1. Algae Biofuel Research at the University of Texas at Austin Cost-Effective Production of Biodiesel from Algae Mike Werst m.werst@cem.utexas.edu February 9, 2010

2. Algae is the Clear Choice Market Opportunity “Biofuels Made from Microalgae Hold the Potential to Solve Many of the Sustainability Challenges Facing Other Biofuels Today” (US DOE) Highest Productivity Currently, algae can yield more than 2,000 gallons of fuel per acre, compared with 50 gallons for soybean oil and 650 gallons for palm oil Continuous Harvesting Growing algae is a continuous process, compared with the production of plants such as corn, which are typically harvested annually and stored for later use Bypasses the “Food or Fuel” Fight Algae can be cultivated in large open ponds or in closed photobioreactors located on non-arable land in a variety of climates including deserts Flexible on Water Quality Since algae growth does not require fresh water, it can thrive in brackish or salt water. Even treated waste water can be used, as the water itself acts as a nutrient to foster growth StrongestCO2 Advantage During photosynthesis, algae use solar energy to fix CO2 into biomass, which presents an opportunity to make productive use of the CO2 from other sources Value-Added Byproducts The remaining biomass residue is not waste and can be used as organic fertilizer, animal or fish food, and biomass for power generation Sources: US Department of Energy; The Lamp 2009, ExxonMobil

4. Present cost to produce 1 gallon of algae oil—$20-30/gal

5. Issues…production scale-up and cost reduction

6. Strain selection - oil yield, growth rates, stability

7. Production systems - ponds or photobioreactors

8. Oil content & consistent definition of oil

9. CO2 and nutrient sources

10. Harvesting

11. Oil extraction

12. Capital costs

14. ≈ 30 faculty, researchers, and students

15. Plus larger group of researchers in associated, related fields

16. Multidisciplinary

17. Biologists, biochemists, physicists, mechanical engineers, electrical engineers, chemical engineers, and environmental engineers

18. Focused on fuel

19. Complete process

20. Algae selection – Key driver of economics

21. Growth

22. Harvesting

23. Dewatering

24. Lysing

25. Separation

26. Metrology – Without good process measurements, there is no process control

27. Biodiesel production – As needed, anticipate relatively small research need

28. Life cycle analysis – Regulatory acceptanceResearch is on reducing process cost

29. Simplified Algae Oil Process Sunlight CO2 UT Program Biofuels Algae Production Harvesting Filtration Settling Processing Concentration Preparation Lysing Extraction Biodiesel Biogas JP-8 Ethanol Biomass Co products Feeds Fertilizers Energy Water Time Nutrients Make-up water

30. Algae Selection Culture Collection of Algae--UTEX About 3000 strains available Expertise in growth and identification Cellular engineering Optimize triglyceride production in existing species Genome analysis

31. GrowthCenter for Electromechanics Growth primarily to support process development effort Helping us understand species selection impact on processing Control of nutrient levels and light intensity to maximize triglyceride production Identification and control of predators Maintenance of healthy growth ecology

33. Dilute concentrations of micron size algae

34. Varying water composition

35. Harvesting economics preclude excessive water pumping

36. Maintaining water quality essential for discharge, recycling and reuse

37. Investigating wide range of low cost harvesting methods for algae grown in a variety of source waters

38. Developed harvesting process that yields algae concentrate suitable for proprietary oil extraction process.

40. EM Analysis - good correlation with wave theory

41. Spectrophotometer chemical and chlorophyll assays

42. Biodiesel and algae oil quantities produced

43. Released triglyceride, protein and enzymes analyses

44. Fluorescent imaging

45. High speed camera imaging

46. Scanning electron microscope

49. Accurate quantitation of oils

50. Guidance on algae selection

51. Feedback on algae health

52. Data for process mass balances

53. Information on oil qualityHPLC Mass Spec NMR TLC

54. UT Algal Oil Processing 12 Cultivation: Outdoor Pond CEM Growth Volume Fluidic Concentrate (89-99% Removal; up to 100X concentration factor) Harvest: Sweep Coag/Defloc* EWRE Concentrate Lysing: Electro-Mechanical CEM Discharge Water Lysed Concentrate Extraction: Enhanced Contactor Process SRP Algal Oil Biomass Outlet *centrifugation used when quantity insufficient for sweep coag/defloc equipment

55. Economic Target Threshold $2.00/gal algal oil Assumed entry level for jet fuel, particularly for DOD Stretch Goal $0.50/gal algal oil Economical for most existing markets

57. Oil content—20% (Triglycerides)

58. Media conductivity—18 ms/cm

59. Algae growth density—1g/L

60. Lysing/separation algae density—5% dw

61. 50 MM gal/yr production (algae oil)

62. Installed capital cost—3-4 times cost of equip.

63. Depreciation—10-15 yr life, 6.7-10% of installed cap costs

64. Maintenance—4-6.7% of installed capital costs

65. $0.10/kWhr

66. Extraction efficiency—71%

67. Oil content & growth density must be improved

69. Initial plant sized to fit 18-wheeler to evaluate a variety of algae sources

70. UT resources engaged to meet challengeOptimized Electrodistention Dose Response Oil Quantification & Analysis Optimized Power Supply Design Algae Inoculation & Growth Commercialization EM Oil Extraction Pilot Plant Demonstration Design/Demo of Flow Through Distention Process Algae Dewatering Subscale Extraction Plant & Pond Design Post Oil Separation

72. Dewatering process demonstrated at 5000 gal/day

73. Flow-through EM lysing apparatus built; used to process dewatered algae.

74. Novel version of commercial separation process demonstrated

75. Mass and energy balance performed on integrated system of processes

77. Enhanced growth techniques

78. Species improvement

79. Minimization of water usage

80. Return water purification

81. Alternate technologies for dewatering, lysing, and separation to further reduce cost

82. Process measurement technology

83. Process automation

85. Optimization of the process requires understanding at the process level, not just the individual process step level

86. Significant progress is being made in driving down cost