Microalgae: the green gold of the future

Published in the series "Green raw materials"

1. Technology for health and environment; Agenda for sustainable and
healthy industrial applications of organic secondary flows and agrocommodities in 2010, Sietze Vellema and Barbara de Klerk-Engels (2003). 

2. New compostable packaging materials for food applications, Christiaan
Bolck, Michiel van Alst, Karin Molenveld, Gerald Schennink andMaarten van der Zee (2003). 

3. Markets for green options: Experiences in packaging, paints and insulation materials, Sietze Vellema (composition) (2003).  4. Green raw materials in production; Recent developments on the market, Harriëtte Bos and Bert van Rees (2004).  5. Technological innovation in the chain; Green raw materials under development, Harriëtte Bos and Marc van den Heuvel(2005).  6. Bioplastics, Christiaan Bolck (2006).  7. Softeners; Green raw materials offer new possibilities, Karin Molenveld (2006).  8. Breaking the innovation paradox; 9 examples from the Biobased Economy, Christiaan Bolck and Paulien Harmsen (2007).  9. Agrification and the Biobased Economy; An analysis of 25 years of policy and innovation in the field of green raw materials, Harriëtte Bos (2008).  10. Biorefinery; To a higher value of biomass, Bert Annevelink and Paulien Harmsen (2010).  11. Sustainability of biobased products; Energy use and greenhouse gas
emissions of products with sugars as raw material, Harriëtte Bos, Sjaak Conijn, Wim Corré, Koen Meesters and Martin Patel (2011) 

For more information go to www.groenegrondstoffen.nl

Preface The cultivation of microalgae can playan important role in environmentalfriendly production of raw materials for biodiesel. In addition, algae offer several other useful materials for the food and chemical industry. This booklet describes the possibilities for economically viable large scale algae cultivation for the production of valuable products, including raw material for biodiesel. Chapter 1 illustrates the potential role ofmicroalgae in developing a more sustainable society. Chapter 2 describes some important groups of algae and the opportunities they offer as producers of useful substances. Chapter 3 deals with the main algae cultivation systems and the current state-of-the-art of algae cultivation in the Netherlands. Chapter 4 discusses the benefits of algae cultivation in relation to other agricultural crops. Chapter5 analyses the possibilities of cost-effective, large-scale microalgal production and the significant role that the new algae centre in Wageningen, AlgaePARC, will play in the research on optimization of algae cultivation. Chapter 6 is a summary of the conclusions and recommendations for costeffective microalgae cultivation.

Contents
1.  2.  3.  4.  5.  6.  7. Introduction.................................................................................. 7  Microalgae .................................................................................... 9  Algae cultivation .......................................................................... 13  Algae in the Biobased Economy ..................................................... 19 AlgaePARC.................................................................................. 23  Conclusions ................................................................................ 29  References ................................................................................. 31 

Colophon ........................................................................................... 34 

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1.

Intr roduction n

Em merging ecconomies and the gr a rowing wor populati rld ion rely he eavily on the na atural resources of th earth. In 2050, the world pop he n e pulation is estimated to be around n e nine billion people; th is 1.5 times the current pop his t c pulation. The T de emand for commodities will rise explosively. Never before the n necessity and ch hallenge for a sustaina r able society was large than in th...