Cal Poly Receives $1.3 Million Dept. of EnergyGrant for Algae Biofuels Production Project
February 22, 2013
Contact: Amy Hewes
Cal Poly Engineering
805-756-6402; ahewes@calpoly.edu
Photo by Dennis Steers
SAN LUIS OBISPO — The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded a $1.3 million grant to a multidisciplinary Cal Poly research team, the Algae Technology Group (ATG), for a project aimed at developing processes that turn waste resources (such as those from municipal and agricultural wastewaters) and nutrients recycled from algae biomass processing into sustainable algal biofuels.
The DOE hopes to significantly improve the sustainability of algae-based biofuels and accelerate technological breakthroughs. The project will be carried out in experimental raceway ponds at the City of San Luis Obispo Water Reclamation Facility, a pilot facility that has been invited to join the U.S. Department of Energy National Algae Biofuel Testbed program.
The DOE research project could result in technology that has the ability to save Californians hundreds of millions of dollars in water recycling costs each year. “Renewable energy is necessary for a sustainable society, but the current production of biodiesel from algae is water-intensive,” said Corinne Lehr, professor of chemistry. “Our goal is to develop methods of recycling the water used to grow the algae.”
“This could make commercial production of biofuel feasible in terms of both sustainability and cost.”
ATG is led by Lehr and Civil and Environmental Engineering Professor Tryg Lundquist. ATG includes faculty and students from six departments, including chemistry, biology, environmental engineering, animal science, food science, and electrical engineering.
"The students are so enthusiastic and hard working — and well prepared. Their Learn by Doing courses have given them the skills they need to be successful in research," Lehr said. "And this hands-on experience in microbiology and analytical chemistry is a great stepping stone to graduate school or a job in industry."
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