Optimising strain selection and developing a biorefinery for industrially relevant microalgae.
Production of algal biomass is a costly procedure which often produces waste in the form of biomass or water. To make algal production more feasible biorefinery is necessary so that maximum value can be created from the cultivation process.
This project aims to identify the highest value products within the cells of different algal species under varying conditions using analytical techniques such as GCMS and HPLC. Following this, high value components such as pigments, peptides or fatty acids, will be separated from the rest of the biomass using cell disruption and product purification techniques. Remaining biomass will also be analysed and purified for further products such as proteins, lipids or carbohydrates.
The industrial partner for this project, Xanthella Ltd, will provide 1 litre photobioreactors and 1000L photobioreactors with submersible LED technology so that successful small scale experiments can be upscaled to a commercial level.
Supervisors
Professor Michele Stanley, SAMS
Dr Sebastien Jubeau, Xanthella
Dr Valeria Montalescot, SAMS
Dr Michael Ross, SAMS
Funder
IBioIC
University
University of the Highlands and Islands
Peer-reviewed publications
Wood EE, Ross ME, Jubeau S, Montalescot V, MacKechnie K, Marchington RE, Davey MP, McNeill S, Hamilton C, Stanley MS (2023) From green to orange: The change in biochemical composition of phototophic-mixotrophic Chromochloris zofingiensis in pilot-scale photobioreactors. Algal Research 75: 103238. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.algal.2023.103238
Wood EE, Ross ME, Jubeau S, Montalescot V, Stanley MS (2022) Progress towards a targeted biorefinery of Chromochloris zofingiensis: a review. Biomass Conversion and Biorefinery. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13399-022-02955-7
Kapoore RV, Wood EE, Llewellyn CA (2021) Algae biostimulants: A critical look at microalgal biostimulants for sustainable agricultural practices. Biotechnology Advances 49: 107754 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biotechadv.2021.107754
Fuentes-Grünewald C, Gayo-Peláez JI, Ndovela V, Wood E, Kapoore RV, Llewellyn CA (2020) Towards a circular economy: A novel microalgal two-step growth approach to treat excess nutrients from digestate and to produce biomass for animal feed. Bioresource Technololgy 124349 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2020.124349
Fernandes F, Silkina A, Fuentes-Grünewald C, Wood EE, Ndovela VLS, Oatley-Radcliffe DL, Lovitt RW, Llewellyn CA (2020) Valorising nutrient-rich digestate: Dilution, settlement and membrane filtration processing for optimisation as a waste-based media for microalgal cultivation. Waste Management 118: 197-208 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2020.08.037
Employment
June 2018-September 2019 - Research technician, Swansea University
February 2018-May 2018 - Algal technician, Xanthella Ltd
Higher Education
2018 - MSc by Research, Algal Biotechnology , SAMS UHI
2015- BSc Biology, Cardiff University