Chapter 27 - National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Abstract

Between 2007 and 2010, a collaboration between the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the Colorado School of Mines in United States of America was established under a project titled “Establishment of a Bioenergy Focused Microalgae Strain Collection Using Rapid, High Throughput Methodologies.” The collaboration aimed to promote an economically viable algal biofuel industry through maximizing the generation and collection of these bioenergy carriers in picked strains. The project focused on the development of high-throughput procedures aimed to rapidly isolate and purify novel microalgal strains from unique aquatic environments, which resulted in the isolation of 360 distinct microalgal strains. Screening studies of the culture collection to categorize significant biofuel phenotypes counting neutral lipid gathering and rapid growth rates have been conducted using a photobioreactor system. In this context, the selection of growth media and the identification of successful cryopreservation techniques for long-term culture maintenance were achieved. This chapter describes the NREL project, including the process of algal isolation, characterization, and the limitations on potential industrial applications.