Jet fuel, animal feed among potential products from algae — ScienceDaily - Verve Times

Texas A&M AgriLife Research scientists are using artificial intelligence to set a new world record for producing algae as a reliable, economic source for biofuel that can be used as an alternative fuel source for jet aircraft and other transportation needs.

Joshua Yuan, Ph.D., AgriLife Research scientist, professor and chair of Synthetic Biology and Renewable Products in the Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, is leading the research project.  The project team includes Bin Long, a graduate student from the Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology; Bart Fischer, Ph.D., co-director of the Texas A&M Agricultural and Food Policy Center and Texas A&M Department of Agricultural Economics; Henry Bryant, Ph.D., Department of Agricultural Economics; and Yining Zeng, Ph.D., staff scientist with the U.S.

“The commercialization of algal biofuel has been hindered by the relatively low yield and high harvesting cost,” Yuan said.

Overcoming these challenges could enable viable algal biofuels to reduce carbon emissions, mitigate climate change, alleviate petroleum dependency and transform the bioeconomy, Yuan said.

Texas A&M AgriLife Research scientists are using artificial intelligence for producing algae as a reliable, economic source for biofuel.

This illustration depicts integration of machine learning-informed semi-continuous algal cultivation (SAC) and aggregation-based sedimentation (ABS) for biofuel production.

(Illustration: Texas A&M AgriLife Research).

“Algae can be used as an alternative energy source for many industries, including biofuel and as jet fuel,” Yuan said.

Yuan said algae can also be used as a source for animal feed.

AgriLife Research has previously investigated algae as a source of livestock protein.

Algae biofuel is regarded as one of the ultimate solutions for renewable energy, but its commercialization is hindered by growth limitations caused by mutual shading and high harvest costs.

“We overcome these challenges by advancing machine learning to inform the design of a semi-continuous algal cultivation (SAC) to sustain optimal cell growth and minimize mutual shading,” he said.

“Algae as a renewable fuel source was a hot topic a decade ago,” Fischer said.

Yuan said despite significant potential and extensive efforts, the commercialization of algal biofuel has been hindered by limited sunlight penetration, poor cultivation dynamics, relatively low yield, and the absence of cost-effective industrial harvest methods