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Projects: Projects for Investigator
Reference Number	BB/K020617/1
Title	Using flow cytometry and genomics to characterise and optimise microalgal-bacterial consortia cultivated on Wastewater to produce biomass for Biofuel
Status	Completed
Energy Categories	Renewable Energy Sources(Bio-Energy, Other bio-energy) 60%; Renewable Energy Sources(Bio-Energy, Production of other biomass-derived fuels (incl. Production from wastes)) 20%; Renewable Energy Sources(Bio-Energy, Production of transport biofuels (incl. Production from wastes)) 20%;
Research Types	Basic and strategic applied research 100%
Science and Technology Fields	BIOLOGICAL AND AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES (Biological Sciences) 100%
UKERC Cross Cutting Characterisation	Not Cross-cutting 100%
Principal Investigator	Dr C (Carole ) LLewellyn No email address given Plymouth Marine Lab Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML)
Award Type	Research Grant
Funding Source	BBSRC
Start Date	01 October 2013
End Date	04 November 2016
Duration	37 months
Total Grant Value	£701,321
Industrial Sectors	Transport Systems and Vehicles
Region	South West
Programme	Sustainable bioenergy and biofuels (SuBB)
Investigators	Principal Investigator	Dr C (Carole ) LLewellyn , Plymouth Marine Lab, Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML) (99.996%)
	Other Investigator	Dr K (Karen ) Tait , Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML) (0.001%) Dr E (Elaine ) Fileman , Plymouth Marine Lab, Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML) (0.001%) Dr D (Daniel ) White , Plymouth Marine Lab, Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML) (0.001%) Dr G (Glen ) Tarran , Plymouth Marine Lab, Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML) (0.001%)
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Objectives	The research has the potential to impact on a wide range of industries increasingly looking to reduce the cost of the environmental waste they produce and its environmental impact and produce additional products (biofuels) in a sustainable fashion. For example, in India PERC have already worked with several industries on algal-wastewater treatment projects including the alginate industry, leather processing chemicals industry, detergent industry, electroplating industry, confectionery industry, textile dyeing industries, oil drilling effluent treatment plant and a copper smelting industry and have signed recent MOUs with a cement and oil refining industries. Clearly, through considered engagement throughout the work programme,there is significant potential for similar UK industries to benefit from the expertise built up by PERC over the last 20 years. Moreover, if the biofuel products are subject to subsidies or indeed can be utilised by the industries themselves to reduce energy requirements then this may result in significant savings. Further, it is envisaged that the development of said technologies will create new opportunities for employment within the UK. For example, Aragreen are a company based in Gloucestershire that are inthe early stages of developing the use of algae from wastewater, with a current focus on developing products such as antioxidants, pigments and proteins for human and animal consumption. There is enormous scope to make a big impact in this area. There is also potential in the use of algae cultivated on sewage wastewater although that is not the focus of the current project. From an academic impact perspective, genomic approaches and sequence information are beginning to be applied to understanding the composition and function of marine microbes and pipelines are being developed to interpret the large quantities of data generated from metagenome projects and in particular in linking metagenome with metatranscriptome information. We willapply such tools to enable new insight into understanding the structure and function of the algal consortia. The use of the genomic toolbox together with flow cytometric approaches enables a unique and novel understanding on the quantitative and qualitative nature of both the bacteria and algal consortia communities. This will impact more widely on the developing algal bioenergy community of researchers and also on researchers focussed on natural aquatic microbe dynamics in terms microbial food webs and the carbon cycle linked to climate change. Highlights from the project will be promoted to the public through web and press releases and through engagement in school curriculum activities.
Abstract	Producing biofuel from microalgal consortia grown using wastewater has environmental and economic advantages. Currently we have a poor understanding on the composition, development, function and interactions occurring with microalgal consortia. The project brings three partners, Bharathidasan University(BDU, India), the Phycospectrum Environmental Research Centre (PERC) and Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML,UK) together to develop new understanding on developing microalga-bacterial consortia to produce biomass for biofuel. BDU and PERC will focus on optimising strains and scale-up with industrial wastewaters and the UK partner will focus on understanding the microbial dynamics under controlled synthetic wastewater conditions We will determine how the structure, diversity, abundance and function of taxonomic groups relate to microalgal growth and biofuel precursor production. A prevalent wastewater consortium consisting of Scenedesmus, Chlorella and Phormidium will be qualitatively and quantitatively examined over periods of semi-continuous culture in industrial and synthetic wastewaters (PML, BDU). Cellular and molecular characterisation will be achieved using flow cytometry techniques (PML) combined with genomic analysis of community populations (PML,BDU). Growth and photosynthetic efficiency of cultures will be measured together with dissolved organic carbon, particular carbon and nitrogen, nutrients, lipids and carbohydrates. Comparative experiments will be undertaken with and without bacteria, and with an additional carbon source. This will be followed by a more detailed metatranscriptome study of metabolic function (PML). Knowledge gained will have potential to manipulate consortia to improve growth rates and biofuel precursor production through control and or supplementation of bacteria, through the addition of a waste organic carbon source, or through manipulation of metabolic pathways.
Publications	(none)
Final Report	(none)
Added to Database	14/04/14