Aquatic Species Program
The Aquatic Species Program was a research program in the United States launched in 1978 by President Jimmy Carter and was funded by the United States Department of Energy,[1] which over the course of nearly two decades looked into the production of energy using algae.
[2] There are several main groups of microalgae, that differ by pigment composition, biochemical constituents, ultrastructure, and life cycle.
Work then focused on increasing their lipid content by reducing the supply of key nutrients, such as nitrogen and silicon.
The main focus of the program was the production of biodiesel from high lipid-content algae grown in ponds, utilizing waste CO2 from coal-fired power plants.
[2] Acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACCase) is an enzyme which catalyzes a key metabolic step in the synthesis of oils in algae.
They wanted to know if increasing the level of ACCase activity in the cells would lead to higher oil production.
They conducted studies in California, Hawaii, New Mexico, and found that the long term, reliable production of algae was possible.
The Roswell, New Mexico tests proved that outdoor ponds could be run with extremely high efficiency of CO2 utilization.
Careful control of pH and other physical conditions for introducing CO2 into the ponds allowed greater than 90% utilization.
[3] The July 1998 close out report from the program concluded that even with the most optimistic lipid yields the production of bio-diesel from algae would only become cost effective if petro-diesel prices rose to twice the 1998 levels.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) is the largest increase in scientific research funding in US history.
[3] U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced in January 2010 $80 million in government funding for biofuel research and development.
A few hundred strains were in storage at the University of Hawaii, which for years, every two months, transferred, “passaged”, them to new nutrient-rich test tubes.
“The really bloody shame is that of those 3,000, there are maybe 100 to 150 strains that remain at the University of Hawaii,” said Al Darzins, who heads up the resurgent algal biofuels research program at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
