Saltwater Resources and Commercial
Algae Production
Stephen Mayfield
San Diego Center for Algae Biotechnology
University of California, San Diego
Cyanobacteria Microalgae Macroalgae
Produce biodiesel type
lipids and biohydrogen
Produce sugars for
ethanol or biogas
What are the Types of Aquatic Biomass?
Produce ethanol
Lipids and hydrogen
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Algae
Any of a group of aquatic eukaryotic
organisms that carry on photosynthesis
Cyanobacteria
Photosynthetic prokaryotes found in many
environments, often called blue-green algae
Red Algae
Green Algae
Brown Algae
Cyanobacteria
Commercial Production in Algae Today
Microalgae
Annual
Production
Water Source
Application &
Product
Price (U.S. $)
Spirulina
3000 tonnes dry
weight
Saltwater
Human Nutrition
Animal Nutrition
Cosmetics
Phycobiliproteins
$53 kg-1
$16 mg-1
Chlorella
2000 tonnes dry
weight
Freshwater and
Saltwater Strains
Human Nutrition
Cosmetics
Aquaculture
$53 kg-1
$74 l-1
Dunaliella salina
1200 tonnes dry
weight
Saltwater
Human Nutrition
Cosmetics
B-carotene $318-$3,186 kg-1
Aphanizomenon
flosaquae
500 tonnes dry
weight
Freshwater
Human Nutrition
Haematocococcus
pluvialis
300 tonnes dry
weight
Freshwater
Aquaculture
Astaxanthin
$74 l-1
$10,596 kg-1
Crypthecodinium
cohnii
240 tonnes DHA
oil
Saltwater
DHA oil $64 g-1
Schizochytrium 10 tonnes DHA oil Saltwater DHA oil $64 g-1
Adapted from: Brennan, L. and Owende, P. (2010) Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. 14: 557-577.
Robust molecular technologies are
available for a limited set of algae
ER-mCherry mCerulean-NLS
2 color
FACS
ER-mCherry,
mCerulean-NLS
3 color FACS
ER-TS-mCherry,
mCerulean-NLS,
Mito-Venus
X
Mito-Venus
X
A B C D
E
Engineering of the salt water strain D. tertiolecta
for recombinant protein production in chloroplasts