Transcript Sapphire Energy - Algae Biomass Organization

Ecology of Open Algae Ponds
Rob McBride
October 2014
Sapphire Produces Valuable Products From Algae, Sunlight, & CO2
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Sapphire’s Primary Production Platform – Open Ponds
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Focused on the production of low cost biomass
Open ponds are continuously operated year round
Key challenge to continuous open operation is stability
Pests primarily impact stability
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Open Pond Stability
• Mechanical strategies
• Netting, filters
• Cultural strategies
• pH, Ammonia, Magnesium etc.
• Chemical strategies
• Chlorine, glyphosate, headline, etc.
• Biotic strategies
• Trophic interactions
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An Example of a Sapphire Pest Management Strategy
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An Example of a Sapphire Pest Management Strategy
1. Letcher, P. M., S. Lopez, et al. (2013). "Characterization of Amoeboaphelidium protococcarum, an Algal Parasite New to the Cryptomycota Isolated from an Outdoor Algal Pond
Used for the Production of Biofuel." PloS one 8(2): e56232.
2. McBride, R. C., S. Lopez, et al. (2014). "Contamination Management in Low Cost Open Algae Ponds for Biofuels Production." Industrial Biotechnology 10(3): 221-227.
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Why Are We interested in Open Pond Ecology?
1. Shurin, J., R. Abbott, et al. (2013). "Industrial‐strength ecology: trade‐offs and opportunities in algal biofuel production." Ecology letters 16(11): 1393-1404.
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In Open Algae Ponds, What is the Richness/Stability Relationship?
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Overview of the Data Collection
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Summary of the Generated Data
Bacteria
Eukaryotes
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Summary of the Generated Data
Bacteria
Eukaryotes
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Is Open Algal Pond Species Richness Related to Productivity/Stability?
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How Do Pond Management Practices Impact Species Richness?
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How Do Pond Management Practices Impact Species Richness?
Bacteria
Eukaryotes
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Open Algae Pond Ecology – What are the Punchlines?
• There was a positive relationship between increasing species diversity and the
productivity of the open algae pond.
• Increasing species diversity did not increase the variance of the open algae pond
with this analysis.
• Process and management strategies can impact ecology, and these impacts can be
lasting.
• While we are still far from engineering open pond algae ecosystems, these type of
data suggest that open pond algae systems display some of the patterns observed
in terrestrial ecosystems.
• We and others are working to construct stable consortia in the lab that have
productivity and stability benefits, and hope to translate those to the field to
realize the potential of the open pond platform for the continued production of
low cost biomass.
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Acknowledgements
• UCSD
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Steve Mayfield
John Shurin
Vineet Bafna
Doruk Beyter
• Life Technologies
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Farzad Haerizadeh
Pei-Zhong Tang
Scott Becker
Todd Peterson
• SDSU
- Yan Wei Lim
• Sapphire Energy
- Las Cruces – Crop protection Team (Kalli Lambeth), Harvest Team, Cultivation Team
- San Diego – Tony Hoang, Damla Bilgin, Craig Behnke
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Questions?
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