supply of those substances and that produces algae only with salt water,
CO2 from the air and without any input of nitrogen and phosphate: a stand-
alone system.
In deserts freshwater is scarce but usually salt groundwater is available,
offering the possibility to grow algae without the use of fresh water. Also the
supply of CO2 is possibly no longer necessary in the future. Currently CO2-rich
gas is used for algae cultivation. Research on the improvement of the CO2
transfer in cultivation systems may lead in the future to an efficient cultivation
on CO2 from the air, which is omnipresent. Finally, a great challenge of this
stand-alone system will be the production of algae without the use of nitrogen
and phosphate. This is in principle possible because algae contain nitrogen
and phosphate, but the oil harvested from the algae does not. If a method is
developed to isolate oil from the cells while they stay alive, algae are then
‘milked’, production of algal oil on only sunlight, CO2 and salt water is
possible. Currently, a stand-alone system is not yet possible but research is
focused on the development of such a system.
 23

5. Alga
aePARC

Ba
ackground
W
Wageningen UR has more
m than tten years research
r ex
xperience in
n the field of
m
microalgae cultivation.
c Research ttopics focus in particu
ular on the
e efficiency of
lig
ght energy
y conversion into alga
al biomass
s in photo bioreactorss. These are
a
closed systems in which algae can
n be cultiva
ated with (s
sun) light a
as the enerrgy
ource at a high
so h degree
e of controll and optim
mization.
Th
he interest of the indu
ustry in miccroalgae wa
as limited since
s the la st oil crisis in
th
he 1970s. In
I 2005 a VICI grantt was awarded to Ren
né Wijffels, Professor of
Biioprocess Engineering
E g by STW T
Technology
y Foundatio
on. With th
his grant the
prroject 'Phottosynthetic Cell Factorries' was in
nitiated. In this projectt Wijffels and
hiis team ex
xamined th
he optimal efficiency of alga biomass
b prroduction. In
ddition, res
ad search focu
used on m
methods to manipulatte culture conditions in
such a manner that the alga
ae started to
e commerc
produce cial produccts such as
pigmentts in exce
ess. Resea
archers allso
looked at biorefinery metho
ods to isola
ate
these al
commercia produccts witho
out
quality loss.
l
Since a few yearrs biodiese
el is gaining
interest and the industry showed an
increasing atten
ntion in microalgae
production. The fa
act that th
he cultivation
of microalgae not only offers eat
gre
opportunities or
fo the sustainab
ble
production of bio
ofuels, butt also for a
ange of oth
whole ra her useful ccommoditie
es,
is very important.
i

Ph
hoto 10: Ho
orizontal tu
ube reactorr in operatio
on in AlgaeP
PARC (sourrce Wild
Frrontiers/Ha
ans Wolkers
s)
24

The cultivation capacity of microalgae is currently relatively small and

inefficient and there is little experience with large-scale, cost-effective
production. Therefore, Wageningen UR, together with the industry will
investigate the optimization of algae production in outdoor systems. For that
reason, a new test facility is built in Wageningen, i.e. the Algae Production
And Research Centre, commonly known as AlgaePARC.
This facility has been financed by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture
and Innovation, the province of Gelderland and Wageningen UR. The research
done at AlgaePARC during the first 5 years is part of the research programme
BioSolar Cells. AlgaePARC, in which 18 companies participate, is one of the
utilization projects in the Biosolar Cells program. Teams of scientists will study
various aspects of the algae cultivation. To make the production of algae
competitive at the bulk product market a strong economic and technological
boost is needed.

Research in AlgaePARC
The production costs of algae cultivation must be decreased drastically, to
one-tenth of the current level. Increasing the photosynthetic efficiency is one
of the most important stipulations. This can be achieved by applying improved
reactor designs and use more efficient algae. In addition, a substantial saving
on nutrients becomes possible by making use of waste and residual flows and
recycling of these nutrients. Furthermore, a considerable reduction of energy
consumption can be reached by means of mixing the algae soup less and the
use of energy-efficient pumps. Also better harvest and downstream
processing methods (biorefining) can significantly contribute to reduce costs,
but also to improve the final product.
For example, conventional methods to isolate oil from algae cells are quite
harsh, i.e. high pressure and temperature disrupt the cell wall causing the oil
to be released. However, because of the harsh conditions the proteins will
denature resulting in a lower value of the biomass. Therefore, mild biorefinery
techniques to isolate the algae products are necessary. Finally, shifting the
cultivation to sunnier locations might contribute to a higher efficiency and
substantial cost reduction.
 25

AllgaePARC must
m be a bridge be
etween small-scale la
aboratory rresearch and
large-scale production.
p The resea
arch team will
w verify the results of the sma
all-
cale experiments on larger scalle in Algae
sc ePARC. In addition, tthe team will
w
co
ompare the
e four majjor algae ccultivation systems re
egarding ccosts, grow
wth
effficiency an
nd sustainab
bility.

Photo 11: Overview of

o AlgaePAR
RC with a horizontal
h tu
ube reactorr filled with
h
algae (source W
Wild Frontierrs/Hans Wo
olkers)

An
n open pon
nd will serve as refe rence as itt is the mo
ost commo
on cultivation
sy
ystem worldwide. The
e researche
ers will com
mpare the performan
nce of closed
sy
ystems, for example, horizonta
al layers, vertically transparen
t t tubes, flat
f
plates and a raceway pond,
p throu
ughout the year. Each
h cultivation
n system has
h
pecific adva
sp antages an
nd disadva ntages, bu
ut the ultim
mate goal is maximu
um
prroduction of
o high qua
ality algae at the low
west possible price thrroughout the
ye
ear.
Be
esides the type of cultivation
c system, it is also im
mportant to
o design the
cu
ultivation co
onditions in
n such a w
way that an optimal prroduction o
of the desirred
26
6

algae produc
ct, e.g. oil,, is obtaine
ed. Traditio
onally the algae
a are g
grown untill a
ertain density. Subseq
ce quently the
ey are starv
ved from nutrients; th
he algae stop
grrowing and start to prroduce morre oil. Usua
ally these tw
wo processses are run in
se
equence: first the am
mount of bio
omass is in
ncreased ra
apidly, and
d then the oil
sttarts to acc
cumulate slowly.
s In AlgaePARC
C the goal is to desig
gn a proce
ess
aimed at the
e optimal production
p o
of certain metabolites
m s (such as oil or starc
ch)
nd not of biomass.
an b Be
ecause pro
oduction co
onditions will continuo
ously chang
ge,
prroduction strategies
s that are aim
med at a co
onstant qua
ality of the final produ
uct
will be designed, by me
eans of mea
asuring and
d controlling.

Photo 12: Three-d

dimensionall tube reacttor in Algae
ePARC (sou
urce Wild
Frontie
ers/Hans Wolkers)
W

Th
he test facility is just a start of w
what should
d become the leading algae testing
ce
entre of Europe. Partic
cularly rese
earch and developme
d nt of meth ods aimed at
m
making spec
cific end prroducts wil l be furthe
er expanded in the co
oming years.
No
ot only rea
actor design
n will get a
attention, but
b also the search fo
or new algae
sp
pecies and improveme
ent of exist ing algae strains
s by genetic mod
dification.
 27

In
n addition, there will be a lot off attention for improv
ved biorefin
nery metho
ods
an
nd sustaina
ability of th
he entire prroduction chain. Wage
eningen UR
R wants to do
innovative research
r on
n algae cu
ultivation technologie
t s in collab
boration with
otther knowle
edge institutes and in
ndustry within the Netherlands and abroa
ad.
Th
his can be both funda
amental an
nd applied research.
r It is also im
mportant th
hat
th
he research
h on algae is an inspiriing learning
g environment for stud
dents.

Photo 13: Cultures of various a

algae speciies (source Wild Fronttiers/Hans
Wolkers)

AllgaePARC will
w be a suc
ccess if afte
er 5 years we:
 Are able to make a good comp
parison of different
d pro
oduction sy
ystems
n the following parame
based on eters: photosynthetic efficiency, volumetric
c
productiv
vity, energy
y use, use o
of nutrients
s and water availabilitty,
robustness and scallability 
 hieved and maintained
Have ach d throughou
ut the yearr, a photosy
ynthetic
efficiency
y on sunligh
ht outdoorss of 5%  
 Have dev
veloped an improved rreactor con
ncept and/o
or process sstrategy in
which the
e productio
on costs and
d energy needs are lo
ower compa
ared to
traditiona
al systems 
 Have obttained suffic
cient basic information for the de
esign of a llarge-scale
productio
on facility 
28
8

W
Worldwide re
esearch on algae is em
merging. Companies and
a govern
nments inve
est
a lot in alga
ae research program
mmes. In th
he United States the
ere are larrge
prrojects in the field of genetic mo
odification of microalg
gae, China does a lot in
bioinformatic
cs of alga
ae and in
n Europe scientists will reali se the first
emonstratio
de on facilities
s within som
me years.

P
Photo 14: Demonstrati
D ion plant off Wagening
gen Univers
sity and Nesste Oil at th
he
Universiity of Huelv
va in Matala
ascañas (so
ource Wage
eningen Un
niversity)

W
Wageningen UR distinguishes itsself from these
t activ
vities by w
working in an
integrated, multidiscipl
m linary man ner on the
e improvem
ment of the
e technolog
gy.
his means working at
Th a the sam e time on the impro
ovement off species, on
de
evelopmentt of efficient produ
uction metthods and
d on biore
efinery- and
su
ustainability
y aspects.
 29

6. Conclusions

Algae can play an important role in the biobased economy. Algae are
efficiently cultivated in places that are unsuitable for agriculture and where
nature is not harmed. Sustainable production of biodiesel, but also many
other products such as proteins, colorants and raw material for bioplastics is
achievable.
To achieve profitable cultivation of algae, the production efficiency must be
increased three times and costs must be reduced ten times. In addition,
besides oil for biofuel, other useful substances such as proteins must also be
extracted from the algae.
AlgaePARC will play a key role in the optimization of algae cultivation. The
research team will test various cultivation systems and compare them. Based
on these results and data obtained from the laboratory, the team will develop
a new reactor design for application on commercial scale.
30
 31

7. References

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density cultures: design and operational characteristics of
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 Lardon L., Hélias A., Sialve B., Steyer J.P., Bernard O. (2009) Life-cycle
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 Zijffers J.W.F., Janssen M., Tramper J., Wijffels R.H. (2008) Design
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34

Colophon

Microalgae: the green gold of the future?

Large-scale sustainable cultivation of microalgae for the production of bulk
commodities

Authors: Hans Wolkers, Maria Barbosa, Dorinde M.M. Kleinegris, Rouke

Bosma, René H. Wijffels
Editor: Paulien Harmsen

June 2011
© Wageningen UR
ISBN 978-94-6173-062-6

Print: Propress, Wageningen

Wageningen UR
Postbus 9101
6700 HB Wageningen
Internet: www.algae.wur.nl, www.AlgaePARC.com
E-mail: info.algae@wur.nl

The publication is made possible by the support of policy research

theme Biobased Economy (BO-12.05-002), financed by the
Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture & Innovation. It is the
twelfth in a series of publications on the use of agro commodity
and secondary flows in safe and healthy products for consumer
and industrial markets.