Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 74 (2017) 402–411

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Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/rser

Progress of microalgae biofuel’s commercialization MARK

a b b,⁎ c a a
Yujie Su , Kaihui Song , Peidong Zhang , Yuqing Su , Jing Cheng , Xiao Chen
a
Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of Science, Qingdao 266101, China
b
College of Environment and Safety Engineering, Qingdao University of Science & Technology, Qingdao 266042, China
c
Missouri University of Science and Technology, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Rolla, MO 65401, USA

A R T I C L E I N F O A BS T RAC T

Keywords: Algae is a potent renewable source with the favorable characteristics. However, there are still many barriers in
Microalgae the related theory, techniques and industrialization, which lead to the high cost of the algae biofuel. This paper
Algae biofuels reviewed the process of the microalgae biofuel's commercial process. Investigated the barriers of the
Algae bioenergy technologies especially the energy-extensive part and the pilot scale test which is the crucial part of the
process. The policy supports of American, EU and China for microalgae biofuel industry and the effect of them
was summarized at this paper. Numbers of pilot scale program has launched in the support of the government
and the private investment, while there is still some distance from scale up production. Algae fundamental
biology research, co-products’ production to make profits in short term, and support from government are key
strategies of algae commercialization.

1. Introduction becomes an effective way to mitigate feedstock deficiency in the

development of bioenergy industry.
With the rapid process of economic globalization and energy
consumption, as well as the crisis of gradual oil resource depletion, 2. The favorable characteristics of algae fuels
total world proved oil reserves reached 1700.1 billion barrels at the end
of 2014, sufficient to meet 52.5 years of global production [1]. Algae is a favorable renewable bioenergy source, with the advan-
Environmental pollution has posed great challenges on social develop- tages of photosynthetic efficiency [5,8], biomass productivity [9] and
ment [2]. Accordingly, it is an imperative issue to explore alternative oil content [4]. Besides, it also avoids competition for arable land with
energy to reduce the pollution caused by fossil fuel consumption in the terrestrial crops, with the merits of contamination removal and carbon
present situation. For feedstock renewable and carbon fixable [3,4], fixation.
bioenergy is identified as a clean alternative energy source [5]. It is High photosynthetic efficiency. Due to simple structure and con-
regarded as an effective solution to global energy issue and also a venient nutrients supply, microalgae possess is theoretically 12.6%
promising approach to improving ecological environment. In addition, higher photosynthetic efficiency than these of terrestrial plants [10,11].
bioenergy will play a significant role as substitute and complementary Comparatively, solar conversion efficiency of terrestrial crops can
energy in the near future, which attracts increased attention for barely reach 0.1–0.7% (C3-plants) or 1.5–2.5% (C4-plants) [12]. Even
efficient utilization [6]. However, deficient supply for feedstock be- though sugarcane, whose photosynthetic efficiency is relatively higher,
comes a major bottleneck in current development of bioenergy can merely convert 3.5–4% solar energy into bioenergy.
commercialization [7]. The first generation biofuels produced by High biomass productivity. Compared with conventional energy
conventional crops such as soybeans and corns, have gradually stepped crops, microalgae show salient preponderance as bioenergy suppliers.
down from the stage of biofuels, due to the hidden crisis of food It is reported that the high levels of sustained productivity growth rate
shortage and food price increase. Hence many focuses have been of microalgae falls in the range of 20–30 g/(m2d) with the peak
concentrated on the second generation biofuels based on cellulosic productivity of approaching 50 g/(m2d). The theoretical maximum
materials which are mainly forestry and agricultural residues. However for algal productivity in areas of high solar system has been calculated
the costive collection, technical difficulty of pre-treatment and ineffi- to be 100–120 g−2 d−1 [13,14]. In addition, the photosynthetic effi-
cient conversion of cellulosic materials still hampered the progress of ciency and lipid production exhibiting at least an order of magnitude
commercialization. Hence, exploring productive biomass resources greater than terrestrial crop plants [15]. An estimation suggested that

⁎
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: [email protected] (P. Zhang).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2016.12.078
Received 28 October 2015; Received in revised form 27 November 2016; Accepted 12 December 2016
Available online 24 February 2017
1364-0321/ © 2016 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Y. Su et al. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 74 (2017) 402–411

only 1.1–2.5% of the existing U.S. cropping areas would be sufficient deteriorate the technical and economic viability [30]. The oleaginous
for producing algae biomass that satisfies 50% of the transport fuel algal cells with tiny size are usually palatable for grazers to promote the
needs [16]. massive proliferation during cultivation, which could cause the crash of
High lipid/oil content and product diversity. Fats and lipid are mass cultivation [30]. It is difficult for harvesting of such single-cell
mostly triacylglycerides, which are the high-quality and high-volume microalgae from water. It usually requires the assists of flocculant
raw materials directly derived from biomass. Most oleaginous micro- additives in order to improve the harvesting efficiency. However the
algae could accumulate more than 20% total lipid of their dry biomass. flocculant residuals in both algal biomass and harvested water are not
Furthermore, under stress environments, some species could accumu- only negative for later processing but also disadvantages for culture
late more than 50% lipid oil, correspondingly to the oil yields of 1000– medium recycling.
6500 gal/acre*year [16]. It is 60 times higher than that from soybeans, Wang et al. [30] reported a distinct Tribonema sp., which is
and approximately 5 times that of oil palm per acre of land on an unbranched filaments of 0.5–3.0 mm in length, with effect of nitrogen
annual basis [17]. Besides large amount of oil and lipid, algae can also tested for first time [31]. The total extracted oil content could be more
produce glycerol, proteins and amino acid, along with cellulose and than 50% after 21-days cultivation. Tribonema sp. is very easy to be
other carbohydrates [4]. Such cellulose and other carbohydrates can be harvested by simply filtration, sedimentation or flotation without
fermented into bioethanol or biogas. Like other biomass, algae can be adding any flocculants and resistive to grazers. It indicates that
converted into biofuels by process of gasification, hydrothermal filamentous microalgae species deserves more attentions to achieve
liquefaction, pyrolysis, direct combustion, and anaerobic digestion industrial robust algal species.
[18]. In addition, algae can be used to produce hydrogen fuels [19]. Cyanobacteria are attractive to biofuel commercialization because
Environmental advantages. Microalgae fuel is a kind of bioenergy they can be easily transformed and accumulate biomass rapidly.
with little limitation from the environment. Microalgae are capable of Researchers redirected the metabolism of several strains to produce
growing in non-arable land such as beaches, saline lands, even desert. specific products, like ethanol and diesel-range alkanes [32]. The
Although microalgae, as aquatic species, demand large quantity of genetic modification could redirect cyanobacteria's metabolic pathway
water when growing in medium. However, they are invulnerable of to produce desirable end-products. Algenol Biotech LLC corporate with
low-quality water, thus waste water and seawater can be used in the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Georgia Institute of
cultivation and be recycled during the process [20]. Some microalgae Technology, and Reliance Industries Limited to advance the produc-
cultivation processes have high potential to remove nutrients, heavy tivity of cyanobacteria. Joule Unlimited engineered a cyanobacteria
metals and organic chemical toxins from wastewater [21]. For example, that secretes hydrocarbon fuel directly and has successfully pilot-tested
Aquaflow Bionomic Corp. claimed that its microalgae technology can its platform. However there is a long way from pilot scale to
be applied to waste water treatment [22]. On the other hand, commercialization [33].
microalgae also show distinguished effect in carbon fixation.
Organisms on the earth are able to fix 8×1010 t of carbon annually by 3.2. Microalgae cultivation techniques
photosynthesis, producing 1.46×1011 t of biomass with 40% of the total
carbon fixation in the world. Indeed, at the growth rate of 25 g−2 d−1, Open systems, closed systems, hybrid systems and the attached-
microalgae can fix 12 t of carbon dioxide per acre annually. growth systems are the mainly used microalgae and cynabacteria
Despite of numerous merits of microalgae fuel described above, the cultivation systems. The choices of systems are dependening on the
development level is far behind industrial production in terms of products to be produced and the strains to be cultivated [16,34–38].
rationales, techniques, and industrialization. Algae produced biofuels Open pond cultivation system achieved the widest application for
are more complicated than that biofuels from cellulosic materials, low cost. However, some drawbacks appear correspondingly. Firstly,
which generally includes mass cultivation, harvesting, deep dewatering, the bubbles maintain in the broth for a short time when aerated with
lipid extraction and biofuel conversion. The process of cultivation and CO2 to add carbon source due to shallow depth, which impedes gas/
harvesting consume 25–70% of the energy produced in the whole liquid mixing and circulation with low CO2 absorption. Secondly,
process as well as the post-processing demands 15–30% [23]. Because photosynthesis in algae cell is carried out with low spatial efficiency
of the distinctions in algae strains, techniques, constituents, and because of sharp decrease in light penetration. Moreover, pond collapse
biotransformation process, the cost and end products varies depen- might occur in liquid culture medium ecosystem in open pond. The
dently. Therefore, how to minimize the energy input and reduce the problems of broth evaporation and species invasion are responsible for
cost of biofuel products is still a challenge for the R & D of technology the loss of algae in culture medium [39]. These problems are the key
and engineering integration. restraint factors in putting open ponds into microalgae cultivation for
energy on a large scale. In pilots and commercialization scale, Sapphire
3. Technological challenges in commercialization Energy, Inc. has built a 100-acre algae farm to cultivate algae in open
pond in the company's demonstration-scale project. The company's
3.1. Microalgae species research team concluded that the biggest barriers to large scale algae
biomass production is the deficiency in microalgae biology [40].
It is estimated that there are more than 50,000 microalgae species Photobioreactor (PBR) is a closed system where microalgae culture
on the Earth, where 30,000 species have been identified [24]. And only medium is contained in a recycle reactor. The system shows attractive
100 species have been used for variety of commercial targets [25]. The characteristics of supporting volumetric cell densities, controllable
type of the algae cultivated has significant influence to each step of the cultivation conditions and less evaporation. Microalgae cultivated in
algae biofuel production chain for the diverse characteristics among this system keep away from being contaminated by “foreign” algae.
algae strains. The currently used microalgae species are single-cell Because the PBR system could supply consistent inoculums, Mark E.
oleaginous microalgae (cell dimension 1–30 µm) [26–28]. The found that large-diameter and large-volume PBRs were economical
National Alliance for Advanced Biofuels and Bioproducts (NAABB) ways to cultivate algae [41]. Flat-plat, tubular and bubble column
has collected 2000 algal isolates from 2010 to 2013. They found reactors are widespread applications, in which tubular reactor achieves
Chlorophyceae is the most productive strains, which could grow well in fastest development and becomes one of the best-suited outdoor
open pond, accumulate lipids under low temperature like 10 °C and cultivation methods at present. A novel tubular photobioreactor
have higher tolerance to CO2 [29]. Though such algal species have developed by Liao et al. [42] achieves higher light-to-biomass conver-
higher lipid oil content and have been cultivated successfully in open sion efficiency. It creates controllable light/dark cycle and favors the
pond and photobioreactors, some obstacles derived of its tiny size microalgae growth. However, the volume of the reactor is much less

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than that of raceway ponds, making it difficult to scale up. Besides, not to 20–30% of the total production cost [56]. Exorbitantly high cost and
only the high cost of construction and operation but also light energy consumption should be cut down before put into large-scale
disturbance caused by algae attachment contribute to the limitations manufacture. The common methods for harvesting include floccula-
[43]. University of Minnesota introduced a novel bench-scale multi- tion, filtration, centrifugation, sedimentation or a combine of any of
layer photobioreactor that is capable of reducing occupation space. The these [57].
multi-layer structure creates a space for microalgae, thus weakening Autoflocculation is studied for its free of chemical contaminations.
the sunlight penetration problem caused by algae attachment [44]. It is During this process, the extracellular biopolymers, such as glycoside
reported that this promising method adopted a hetero-photoauto- and polysaccharide [58], secreted to cell surface might interact with
trophic two-stage cultivation process in wastewater treatment, CO2 surrounding algal cells, causing spontaneous flocculation [59]. Alam
fixation and algal biofuel feedstock production [45]. NASA proposed a et al. [60] identified cell wall polysaccharides as flocculating agents,
new microalgae cultivation system, called Offshore Membrane and initiated more than 80% flocculating rate of freely suspended
Enclosures for Growing Algae (OMEGA). They built a floating photo- microalgae C. vulgaris and S. obliquus at low dosage of 0.5 mg/L.
bioreactors in the Gulf of California, U.S.. Microalgae are cultivated in Using the ultrasonic (ultrasonic solvent extraction) method and
concentrated municipal wastewater (CMW) and CO2-rich flue gas from electric field (pressurized liquid extraction) method [59,61]. The
onshore cities [45]. Floating on the sea, the bioreactor can provide microalgae can form aggregates and flocculate for harvesting. NAABB
stable temperature for microalgae to provide mixed energy with the has tested a pilot scale ultrasonic harvester withNannochloropsisin
help of tides waves, which considerably reduces the energy consump- Solix Algae, Inc's aglae cultivation facility. The productivity was 18
tion in algae cultivation. times higher than initial feedstock concentration, and has tested
Biofilm cultivation method achieves rapid development based on electrolytic aggregation using a commercial unit, recovering 95%
the fact that microorganisms tend to grow attached to the containers. ofNannochloropsis Salina, while 25% of the energy by a baseline
The biofilm cultivation is a different method than those suspended centrifugation strategy was used [62]. However, only a limited number
ones. The dense algal cells are immobilized and attached onto artificial of microalgae are reported to show autoflocculation performance,
supporting material(s), and the liquid medium is supplied to the meanwhile biochemical and genetic basis of cell flocculation still needs
biofilm to keep the algal cells in wet conditions. This method is to be studied.
originally used to waste water treatment [46]. Many studies proved The majority of microalgae and cyanobacteria strains have cell
the biofilm system is a promising method for its long-term stability, diameters less than 10 µm. Applying filtration for microalgae have
contamination freedom and low overall energy consumption [47–50]. unique challenges [57]. Molina and Uduman concluded that filtration
Recently, by combining this immobilized biofilm method with light is inadequate to recover microalgae strains which diameters less than
dilution PBR structures, Liu et al. [34] proposed a novel ‘attached 10 µm [63,64]. In the commercialization utilization, Global Algae
cultivation’ technology for cultivation of Nanochloropsis, Innovations developed a membrane-filtration system, which combined
Cylindrotheca. Then it was applied successfully to cultivation of harvest and dewatering. It has been demonstrated at 20,000 L/h with
Haematococcus [48] and Botryococcus [51]. In order to fully utilize an energy use of 0.04 kWh/m3. This system has been commercialized,
the solar light, they reported an array bioreactor structure to realize which filters multiple strains hundreds of millions of gallons per day
dilution of strong solar light and then the highest biomass productivity [62].
of 50–80 g m−2 d−1 obtained outdoors for Scenedesmus obliquus,
corresponding to the photosynthetic efficiency of 5.2–8.3%. 3.4. Oil extraction techniques
In hybrid cultivation systems, photobioreactors supply the high cell
density algae to open ponds [37], which could take use of the The choice of extraction techniques depend on numerous factors
advantages of open pond reactors and photobioreactors. While the including algal species and growth status, extraction components and
hybrid cultivation have to consume feedstocks to compete with other harvest process operations.
biofuel technologies. Cellana LLC has been demonstrated hybrid The methods of oil and lipid extraction from dried algae biomass
systems in Kona Demonstration Facility, where large photobioreactors can be classified into two types: physical extraction method and
provide microalgae inocula for open ponds continuously [41]. chemical extraction method. Harun et al. [74] summarized the
In general, open pond reactors and photobioreactors have merits advantages and limitations of common algae oil extraction methods
and shortcomings respectively. Algae characteristics, geological envir- (Table 1).
onment and target products should be considered when choosing the Origin Oil Inc. developed a new method in microalgae oil extrac-
methods for cultivation. The Raceway ponds have lower materials and tion. This method adopts Quantum Fracturing technique, using pulsed
construction costs [35,36]. However, they need large areas dedicated to electromagnetic fields (PEMFs) and pH modification to fracture the
food crops. Photobioreactors are easier to control and yield larger microalgae cells. Algae feedstocks are first treated with low-frequency
amounts of biomass than raceway ponds. While they are associated microwaves, then with steeply higher frequency to break the cell wall
with higher construction and operating costs. Jorquera et al. [52] and get cytolymph. The fractured microalgae cells, with lipid floating to
presented a comparative analysis among open raceway pond, tubular the surface and the remaining micro-algal biomass settling out in
and flat-plate photobioreactor for production of biomass by life-cycle gravity clarifier, can be further processed to fuels and other by-
method. The results showed that both flat-plate photobioreactors and products. This method has the advantages of dewatering, low energy
raceway pond showed net energy ratio (NER) > 1, thus workable for demand, no toxic chemical involved and wide utilization. When applied
mass cultivation. Ideally, NER > 7 is considered economically feasible to industrial scale production, it is capable of reducing 90% of the total
for algae biofuels [53]. Therefore, highly efficient cultivation systems energy, whose cost is reduced to 200 dollars per ton seaweed oil [65].
and extensive utilization are still under research. OpenAlgae LLC. has developed a continuous algae oil and biomass
recovery platform that use electro-magnetic field to break algal cells for
3.3. Microalgae harvesting techniques liberate oil while wet. The company has patented the technology for
extracting neural lipids from lysed algal biomass via electromechanical
High-density microalgal cultures are needed for harvesting and forces. This technology has been tested for multiple algae strains at
further production processes. Dilute microalgae culture should be pilot scale [62,66]. Another extraction technology that investigated by
concentrated from 0.1 to 2.0 g wt% to at least 10–30 g wt% dry industry was Valicor Renewable's Valicor AlgaFrac™ patented extrac-
biomass which is an energy-intensive process [54,55], thus highly tion technology which is an acid hydrolysis technology that using
influencing the cost of dewatering for lipid extraction, which makes up sulfuric acid and elevated temperature to dissolve the algae cells [67].

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Table 1
Advantages and limitations of various extraction methods for algae oil.

Extraction methods Advantages Limitations

Oil press Easy to use, no solvent involved Large amount of sample required, slow process
Solvent extraction Solvent used are relatively inexpensive; reproducible Most organic solvents are highly flammable and/or toxic; solvent recovery is
expensive and energy intensive; large volume of solvent needed
Supercritical fluid Non-toxicity (absence of organic solvent in residue or extracts), ‘green Often fails in quantitative extraction of polar analyzes from solid matrices,
extraction solvent’ used; non-flammable, and simple in operation insufficient interaction between supercritical CO2 and the samples
Ultrasound Reduced extraction time; reduced solvent consumption; greater High power consumption; difficult to scale up
penetration of solvent into cellular materials; improves the release of
cell contents into the bulk medium
Microwave Higher oil yield with superior quality and reduced extraction time. Filtration or centrifugation is necessary to remove the solid residue;
Efficiency of microwaves can be very poor when either the target
compounds or the solvents are non-polar, or volatile.

The produced oil of this technology has been used in various DOE- military aviation fuel large-scale industrialization after the year of
funded projects [62]. 2010.
A large number of microalgae companies set green crude oil or bio- European Union (EU) is one of the well-developed regions of liquid
oil as the target product, for it can be converted into various end biofuel industry, where great attention is paid on algae biofuel
products through different process. Algenol's “Direct to Ethanol” development (Table 3). In 2008, the Carbon Trust set up a microalgae
process involves direct conversion from cyanobacteria to ethanol, biofuel public investment project, planning to invest £20–30 million in
without drying and dehydration, making algae-based fuel production order to reduce the cost of microalgae biofuel by research and
commercially viable. Then Vapor Compression Steam Stripping (VCSS) technology development. In 2009, England and Ireland jointedly
is applied to extract and purify ethanol, bringing down the cost of started BioMara project, aiming to screen the most desirable algae
ethanol. During the process, the blue-green algae are cultivated in strain and put it into industrial production, with the investment for €6
seawater medium in the low-cost closed proprietary flexible plastic film million by EU. In 2010, the motif of the largest scientific research
photobioreactor. Under the condition of CO2 and light, the blue-green project FP7 of the year is to achieve algae biofuel large-scale produc-
algae are capable of producing ethanol and then secrete it onto the tion. The three projects, namely InteSusAI Project, The All-Gas Project
culture medium. In the sunlight, condensed ethanol evaporates into the and The BIOFAT Project, gained €20 million investment. In 2011, EU
top area of PBR. While at night, evaporated ethanol and water can be started a four-year algae energy development project EnAlage, with
collected into the collector. The collected water and ethanol is project funds up to €14 million, for the purpose of addressing the
separated subsequently. Algenol's goal is to reduce its cost to $1.5- current problem of lack of algae productivity information in Northwest.
1.7gallon. Late as the start was, China developed rapidly in the field of
microalgae energy. Ministry of Science and Technology, State Oceanic
4. Policy solutions of microalgae fuels Administration, and Shanghai Municipal People's Government made
considerable investment on the project of marine energy research. In
Study on microalgae energy began from 1950s onwards. Because of January 2009, Chinese Academy of Sciences started “Solar Energy
the outburst of oil crisis in 1970s, the U.S. paid great attention on Initiative”, exploring a series of critical techniques to produce biodiesel
scientific research in the area of marine algae energy, and initiated by microalgae of high efficiency. These explorations include some
many national research programs in large-scale cultivation and process pivotal steps such as breed selection, photosynthesis, oil collection,
technology in terms of marine algae energy exploration. For example, genetic modification, large-scale cultivation and refinement of oil
Marine Biomass Program (MBP) in 1974 and Aquatic Species Program producing microalgae strains. In the next month, Chinese Academy
(ASP) during 1978–1996. Oil price remains high since 2005, so that of Sciences and Sinopec Group made joint efforts in the project of
the microalgae energy gained attentions again. Green Fuel Company Microalgae Biodiesel Series Techniques, planning on outdoor pilot
used flue gas from power plants to cultivate microalgae as industrial research by the end of 2015, ten-thousand-scale industrial demonstra-
demonstration, followed by many other microalgae companies. tion in the long run. In 2010 and 2012, Ministry of Science and
Successively, these companies began to make plans for demonstration Technology made great investment on microalgae energy technology in
and commercial production. Large amount of capital was invested from the National High Technology Research and Development Program
the state, large companies and venture capital organizations. US (863 Program and 973 Program), aiming to build poly-generation
government supposed that 17% of the transportation petroleum fuels technology system related to highly efficient microalgae cultivation and
in US can be replaced by algae biofuels. In 2007, US resumed a microalgae carbon fixing production.
microalgae energy research project, mini-Manhattan project. In 2008, The government departments around the world implemented
National algal biofuels technology roadmap was worked out, which supporting policies and promoted development of algae biofuel.
proposed priority and targets in algae energy technology development, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, one of the United States
playing an instructive role in development of algae energy industry. In Department of Energy national laboratories, developed a hydrothermal
2014, US DOE Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) proposed a goal liquefaction (HTL) method, achieving high yields of algae bio-oil
of reducing 50% cost of algae biofuels and co-products by 2019, and the production with a shortened time and low cost [59]. Scripps
cost will be reduced to $7/gge(gasoline gallon equivalent)then. Institution of Oceanography (SIO) achieved significant breakthrough
Since 2007, U.S DOE and U.S Department of Defense (DOD) have in algae metabolism engineering, improving oil yields from algae.
invested for many microalgae projects (Table 2). According to rough Companies supported by US. DOE also made remarkable achievement.
statistics, over 450 million dollars have been invested on seaweed BETO has funded four algal biomass biorefineries, Solazyme, Inc,
energy scientific research from U.S major departments since 2008. In Sapphire Energy, Algenol Biotech and BioProcess Algae (Table 4).
recent years, U.S government varied its supporting points on algae Algenol Company achieved half-industrial manufacture in algae bio-
bioenergy. Study on improving microalgae oil content and biomass mass comprehensive refinement under the support of BETO. Algenol
were mainly supported before 2010. Nevertheless, the highlight was confirmed that the company had exceeded production rates 9,000
shifted towards algae biomass refinement commercialization and gallons of ethanol per acre per year, and 1100 gallons of hydrocarbon

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Table 2
Main algae biofuel projects with fiscal support of US government.

Investor Time Investee/project Funds ($) Research target

DOE 2008 Montana State University; Utah State University 4.4 M Improving oil contents in microalgae, identifying wide species with high oil yields.
(USU)
University of Georgia Exploring a new method to offer culture broth for microalgae oil production system and microalgae biofuel system
The University of Maine Determining optimal output and productivity of high-potential microbes under elevated temperature. (Intermediate and high temperature).

2010 Sustainable microalgae biofuel team in Arizona 6M Study on biochemical conversion process from seaweed to fuels and productions, analyzing the physical chemistry properties of algae fuels and
Mesa fuel intermediates.
Sustainable Microalgae Biofuel Group in Arizona 9M Exploring new methods in algae protection, nutrient application and recycling; exploring genetic tools.
Mesa
Cellana Company in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii 9M Combining novel algae harvesting techniques with pilot-scale cultivation and test equipment. Exploring marine microalgae used for animal
feed in aquaculture industry
2011 Cellana Company 5M Study on several algae to evaluate the possibility of replacing soybean protein with algae protein. This program further explores the potential in
algae cultivation plants and fully explores high value-added products.
2011 General Atomics Company 2M Improving algae fermentation techniques, reducing energy demand, investment and operation cost, increasing marine oil and lipid output that
capable of refining advanced biofuels
2012 40 M Research on military aviation biofuels
2012 30 M Establishing an integrated biofuel manufacturer, covering partners from the whole industrial chain, comprising of raw material production,
transportation, conversion (biorefinement), fuel mixing, transportation logistics et.al, with the productivity reaching 10 million gallon

406
annually.
2012 20 M Building up bio-refineries in pilot scale and demonstration stage. Making used of non-crop biomass material, wastes and algae to produce
aviation and navigation fuels that meet the military standard.
2012 Arizona State University (ASU) 15 M Establishing algae testing platform(Algae Testbed Public-Private Partnership, ATP3), and providing supports for existing outdoor algae
cultivation system
2013 California, Iowa and Washington State 18 M Initiating four medium-scale innovative bio-refinement programs, making full use of various non-crop biomass material, wastes and algae.
Producing biofuels through innovative conversion procedure, in the meanwhile, meeting military standards for jet fuels and vessel diesel.
2013 10 M Aiming to explore algae cultivation promoting production system, and demonstrate energy-saving, high-efficiency and low-cost algae
harvesting and processing techniques.
2013 Many universities and companies 16.5 M
2013 BioPrecess Algae LCC 6.4 M Evaluating an innovative algal growth platform to develop advanced biofuels for U.S. military jets and ships
2013 UA et al. 8M Research on microalgae biodiesel
DOE 2014 Cellana 3.5 M algae biofuel
DOE 2014 “Targeted Algal Biofuels and Bioproducts” 25 M Seeking alternative pathways to overcome two of the key barriers to commercializing algal biofuels: the high cost of producing algal biomass
and the low yield of target biofuel and bioproduct feedstocks produced from algae.
DOE 2015 6 different projects 18 M To reduce the modeled price of algae-based biofuels to less than $5 per gasoline gallon equivalent (gge) by 2019
US DOD 2008 20 M
US AF 2010 New Mexico State University (NMSU) 2.35 M Studying the impacts from algae cultivation, oil extraction and processing as well as in using process on engines.
USDA 2009 Sapphire Energy 54.5 M Setting up industrial-scale microalgae fuel demonstrated plants in the south of New Mexico
USDA & Navy 2011 3 different agency 510 M To produce hydrocarbon jet and diesel biofuels in the near-term.
Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 74 (2017) 402–411
 Y. Su et al.

Table 3
Main algae biofuel projects with fiscal support of EU.

Investor Project Time Funds Project targets

Carbon Trust Microalgae biofuel public investment project (Algae Biofuels Challenge) 2008.10 £34 million Research on low-cost manufacturing technology for marine microalgae biofuel production. Realizing
commercial manufacture of microalgae-based transportation fuels before 2020.
SEED 2008 Identifying harmful algae multiplication regions and species; relationship between human activities and
harmful algae proliferation; principles and controlling methods to harmful algae breeding.

England-Ireland joint BioMara 2009.4 €6 million Screening and identifying the best-suited species for biofuel production
research project
EU Algae bioenergy cooperative research plan (Energetic Algae，EnAlgae) 2011.11 €14 million Resolving the problem of lacking information of macroalgae and microalgae productivity
FP7 The InteSusAI Project 2011 €20 million Integrating and optimizing algae cultivation methods, industrializing diesel production.
The All-Gas Project Improving the utilization efficiency in algae cultivation. Making use of wastewater and other residues to
produce biogas and other high value-added products on the basis of biofuels.

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The BIOFAT Project Demonstrative projects taking microalgae as raw materials to produce ethanol and diesel, 1st stage:
screening algae strains, and optimizing process on one-acre scale. 2nd stage: establishing 10-acre scale
demonstrative industry and carrying out economic analysis.
Funsex-Dephynd 2012 Genetic modification of marine Coccolithophorid

2020 Horizon COBIOS(Coastal Biomass Observatory Services) 2011 €2.5 million integrate satellite products and ecological models into a really operational and user-relevant information
service on high biomass blooms in Europe's coastal waters
Direct Ethanol from MicroAlgae 2013 €6.4 million Proving that microalgae, as biofuel, can be used for ethanol production, which is on the mission of
reducing fuel cost to 0.40€/L.

FUEL4ME Future European League 4 Microalgal Energy 2013 €5.4 million A four-year project funded by the EU, which is aiming to develop a sustainable, scalable process for
biofuels from microalgae and to valorize the by-products by 2017.
Germany Aufwind-Algae Cultivation and Conversion into Aviation Fuels: 2014 €5.75 Until 2015, setting up three extensible microalgae cultivation system in the 1st phase of construction,
Economic Efficiency, Sustainability, and Demonstration million establishing and operating a demonstrated industry in the 2nd phase of construction.
Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 74 (2017) 402–411
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Table 4
Four integrated biorefineries funded by BETO.

1 Solazyme, Inc An integrated pilot project involving heterotrophic algae that can convert cellulosic sugars to diesel fuel.
2 Sapphire Energy, Inc. A demonstration-scale project involving the construction and operation of a 100-acer algae farm and conversation facility for the production of
renewable bio-crude
3 Algenol Biotech, LLC An integrated, pilot project involving the photosynthetic production of ethanol and the delivery of a photobioreactor system that can be scaled for
commercial operation.
4 BioProcess Algae, LLC A pilot project growing low-cost algae using renewable CO2, lignocellulosic sugars, and waste heat provided by a co-located ethanol plant.

fuel per acre per year [68]. From these project's research, BETO used to focus attention on producing fuels, but now is redefined as
identified four challenges for the commercialization of algae: culture “renewable oil” company, with high value-added products, such as
stability and management, scalable system designs, nutrient sources Encapso drilling oil and Algenist skin care products. Cyanotech, Alphy
and water sustainability. Biotech and Alga Technologies has focused on astaxanthin as their
product.
Aurora Biofuels was renamed as Aurora Algae, and Solix Biofuels
5. Industrialization development was renamed as Solix Biosystems to expand the market besides biofuel.
Exxo Company invested millions of dollars in algae strain screening
5.1. Progress of the scale-up program and genetic modification in 2009. The company now made investment
in basic research of algae fuels, and cut down expenditure in commer-
The commercialization of algae biofuel still has lot of challenges to cialization due to the slow development.
achieve cost-competitive fuels in feedstock, technology and system
designs. The government's supports are crucial to the development of
the industry. Companies that conduct the pilot tests listed in Tables 2 5.2. Prospects of algae commercialization
and 3.
Besides fiscal supports, the investment from oil majors has played In the past decades, the governments and enterprises has promoted
significant role in the development of algae industry (Table 4). In the progress the algae biofuel's research and commercialization,
February 2014, Indian Oil Corporation invested 2.4 million dollars into sponsored numbers of pilot scale algae fuel program [58]. According
Algae.Tec's algae producing technology. Algae.Tec Company adopted to Jadwiga [72], producing ethanol and diesel from algae is practicable
closed cultivation method, with 1/10 space of the raceway pond, in terms of the technological process, the economic aspects are the
getting high yields per unit area [69]. In 2013, Reliance Industries barrier to the final commercialization of the algal biofuels. Due to the
Limited Company put 116 million dollars into algae energy, to be difficult to profit in the pilots, the algae based bioenergy has shifted to
specific, 93.5 million into Algenol and 22.5 million into Aurora Algae other fields to produce the algae based high value products like EPA
[70]. In November 2013, Sapphire Company, in cooperation with and DHA, or produce energy by other biomass like energy crop or
Phillips66, collected and analyzed the data of blend ratio of algae oil sugar. While algae remains a potential biofuel material. It can grow in
and conventional crude oil. Under the agreement, the companies will marginal lands and sea waters, they neither compete with crops or with
expand Sapphire Energy's current testing programs to further validate other biofuel feedstocks for land and fresh water and provide both
that Green Crude can be refined in traditional refineries and meet all of bioenergy and other co-products. The growth of algae can absorb the
the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) certification require- green house from the plants, to decrease carbon emission.
ments under the Clean Air Act. This includes determining the optimal DOE researches has discussed the critical next steps of the
operating conditions for processing algae crude oil into American commercialization. Thurmond has highlighted the strategies of fatter,
Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM)-certified diesel, gasoline and faster, cheaper, easier and co-product fraction marketing [72,73].
jet fuel. Once the study is finished, the companies will work together to BETO has summarized the R & D technical challenges and barriers of
complete the EPA certification process to register a new fuel product feedstock, conversion and infrastructure [18]. The key points of algae
entering the market [71]. commercialization at present are follows:
In the terms of manufacturer, algae biofuel technologies have been Algae fundamental biology research is crucial important. Abundant
applied into large-scale biofuel demonstration projects. Table 3 shows and sustainable feedstocks are the basic of biofuels’ production, To
the major algae biofuel projects around the world (Table 5). increase the biomass and the content of the lipid in the algae and to
The demonstration of Cellana Company, covering about 6 acres, develop variety products need to understand the biological mechan-
produces biomass over 8 t to test algae properties in combustion and isms of algae's metabolic pathway. The algal research has a brief history
other applications. Fermentable fuels consumed by US navy amount to of less than one hundred years compared to the traditional crops and
thousands of gallons. In the mid of 2011, Sapphire Energy, Inc started industrial microbiology. Research should continue to pursue to under-
up a 300-acre algae project in Colombia, and operated from 2012. One stand the fundamental genetic principle about the growth physiology,
hundred gallons of biofuels are produced with full load annually. In metabolite production, and strain robustness [62]. The genetic mod-
addition, with the support of US DOE, Phycal Inc. signed purchase ification tools of algae remains a technical hurdle, and algae biology
agreement with Hawaiian Electric Companies and provided algae in research could contribute to the algae genetic engineering.
power generation. High value co-products of algae biofuel are beneficial to both profits
However, none company has assert of making profits in commer- and technology improvements, especially for the company. In the long
cialization. Some companies shifted to other fields to search the near term, the massive biofuel production is the goal of the algae companies,
term market to get the cash flow. The new fields includes food and while in the short term, the producer need to survive by yield the higher
nutrition, flu gas treatment, water treatment and biofuels with other co-products to offset the costs. During transitory stage, co-products
feedstock. Omega-3 and fishmeal are high value products with high could help the algae companies to make profits and keep the scale-up
profits. Sapphire Energy and Heliae has focused on Omega-3s. Valicor development of algae products.
Renewables has cooperated with Qualitas Health to launch the Omega- At last, support form the governments remains the main driving
3 from algae. Cellana LLC. which conducted pilot program of algae force of algae biofuel commercial. The United stated launched the
cultivation and harvesting, is working on blend of fuels and fishmeal as Aquatic Species Program to research on algae biofuels in 1978 and
the products of its’ proposed commercial-scale facility. Solazyme Inc. invested about $25 million at many academinc insitions, and estab-

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Table 5
Main biofuel projects around the world.

Company/region Cultivation method Technology Products and scale

LiveFuels/USA Open ponds_ Open water Grows and harvests algae in estuarine environments, using Algal fuel; The company has established pilot operations
systems natural systems to keep cost low. across the U.S.
OriginOil Inc. USA Open ponds Developing a technology to transform algae into true New oil that can be used for many products such as diesel,
competitor to petroleum gasoline, jet fuels, plastics and solvents without the global
warming effects
PetroSun Open ponds Extracting algae oil in the farm and transporting to biodiesel Biodiesel, jet fuel; starting to produce algae biofuels in
refinery 2007, produce algae oil about 4.4 million gallons and 1.1
million pounds biomass with 1100 acres saline cultivation
ponds per year.
Neste Oil/European Open ponds The company focuses efforts on raw material exploration, Biofuels; extracting plant oil and algae oil to produce 170
and it is the only company that commercially produces high- thousand biodiesel, signing cooperation agreement with
value renewable fuels with more than 10 raw materials, in US RAE Company that producing NEXBTL renewable
which NEXBTL yields renewable diesel about 2 million tons biodiesel using algae oil.
annually and becomes the largest renewable diesel
manufacturer.
Ingrepo/European Open ponds Aiming to achieving large-scale production, planning to
construct plants in Malaysia.
Seambiotic/ Open ponds Cooperating with power plant and cultivating algae with flue Food, chemicals and biofuels
Mediterranean gas in Israel
Aquaflow Bionomics/ Open ponds Gaining feedstocks from algae derived from wastewater Bio-crude oil; company has been established for 3 years
New Zealand purification with 100 acres cultivation ponds; harvesting tons of algae
every day. Aiming to be the 1st company s in the world
that produces fuels with wide algae cultivated in open
pond.
Biofuel System/U.K. Producing biofuels with seaweed Biogasoline or biodiesel
A2BE Carbon Capture/ Closed systems Establishing Carbon Capture Cycle system. CO2 emitted Biofuels
USA from industries is captured and used in algae cultivation.
Combing energy conversion system and biomass
gasification system and forming renewable energy
producing system.
GreenFuel Closed systems Cultivating microalgae with industrial waste gas Drop-in biofuels – GFT LIQUID；
Technologies/USA
Solazyme, Inc./USA Closed systems Cultivating microalgae in dark in large storage tank, Aviation fuels, ethanol, green chemical products, nutrients
providing energy in growth medium added with sugar such as proteins
Algeneol Biofuels/USA Closed systems Located in desert, cultivating microalgae on large scale with Ethanol; ethanol yields amount to 9000 gallon/(acre.a) in
seawater and CO2 to produce ethanol. Cultivating blue- 2013
green algae and blue algae simultaneously based on patent,
fixing N2, reducing cost. Ethanol can be excreted to medium
during growth, thus diminishing energy demanding in the
process of biomass drying and treatment.
Sapphire Energy/USA Closed systems The company's molecular platform can convert sunlight and Green crude oil; being suitable to infrastructures like
CO2 into renewable carbon neutral fuels. There is no public automobile, refinery and pipeline.
algae strain in the surmise of blue and green algae modified
by genetic method. Oil derived from algae will excrete to cell
surface, and float on medium, which saves the cost of
harvesting and pretreatment.
Inventure Chemical closed systems Inventure Renewable's patented Mixed Super Critical Fluid Ethanol, Butanol, Triglycerides, Fatty acids, Dimethyl
technology/USA processing technology allows for the direct conversion of a ether, Isoprene and a variety of other chemical
host of waste biomass materials to fuels, chemicals and non- intermediates, bio-based polymers and fuels;
gasification intermediates.
Solena/USA closed systems Plasma techniques are used in gasification of algae and Establishing a 40 MW power plant in cooperation with
other organic matters Sunflower Company of Kanas, generating electricity with
microalgae treated with gasification.
Solix Biosystems, Fort Closed systems The core of Solix's intellectual property consists of its Renewable chemicals and fuels, personal care and
Collins, Colorado proprietary AGS technology; AGS is an extended surface nutrition;
area culture system that incorporates Solix's proprietary
Lumian™ photobioreactor panels. The system consists of
vertical panels suspended in a water basin. The vertical
orientation of Lumian panels increases the surface area
illuminated by both direct and diffuse light while the water
basin provides structural support and improved
temperature control to optimize algal growth.
XL Renewables, Closed systems Patented algae production technology – Simgae for simple XL Renewable has formed Phyco BioSciences, Inc. to
Phoenix/USA algae commercialize algae biomass as a food and industrial crop.
Phyco is currently developing a commercial production
facility near Phoenix, Arizona.
Aurora Algae Open ponds Using genetically modified algae to produce biodiesel based EPA, proteins, biodiesel et al.; Aurora Algae has developed
on patented techniques from UCB. The algae owned by the the world's first commercial-scale photosynthetic platform
company show light color with light penetration for the for sustainable, algae-based product development.
purpose of high yields.
Cellena/USA Photobioreactors and Cellana's patented ALDUO™ system, a series of Biofuel feedstocks, Omega-3 EPA and DHA, animal feed;
open ponds photobioreactors coupled with open ponds. Cellena Since 2009, Cellana has operated its Kona Demonstration
possesses the techniques for oil extraction from seaweed Facility, a 6-acre, state-of-the-art production and research
without chemicals or oil extraction process. facility in Hawaii. To date, over 20 metric tons of whole
(continued on next page)

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Table 5 (continued)

Company/region Cultivation method Technology Products and scale

algae (dry weight) have been produced.

LanzaTech closed systems Lanza Tech's microbial gas fermentation technology, in Bioethanol, aviation biofuels, chemistry products
which microbes and microalgae are cultivated in captured
CO and CO2, yielding fuels and chemicals.
BioProcess Algae closed systems Applying biofilm techniques to cultivate microalgae, Animal feeds, nutritions and transportation fuels; There
possessing The Grower Harvester™ harvesting methods are two pilot scale manufacturers in Maine and Iowa
based on patent. focused on strain screening, strain modification and scale-
up cultivation.
Solix Biosystems, Inc. Closed photobioreactor The company's production in algal growth system is 7 times renewable chemical products and fuels
panels as much as that in open ponds.
Heliae Closed systems & pond Heliae possesses Volaris™ commercial production platform, In 2010, Heliae built up a 20-acre microalgae cultivation
system AMP™ strains rapid screening system, and Helix™ algae commercial demonstration plant, and invested 13 million
strains cultivation system. dollars in plant expansion.

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