This document outlines a project to develop an integrated scalable technology platform to produce commodities and fine chemicals from geothermal fields using photosynthetic organisms. The project will use CO2 from geothermal wells as a feedstock for biologically-based chemical synthesis. A photobioreactor with new LED technology will cultivate algal strains like Chlamydomonas reinhardii to produce high-value molecules, oils, pigments and other products. Systems biology approaches will be used to computationally design strains like Synechocystis for improved performance. The goals are to determine the key characteristics of photobioreactor modules, scale them up, and engineer algal strains to maximize the spectrum of products produced

1. GEOCHEM
Sigurður Brynjólfsson, Professor
University of Iceland/Center for Systems Biology

2. Mission
To develop CO2 from geothermal wells
as a feedstock for biologically-based
chemical synthesis
CO2 Chemistry
biology
electricity

3. Goal
• To develop an integrated
scalable technology
platform to produce a
commodity and fine
chemicals from
geothermal fields
worldwide

4. Photobioreactor (PBR)
Potential Advancements
• New light emitting diode technology
• Modularity and scalability

5. LED - Photobioreactor

6. Biology
• Photosynthetic Organisms
– Chlamydomonas reinhardii
– Chlorella vulgaris
– Dunaliella Salinas
– Blue-green algae
• Key factors in organism choice
– Natural/adapted vs. genetically modified algae
– Range of products achievable
• cosmetics, nutraceuticals, coloring agents, pharmaceuticals,
commodity chemicals, fuels, etc.

7. Feedstocks
• Geothermal power plant gas profile
collected
– Mostly CO2 - H2, H2S in minor amounts
• Energy cost
– Low
– Produced on site
• Clean green technology

8. GeoChem...
• Determining the key performance
characteristics of a core unit of a photo
bioreactor-based factory
• Designing and initiating scale-up of these
units into versatile modules
• Determining the spectrum of algal strains
that can be cultivated with
this system
• Engineering of Synechocystis
– metabolic computational-driven design
of Synechocystis

9. Products…
High value
molecules
21.12.2016 9

11. Growth rate

12. Effect of adaptive laboratory evolution (ALE) on growth rate and carotenoid
accumulation in D. salina. Average growth rate indicated biomass produced per day
during one cycle. All the cycles including cycle 0 were performed under a total light
intensity of 170 µE/m2/s consisting of 42 µE/m2/s blue LED light and 128 µE/m2/s red
LED light. Detailed data were presented in Table S1. The results are averaged from
three independent experiments. Error bars indicate SD.

14. Oils, pigments,…

15. Systems biology
• Systems Biology is an emerging field
which involves the study of an
organism, viewed as an integrated and
interacting network of genes, proteins
and biochemical reactions, which give
rise to life.
• This field is a natural response to the
various genome projects which have
revealed the entire genetic makeup of
many different organisms.
• Knowing the entire components that
make an organism present novel
opportunities for engineering system
analysis by integrating this with other
types of data.

16. Power Plants ... Simulation

17. Network map => Mathematics

18. Acknowldement
• Háskóli Íslands
– Weiqi Fu,
– Elin Adda Steinarsdóttir
– Ólafur S Andrésson
– Zhiqian Yi
• Matís
– Sindri Freyr Ólafsson
– Sigurjón Arason
• Controlant
– Ólafur Guðmundsson
– Gísli Herjólfsson