Algae for Bioremediation and Biopolymers

F.A.Q.


What are the goals of the BNF?

  1. Cleaner water by developing technologies for bioremediation of polluted rivers, agricultural wastewater and other impaired bodies of water.

  2. Efficient agricultural land management practices

  3. Development of biopolymers to replace current plastics to reduce non-degradable consumer packaging waste

  4. Development of other economically viable high value algae derivatives and by-products

Who will use this technology?

  1. We hope that our technologies will be adopted around the world, especially by farmers both at home and globally.

Why algae?

  1. As one of the most efficient converters of solar energy to biomass, algae grows quickly. Algae is an organism which consumes organic waste, absorbs inorganic elements, and is a well documented natural detoxifier that is extremely well suited for bioremediation of agricultural runoff waters.​

WHAT PRODUCTS CAN BE MADE FROM ALGAE?

  1. Algae can provide feedstock for nutraceuticals, animal feed, cosmetic oils, and biopolymers. Algae holds great promise to displace petroleum plastics as well as the much less efficiently produced corn-starch based biopolymers such as PLA.

Don’t we have other alternative plastics?

  1. Yes, we have corn based biopolymers. Corn which supplies the vast majority of current biopolymers is a much less efficient producer of biomass as has been shown with corn ethanol. Diverting corn from food crop to this industrial use is not ideal for global economic stability.

Where is the Salton Sea?

  1. The Salton Sea is located in Southern California in the Imperial and Coachella Valleys.

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Why begin at the Salton Sea?

  1. Research organizations like the San Diego Center for Algae Biotechnology have already selected the Imperial Valley as an ideal place for algae production and research.

  2. The climate, the proximity to research centers, the geography, and the incredible challenges presented in this region make it an ideal starting point.

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