Algae

The Algae Production Module will begin with an overview of photosynthesis and the carbon cycle, the taxonomy of algae and the basics of cell biology.  Safety in the lab, OSHA compliance and the process of experimental methodology are also included in the curriculum. Students will learn about algae growth factors such as temperature, light, CO2and nutrients.  The different kinds of photobioreactor designs will be explored, including closed vs. open systems.  Students will learn about the importance of cultivation protocols, and when to feed, harvest and how to process the algae.  Analytics will be covered as well which includes the use of the microscope and learning about the basic algae handling and testing procedures such as dilution, cell counting and dry weight measurment.  The various uses of algae will be examined such as its role in the nutraceutical, food, cosmetic and animal feed industries and as a replacement for petroleum as a transportation fuel. 

This course will cover:

• What are Algae?
• Why algae for biofuel?
• Types of algae from biofuel
• History of algae biofuel in the USA
• Aquatic Species Program
• Technological challenges of algae production
• Regulation and standards
• Economics of Biofuel Production from algae
• Algal biology – diversity and ecology; microscopy
• Lab etiquette and safety
• How to use microscope; drawing algae
• Performing cell counts using hemocytometer
• Measuring optical density with spectrophotometer
• Algal dry weight determination
• Algal isolation
• Algal biomass measurements
• Algal culturing procedures
• Mixing nutritional media
• Monitoring and control in growing systems
• Design and setup of experiments and data collection
• Large-scale algal biomass production
• Closed and open photo-bioreactors: pros and cons
• Economic factors
• Data analysis, presentation of findings, course conclusions