The Arizona Center for Algae Technology and Innovation (AzCATI):

Algae Testbeds in Support of the Food Energy Water Nexus

Waste Nutrients and Energy for Production of Microalgae and Other Industrial Microorganisms

Wednesday July 26, 2017 8:30 AM - 10:00 AMJohn A. McGowen Ph.D., PMP

Director of Operations and Program ManagementArizona Center for Algae Technology and Innovation

• Introduction to ASU and AzCATI

• Brief portfolio overview of algae research at

ASU

• Potential for Algae WWT in the Desert

Southwest and other Arid Environments

• Summary and Perspectives

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Agenda

The Arizona Center for Algae Technology and Innovation (AzCATI) Arizona State

University was formed in 2010 through federal stimulus funding designated by the

Science Foundation of Arizona to serve as a hub for research, testing, and

commercialization of algae-based technologies and products.

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Arizona Center for Algae Technology and Innovation

• Connect

• Advance

• Collaborate

• Educate

• Launch

• Strain development for multiple applications

• Carbon capture and bioremediation from industrial/municipal/Ag sources

• Development of next generation algal mass culture systems and processes

• System scale-up and systems/processes integration

• Evaluation of algae products/co-products

• LCA and techno-economical assessment of algae-based biotechnologies

• Development of State/National test bed facilities

Unique capabilities for comprehensive and

integrated solutions to Food/Energy/Water

AzCATI and ASU

19,300 sq ft lab & office space

Research Laboratory and Testbed Facility for

Feedstock Production and an Open Collaboration

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AzCATI/ASU Algae Portfolio 2010-2016

AzCATI – $4M. CO2; Reactor development; Strain selection and development; Wastewater;

Downstream processing and nutrient/media recycling; Test bed expansion

(Dirks/Sommerfeld/Hu)

ARPA-e – $7M. Cyano-bacterial based photosynthetic factories - secrete fatty acids for fuel

production (Vermaas)

USDA – $1M. Development of best management practices for algal crop protection

(Sommerfeld/Hu)

SABC (DOE) – $ 7.5M. Biochemical conversion of algae to fuels; QA/QC protocols &

characterization; Enzymatic pretreatment for fuels (Dirks/Hu/Sommerfeld). This work

continues through to today with NREL now as lead.

DOE – $0.5m. Managing microbial ecology in cultivation systems (led out of Biodesign

Institute at ASU – Rittmann)

REAP (DOE)- $6.2M. “Realization of Algae Potential” (Lammers)

Tech Incubator (DOE) - $2M Mixotrophic extremophiles for hot arid environments (Lammers)

Tech Incubator (DOE) - $2M Engineered cyanobacteria for the production of ethyl laurate as

feedstock for biofuels or bioproducts (Vermaas)

ATP3 (DOE) – $15M. National algae test bed network (Dirks/McGowen)

PACE (DOE)– $1M (AzCATI), $12.5M total, Led by LANL/CSM, genetically engineered strains

for combined biofuel and bioproducts (McGowen)

ACED (DOE) – $1M Atmospheric CO2 capture and Membrane Delivery (led out of the

Biodesign Institute at ASU - Rittmann/Lackner)

NSF - $0.3 M. Targeted saturated fatty acids synthesis by microbial biohydrogenation and

extraction through selective fermentation (Rittmann)

• The strain produces a bioactive that appears to cure bovine mastitis

– Completed cow study using biomass as a feed supplement and concentrated supernatant intravenously

– 90% cure rate as a feed supplement

• Work continues on production scale-up and mass production

– Successfully employed continuous harvesting on the same culture for almost one year (Nov 24, 2015) in positive pressurized greenhouse cell

Elucidation, Identification and Separation of Bioactive

Compounds from a Complex Ecosystem of Microorganisms

PI’s: Dr Thomas Dempster and

Dr. Hank Gerken

Carbon Capture Projects with SRP and OUCPI: Dr. Thomas Dempster

Projects focus on:

• Isolation and screening of native

strains

• On-site source water quality

assessment and availability

• Assessment of on-site nutrient (N&P)

availability and/or nearby low cost

nutrient acquisition

• Pilot plant siting and acquisition of flue

gas slipstream

• Potential products from flue gas

derived biomass and corresponding

market analyses

Coronado Generating Station, St. John’s, Arizona

Stanton Energy Center, Orlando, Florida

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Atmospheric CO2 Enrichment and Delivery (ACED):PI’s Dr. Bruce Rittmann and Dr. Klaus Lackner

• Project led out of the Swette Center for Environmental Biotechnology and the Center for Negative Carbon Emissions with pilot testing at AzCATI

• Capture atmospheric CO2; concentrate into stream of 5 ‒ 80% CO2

• CO2 storage buffer to ensure adequate supply at any time• Bubble-less CO2 delivery: >90% to media, >70% to biomass

http://engineering.asu.edu/cncehttps://biodesign.asu.edu/environmental-biotechnology

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“Producing Algae for Coproducts and Energy”: PACE

AzCATI Role: Obtain EPA TERA permit

and perform GE Chlorella sorokiniana

cultivation trails in OPEN PONDS

• 2 yr DOE funded project (DE-EE0007562)

• Current focus on mixitrophicoutdoor cultivation of Galdieriasulphuraria for wastewater treatment

• Objective– Demonstrate a mixitrophic PBR

production platform for MULTIPLE wastewater sources that

• Is stable with respect to microbial composition

• Has high harvest density 3-10 g/L AFDW

• Has high productivity potential >>50 g/m2-day

– Has low evaporation• Deployable across entire southern tier of US or

alternate world arid environments

– Minimizes seasonal productivity differences

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“A Novel Platform for Algal Biomass Production Using Cellulosic Mixotrophy”

PI: Dr. Pete Lammers

1. Dryland and non-arable land use to:

a) minimize food/fuel tradeoffs

b) minimize land-use change related CO2 emissions

2. Design for maximum possible water efficiency

a) Utilize plastic enclosures and condensate collection

b) Rotate strains for seasonal PBR thermal management

c) Recycle water, nutrients and minimize blowdown volumes

3. Energy Recovery Pathway: HTL-CHG

4. Application Agnostic: high-value -> WWT -> bioproducts via metabolic engineering -> fuel

Algae Extremophile Platform

Design Concepts with Arid Region Focus

Cyanidiales (Red microalgae)

Key Phenotypes

• Evolved geographically isolated hot

springs

• Small genomes (~15 Mbp) with high

genetic diversity

• Thermotolerance: 20 – 56oC; >63oC for

several peak afternoon hours

• Autotrophic, mixotrophic and

heterotrophic growth modes

• Optimum pH range 1 to 4; no growth at

pH 7 (self-limiting)

• Metabolic pH drop via NH4+ assimilation

and H+ transport

• Easy and stable outdoor cultivation

phenotypes in closed systems with

passive solar heat gain

Galdieria

sulphuraria

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Algae Extremophile Platform

Design Concepts with Arid Region Focus

Autotrophic Outdoor Growth

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-15

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-5

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0.0

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3/31 4/20 5/10 5/30 6/19 7/9 7/29 8/18 9/7 9/27 10/17

Temperature(C)

AFD

W(g/L)

Date

Averagegrowth Wateraddi on Restart Rain AverageTemp

Near-term Algal

Biotechnology Applications

For CO2 Consumption

• Municipal wastewater

treatment

• Treatment of high-

strength wastewaters

e.g. Anaerobic Digester

“Centrate”

• Acidic mine waste

treatment via metal

precipitation

• Wastewater treatment is expensive and energy intensive (>3% of U.S. electrical consumption)

• Chemical energy in wastewater (7.6 kJ/L) is wasted using current technology [Environ Sci Technol. (2011) 45:827-32]

• Energy-positive WWT provides

– Profit potential for environmental stewardship

– Major public health benefits (Cholera, etc)

• Economically viable approach to Finance WWT projects based on energy returns

It is the only algae technology with disruptive economic potential.

Why Algae-based Wastewater Treatment?

• Stand alone biofuel plant with co/products?? Not likely.

• Co-location with wastewater treatment plant for nutrients and carbon

– Theoretical photosynthetic biomass increase of 106/12 = 8.8 fold higher than activated sludge biomass

C:N:P in microbial biomass = ~106:16:1

C:N:P in wastewater = 12:22:1

– Anaerobic Digestion Centrate – highly concentrated N and P well suited to high-density mixotrophic cell density

– Current practice is to mix centrate with incoming primary wastewater creating a parasitic load

– Current price of N-remove is ~$6/Kg. – Diversion of centrate to direct CeMix algae

cultivation would save $5.25M per year for a 100 MGD plant that serves ~667,000 people

Goal: Net energy recovery via hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) and catalytic

hydrothermal gasification (CHG) using biosolids and algal biomass as the feedstock

Challenge: Reducing the areal footprint requirement (PBRs vs open raceways or high-

rate oxidation ponds)

What are the economic benefits of “free” nutrients and independence from CO2 sourcing? Is this technically feasible?

Anaerobic digester centrate has high concentrations of ammonium ions and phosphate; G. sulphuraria grows readily in undiluted centrate, even when spiked with extra ammonium to 1400 PPM.

What are the economic benefits of “free” nutrients and independence from CO2 sourcing? Is this technically feasible?

Sources of CO2

– Mixotrophic metabolism is stoichometric balanced with respect to carbon

CH2O + O2 CO2 + H2O

C6H12O6 + 6O2 6CO2 + 6H2O

– CO2 utilization efficiency will not be 100% despite the metabolic CO2 being delivered directly as CO2 (aqueous) thus avoiding gas/liquid mass transfer inefficiencies. Need an additional CO2 source to have a chance at CO2 independence

– AD centrate has very high alkalinity as HCO3- and CO2 is released during centrate

acidification. Engineering issues and costs need to be determined.

– Key question: Do the economic savings from, phycocyanin co-product, “free” nutrients, CO2 independence and the AD-centratediversion savings “pay” for the PBR and cellulose substrate costs?

*courtesy of NREL – R. Davis

*courtesy of CSU – J. Quinn group

2016 - $10M HTL/CHG Project in Vancouver, BCFeedstock = Biosolids from WWTP

http://www.genifuel.com/text/2015%20Fall%20Watermark%20HTP%20Article.pdfhttp://www.pnnl.gov/main/publications/external/technical_reports/PNNL-25464.pdf

Genifuel, Inc. licensing PNNL Technology

Energy Extraction from Wet Biomass via

Hydrothermal Liquefaction

• Red algal extremophiles in the Cyanidiales group tolerate very high temperatures, supporting our design objectives for low-evaporation growth systems with passive solar heating.

• Broad range of substrates (C-wastes) can be utilized to support mixotrophic growth

• Low cultivation pH values (1.0 – 2.5) and high temperatures suppress growth of competitors, grazers and pathogens (additional benefit may be in removal/metabolism of chemicals of emerging concern in WWT)

• Can tolerate high strength wastewaters – and in fact thrive• Co-product opportunities – clean water, natural pigments, biomass

for energy recovery/biofuel production, feed(?) etc.

Summary

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THANK YOU!

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