{"id":1327,"date":"2010-02-01T04:40:00","date_gmt":"2010-02-01T04:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/oilgae.com\/blog\/?p=1327"},"modified":"2010-02-01T04:40:00","modified_gmt":"2010-02-01T04:40:00","slug":"growing-green-bodega-algae-and-bigelow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.oilgae.com\/blog\/2010\/02\/growing-green-bodega-algae-and-bigelow.html","title":{"rendered":"Growing Green: Bodega Algae and Bigelow Laboratory Collaborate to Develop Algal Biofuel Technology in New England"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>You are at: <b><a href=\"http:\/\/www.oilgae.com\/blog\/\">Oilgae Blog<\/a><\/b>.<\/p>\n<p><b>Press Release:<\/b><\/p>\n<p><\/m:defjc><\/m:rmargin><\/m:lmargin><\/m:dispdef><\/m:smallfrac><\/p>\n<div class=\"MsoPlainText\" style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: x-small;\">Massachusetts-based renewable energy company Bodega Algae and Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences in West Boothbay Harbor, Maine, have received a six-month, $150,000 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the National Science Foundation to develop and test a prototype for growing high concentrations of algae for use as biofuel. The grant is titled Light Delivery Enhancement of Photobioreactors and will be used to develop advanced photobioreactors that can be used in the nation\u2019s quest for a carbon-neutral fuel source and energy independence.<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"MsoPlainText\" style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"MsoPlainText\" style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: x-small;\">A photobioreactor cultivates algae efficiently by delivering optimal supplies of nutrients and light for growth.<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"MsoPlainText\" style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"MsoPlainText\" style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: x-small;\">\u201cBodega is a developer of algae photobioreactors that grow high-energy algal biomass for use in the production of biofuel,\u201d said Sam Hill, Bodega Algae\u2019s president. \u201cThe first phase of our SBIR project addresses the technical challenges involved in cultivating large amounts of algae needed for producing and using algal biofuel at an industrial scale.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"MsoPlainText\" style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"MsoPlainText\" style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: x-small;\">The abundant populations of microscopic algae in the oceans of the world are the first link in the food chain for all marine life. Many species of algae contain large amounts of&nbsp; lipids, or natural oils, and if companies can create the technology to grow algae on a large scale, these tiny, single-celled plants could hold the key to a significant domestic source<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"MsoPlainText\" style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: x-small;\">of renewable energy.&nbsp;&nbsp; In addition to their potential as an energy source,<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"MsoPlainText\" style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: x-small;\">algae also offer a multitude of other possible commercial applications, ranging from aquaculture and nutraceuticals to bioremediation of chemicals and greenhouse gas reduction.<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"MsoPlainText\" style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"MsoPlainText\" style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: x-small;\">Dr. Willie Wilson, a Senior Research Scientist at Bigelow Laboratory, is the Interim Director of the Laboratory\u2019s Provasoli-Guillard Center for the Culture of Marine Phytoplankton, the nation\u2019s official collection of marine algae, and the largest micro algae repository on the east coast.<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"MsoPlainText\" style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: x-small;\">Wilson will test methods of light delivery developed at Bodega Algae for their effect on cell&nbsp; growth rates for a range of algal strains<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"MsoPlainText\" style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"MsoPlainText\" style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: x-small;\">\u201cA key goal of the project is to identify the best methods and design for capturing and sending light to algae in larger volumes under varying conditions in order to grow algae,\u201d said Wilson. \u201cThis grant gives us a chance to test methods to grow high volumes of algae quickly and efficiently. This would open one of the major bottlenecks in the production of biofuel.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"MsoPlainText\" style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"MsoPlainText\" style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: x-small;\">The central focus of Bodega Algae, LLC is the development of next-generation commercial algae photobioreactors for high-volume commercial production of algae biomass. Bodega was recently identified by Earth2Tech (<a href=\"http:\/\/earth2tech.com\/\">http:\/\/earth2tech.com<\/a>), a website tracking innovations in green technology, as one of the top 15 biofuel companies in the country to watch.<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"MsoPlainText\" style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"MsoPlainText\" style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: x-small;\">Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences is a center for global ocean research. An independent, nonprofit research institution, the Laboratory is supported by federal research grants and private funds. The Laboratory\u2019s research ranges from microbial oceanography &#8212; examining biological productivity in the world\u2019s oceans at the molecular level &#8212; to the large-scale biogeochemical processes that drive interactions between ocean ecosystems and global environmental conditions.<o:p> <\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"MsoPlainText\" style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: x-small;\"><br \/><\/span><\/div>\n<p>By the way, have you <a href=\"http:\/\/www.oilgae.com\/blog\/feed\/rss.xml\">subscribed to the Oilgae Blog?<\/a>; How about <a href=\"http:\/\/oilgae.com\/mlist\/user\/subscribe.php\">joining the Oilgae mailing list?<\/a>; and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.oilgae.com\/forum\">our forum to discuss on with others<\/a>?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>You are at: Oilgae Blog. Press Release: Massachusetts-based renewable energy company Bodega Algae and Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences in West Boothbay Harbor, Maine, have received a six-month, $150,000 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the National Science Foundation to develop and test a prototype for growing high concentrations of algae for use as [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1327","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.oilgae.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1327","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.oilgae.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.oilgae.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.oilgae.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.oilgae.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1327"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.oilgae.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1327\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.oilgae.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1327"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.oilgae.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1327"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.oilgae.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1327"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}