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Algae's promise rebounds after setbacks
The San Diego Union-Tribune (U-T San Diego)
Bradley J. Fikes
10/6/2014
Excerpt:
Algae are everywhere — in the oceans, freshwater lakes, soil and even air. And if businesses working with algae have their way, these versatile, plant-like creatures will become a key part of almost every consumer product.
Companies and biotech researchers discussed that vision, and how to get there, at the 2014 Algae Biomass Summit, held last week in San Diego. The city, regarded as a global leader in algae biotechnology, hosted the conference for the first time since 2008.
In these boosters’ vision, algae belong at your dinner table, in the feed of livestock you eat, in the plastics you use and in the biofuels that go into your vehicle.
That vision has endured challenges since the conference was last here. Biofuels have taken a back seat to the stunning increase in American shale oil and gas production, and the Great Recession discouraged spending in such research.
But progress continues with biofuel studies. Algae biofuel backers such as Steve Mayfield, a scientist at UC San Diego, said as the cost of finding oil rises and the expense of making algae biofuels declines, producing biofuels will become more economically attractive.
For centuries, algae have been grown as a source of food.
Spirulina, sold as a nutritional supplement, was eaten by the Aztecs. Spirulina grows naturally in alkaline freshwater lakes, and today’s commercial growers mimic those conditions.
More recently, algae have been farmed as “functional foods” that confer health benefits such as providing omega-3 fatty acids.
In addition, algae are being developed for plastics and industrial chemicals. And companies in San Diego plan to use them as factories to produce medicines, including advanced cancer drugs. Triton Health & Nutrition, a UCSD spinoff, uses technology from Mayfield and colleagues to develop proteins to improve animal and human health.
photo Algae in plastic bags grown in a greenhouse at UCSD’s field station. The algae are being tested for Triton Health and Nutrition, a startup founded by UCSD algae scientist Steve Mayfield. Bradley J. Fikes
Algae are grown in the Imperial County town of Calipatria by Earthrise Nutritionals, which said its outdoor “raceway” ponds form the world’s largest spirulina farm. They’re also cultivated in La Jolla at UC San Diego, where a university spinoff from Mayfield’s laboratory is growing them in large plastic bags to create drugs that fight infections.
Mayfield and colleagues also have explored the use of edible algae to produce vaccines.
Meanwhile, companies such as Sapphire Energy in La Jolla remain committed to development of biofuels from algae. The economic part of the equation still needs to be solved, but federal officials who spoke at last week’s summit said the government’s support of biofuels, including direct purchases, will help the industry expand.
Matt Carr, executive director of the Algae Biomass Organization, which held the summit, borrowed from the technology industry to describe the profusion of algae products.
“There’s an algae for that,” Carr said at the event.
Down on the algae farm
Among the diverse collection of algae, the most recognizable is kelp, which has been harvested for centuries and burned to produce soda ash. San Diego’s Kelco produces food thickeners such as alginates from kelp.
Spirulina, a microbe often called blue-green algae, is closer to what most people regard as algae. It’s scientifically described as a member of cyanobacteria, a grouping of bacteria that — like plants — get their energy through photosynthesis. Other species of cyanobacteria produce toxic ocean blooms and fix nitrogen in soil, enhancing its fertility.
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View the complete article, including photos, at:
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/...rugs-mayfield/
The San Diego Union-Tribune (U-T San Diego)
Bradley J. Fikes
10/6/2014
Excerpt:
Algae are everywhere — in the oceans, freshwater lakes, soil and even air. And if businesses working with algae have their way, these versatile, plant-like creatures will become a key part of almost every consumer product.
Companies and biotech researchers discussed that vision, and how to get there, at the 2014 Algae Biomass Summit, held last week in San Diego. The city, regarded as a global leader in algae biotechnology, hosted the conference for the first time since 2008.
In these boosters’ vision, algae belong at your dinner table, in the feed of livestock you eat, in the plastics you use and in the biofuels that go into your vehicle.
That vision has endured challenges since the conference was last here. Biofuels have taken a back seat to the stunning increase in American shale oil and gas production, and the Great Recession discouraged spending in such research.
But progress continues with biofuel studies. Algae biofuel backers such as Steve Mayfield, a scientist at UC San Diego, said as the cost of finding oil rises and the expense of making algae biofuels declines, producing biofuels will become more economically attractive.
For centuries, algae have been grown as a source of food.
Spirulina, sold as a nutritional supplement, was eaten by the Aztecs. Spirulina grows naturally in alkaline freshwater lakes, and today’s commercial growers mimic those conditions.
More recently, algae have been farmed as “functional foods” that confer health benefits such as providing omega-3 fatty acids.
In addition, algae are being developed for plastics and industrial chemicals. And companies in San Diego plan to use them as factories to produce medicines, including advanced cancer drugs. Triton Health & Nutrition, a UCSD spinoff, uses technology from Mayfield and colleagues to develop proteins to improve animal and human health.
photo Algae in plastic bags grown in a greenhouse at UCSD’s field station. The algae are being tested for Triton Health and Nutrition, a startup founded by UCSD algae scientist Steve Mayfield. Bradley J. Fikes
Algae are grown in the Imperial County town of Calipatria by Earthrise Nutritionals, which said its outdoor “raceway” ponds form the world’s largest spirulina farm. They’re also cultivated in La Jolla at UC San Diego, where a university spinoff from Mayfield’s laboratory is growing them in large plastic bags to create drugs that fight infections.
Mayfield and colleagues also have explored the use of edible algae to produce vaccines.
Meanwhile, companies such as Sapphire Energy in La Jolla remain committed to development of biofuels from algae. The economic part of the equation still needs to be solved, but federal officials who spoke at last week’s summit said the government’s support of biofuels, including direct purchases, will help the industry expand.
Matt Carr, executive director of the Algae Biomass Organization, which held the summit, borrowed from the technology industry to describe the profusion of algae products.
“There’s an algae for that,” Carr said at the event.
Down on the algae farm
Among the diverse collection of algae, the most recognizable is kelp, which has been harvested for centuries and burned to produce soda ash. San Diego’s Kelco produces food thickeners such as alginates from kelp.
Spirulina, a microbe often called blue-green algae, is closer to what most people regard as algae. It’s scientifically described as a member of cyanobacteria, a grouping of bacteria that — like plants — get their energy through photosynthesis. Other species of cyanobacteria produce toxic ocean blooms and fix nitrogen in soil, enhancing its fertility.
..........................................
View the complete article, including photos, at:
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/...rugs-mayfield/
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