New Mexico State University is expanding its capacity to accomplish algal biofuel research with the recent installation of a new photobioreactor system from Solix BioSystems. The system promises to accelerate the university’s emergence as a leader in this niche research domain.

The New Mexico State University team will cultivate algae with the high-performance AGS4000 PBR to produce improved algal ‘seed’ culture for cultivation ‘scale-up’ in less expensive raceway systems. The 4000 liter production capacity that allows faster and denser production of algae by facilitating control of factors such as solar exposure, temperature, carbon dioxide content and nutrient supply in highly precise manner. The researchers claim that their new production facility with the AGS4000 PBR can accelerate the rate of CO2 absorption, and hence the rate of algae growth, up to 10 times the rate of raceways and therefore could produce up to three times the density of algae per liter of water. Algal biomass generated from the project will be used for research on algal oil extraction and fuel conversion technologies, as well as the development of algal co-products such as high-protein animal or fish meal and fish-oil replacements.

The new facility was established with $2.3 million U.S. Air Force grant. Long-range operational costs of the project would be covered by a $49 million Department of Energy grant that established the National Alliance for Advanced Biofuels and Bioproducts consortium.

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