Microalgae contain high amounts of lipids, proteins and carbohydrates, which all can be used for different markets. Worldwide basic research, pilot and demonstration projects are developed. The industry is working on the basic aspects to make commercial production of microalgae possible.
Bernard Kudla, Manager Strategy & Innovation at ECO-SOLUTION in France will explain the Optimized Natural Evolution (ONE) process. Today, improvement of micro-organism characteristicsimportant for biotechnology processes efficiency can be obtained mainly by three complementary approaches: screening of biodiversity, use of Genetic Engineering and Mutation/Selection methods among which Optimized Natural Evolution (ONE) is a novel opportunity.
ONE is a micro-organism improvement process based on continuous selective cultures at constant volume of cellular populations growing within automated culture devices. These culture devices allow the selection, the amplification and the isolation of novel mutant micro-organisms whose novel properties can impact different aspects of biotechnological processes. Productivity, applicability, robustness can be improved and new processes can be developed.
The Institute of Biology at the University of Leipzig in Germany recently developed a method based on FTIR spectroscopy, which allows simultaneous registration of growth rate, growth potential and on biomass composition with respect to the percentage contribution of lipids, proteins and carbohydrates.
The second congress day will start with a session dedicated to Algae Processing. Nadine Igl-Schmid of NATECO2 will explain the process of Algae extraction with supercritical CO2.
In her paper she concludes: “In order to extract algae, extraction with supercritical CO2 is a powerful technique, which guarantees a gentle treatment of the biomass and a great recovery rate of valuable substances under an inert and oxygen free atmosphere. The resulting products are mostly applied as additives in functional food or cosmetics”.
Andrew Jackson, International Fishmeal and Fish Oil Organisation (IFFO) will point out the future market for Algae in Aquaculture diets. “Aquaculture is the fastest growing food production sector in the world and currently stands at around 50 million tonnes per year according to FAO. This now represents almost 50 per cent of seafood consumption and given the lack of growth potential in the wild caught sector all growth in the future is predicted to come from a growth in aquacultural production.
Aquaculture feed producers are keen to find new sources of both quality protein and long-chain omega-3 fatty acids normally found in fish oil. Land plant proteins, such as soymeal, have proved to be a useful source for diets, but anti-nutritional factors and amino acid deficiencies mean that they cannot fully replace fishmeal. Also oils from some algal species have very high levels of the omega 3 fatty acids EPA and DHA normally sourced from fish oil”.
Attendees from many different sectors of industry have found their way to discuss about the algae applications for their sector: (Waste)Water companies: LimnoTec Abwasseranlagen, feed (additive) companies as Skretting, Saturn Petcare and Erber Future Business GmbH; food (ingredients) Südzucker AG; process engineering in food: GEPEA, automotive: Yamaha, Volkswagen; fuel companies as Total; energy: Yingli; CEA; chemistry: Proviron; DECHEMA, business and innovation centres: Atlanpole; engineering and consulting: Gicon; Cofactor, research institutes: Oeko-Institute, IGV GmbH, Fraunhofer Institute, SSC GmbH; many universities.
The congress program together with the information market and poster presentations will give a clear insight into the latest technological innovations, the economic outlook and the international developments in the algae industry. Authorities should be aware of these developments and industrial parties will benefit from it.
The congress is being organized by DLG (German Agricultural Society) and DLG BENELUX in cooperation with the Brandenburg University of Technology, Wageningen UR, European Society of Micro Algal Biotechnology and Cofactor.
More information can be found on the website: www.algaecongress.com
