Micro-cultivation of Spirulina in Sweden Mikro

Contact
Max Larsson
Tel
010 – 505 04 87
Mobile 072 207 51 50
max.larsson@afconsult.com
Date
2014-06-30
Assignment nr
229402
Micro-cultivation of Spirulina in Sweden
Mikro-odling av Spirulina i Sverige
Author: Max Larsson
Report nr: 13-425
Ångpanneföreningens Foundation for Research and Development
Box 8133
104 20 Stockholm
ÅF-INDUSTRY AB
Frösundaleden 2, 169 99 Stockholm. Telefon 010-505 00 00. Fax 010-505 00 10. www.afconsult.com
Org. nr 556224-8012. Säte i Stockholm. Certifierat enligt SS-EN ISO 9001 och ISO 14001
Abstract
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This study has investigated micro-cultivation of Spirulina in a prototype home
photobioreactor with the aim of measuring biomass productivity in Stockholm, Sweden.
Cultivation during February to April in the home bioreactor achieved a maximum
biomass productivity of 4.34 gm-2day-1 with supplementary red LED lighting and 0.9 gm2
day-1 without. These values are lower than expected and attributed to a number of
factors such as strain selection, light limitation, foaming and flocculation.
The biomass produced was deemed microbiologically safe when cultured under sanitary
conditions equating to a home/coffee-room environment. The nutrient content was
comparable to commercially available Spirulina. Lead levels in the biomass were
however marginally over the legal requirements set by the EU. This was considered to
be due to corrosion of a portion of the sparging system. Appropriate changes to the
reactor design and sparger system are recommended for future product development
work.
With the aim of improving the sustainability of the Spirulina nutrient media, cultivation
experiments have been performed using separated human urine that has been treated
with ozone in order to break down medicinal residues. Previous studies have indicated
that such a treatment step located upstream of municipal wastewater treatment plants
allows for more energy efficient treatment of such substances and renders a hygienic
nutrient solution that can be used as fertilizer.
Cultures fed with the urine based medium grew faster than those on the standard
mineral based nutrient. Potential harmful substances from the ozone treatment of
medicinal residues were hence deemed not to affect growth. Further analysis of these
substances was left outside the scope of this project.
Cultivation experiments were also performed at an ecological farm in Heby, 2 hrs. north
of Stockholm, using column photobioreactors utilizing flue gas from a 200 kW
woodchip fired boiler as an additional carbon source. Maximum productivity in this
cultivation system with only natural sunlight amounted to 0.2 gl-1day-1. The low-cost
control system chosen proved sufficient for the purpose when the pH electrode was
changed to a higher quality unit.
Further product development work is recommended regarding design of a user friendly
harvesting unit and a low cost quality control and analysis system for continuous
monitoring of the culture. Longer term cultivation on the urine based medium is of
interest to determine how the macro and micronutrients can be kept in balance. The
first recommendation regarding future work is however to test cultivating more robust
and productive strains of Spirulina.
Table of Contents
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1
Background and Aims ............................................................................................. 4
2
Method.......................................................................................................................... 5
3
Results and Discussion ........................................................................................... 6
3.1
3.2
3.3
3.4
3.5
3.6
Algae related research and industry in Sweden ............................................... 6
Importing Spirulina to Sweden............................................................................... 6
Design of the prototype home photobioreactor ............................................... 7
Growth results in the home photobioreactor.................................................... 8
Growth results on urine medium.........................................................................10
Farm cultivation results ..........................................................................................11
4
Conclusions .............................................................................................................. 13
5
Acknowledgements ............................................................................................... 13
6
References ................................................................................................................ 14
Attachment 1: Algrelaterad forskning och industri i Sverige ......................... 17
Attachment 2: M.Sc. Thesis Report, Daniel Heinsoo .......................................... 21
1
Background and Aims
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Spirulina, the common name given to the cyanobacteria Arthrospira, has been
extensively researched since the 1970’s and is sold as a health food due to its high
content of protein, omega 3 oils, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants [1].
Microalgae, including cyanobacteria, are generally considered efficient photosynthetic
organisms that can produce more biomass per unit time and area compared to terrestrial
crops [2]. Algae can be cultivated on non-arable land and their reproduction cycles can
allow for regular, up to daily, harvesting. For these reasons, Spirulina has been
researched for use in various life support systems in space stations [3], [4] for the
production of oxygen and food for astronauts from exhaled CO2 and recycled nutrients
from urine. Spirulina has been chosen as one of nine crops recommended for potential
space colonisation [5].
Here on earth, algae and cyanobacteria could well serve city based food production
systems for ”Urban Farming”, a growing trend that may in the future develop from
hobby/community based activities to become a necessity for reasons of food security
and sustainability [6].
The majority of Spirulina on the world market is produced outside of the EU. Local
Spirulina production could reduce transportation costs, associated carbon emissions and
allow for consumption of fresh biomass. Fresh harvested biomass is considered to have
a superior nutrient profile compared to spray dried biomass and can more easily be
incorporated in various types of dishes due to a more neutral flavour [7].
A system for producing edible Spirulina in a residential environment has therefore been
envisioned as a sustainable consumer product of the future.
An aim for this project has been to work with the development of a home
photobioreactor and investigate basic Spirulina biomass productivity in
Stockholm Sweden.
Medicinal residues released to the Baltic Sea via wastewater treatment plants (WWTP)
have had alarming effects on fish and other aquatic organisms [8]. Another concern
related to these substances is the potential for development of multiresistent bacteria. A
number of research programs are currently identifying which active substances are
accumulating in the environment and how best to neutralize these substances as an extra
treatment step in municipal WWTP [9], [10]. Information presented a seminarium at
KTH in 2013 argued that an upstream solution targeting the urine stream from urineseparating toilets can offer a more energy efficient method of disabling the majority of
these substances. At the same time, this system can produces a hygienic, relatively odour
free fertilizer suitable for agriculture [11], [12]. This type of system could provide a
sustainable feedstock for urban Spirulina production of the future.
An aim for this project has therefore been to investigate the potential use of such
a nutrient source for Spirulina cultivation.
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Microalgae have also been of interest for purposes of carbon capture and sequestration
from industrial emissions. There are currently a number of projects in Sweden
investigating this potential [13], [14], [15]. Related work specifically for Spirulina
includes ÅForsk report 12-242 that presented cost calculations for a 1 ha facility for
producing Spirulina for fish feed. The results from that report concluded that the
investment and running costs of the designed plant were too high in relation to the
predicted selling price of the biomass.
An aim of this project has been to test Spirulina cultivation in a farm setting
using low cost equipment to utilize flue gas from a 200 kW woodchip fired boiler
as an additional carbon source.
2
Method
A review of current ongoing algal research and industrial activities was performed in
August 2013.
The prototype home photobioreactor was designed and assembled during August 2013
- December 2013. Starter cultures were purchased from the Culture Collection of Algae
and Protozoa in Scotland and cultured on nutrient media from AlgaeLab according to
Baum’s instructions in reference [7]. The photobioreactor was installed on floor level 8
in the ÅF head office in Solna, Stockholm in a south facing window.
A M.Sc. thesis student from KTH Biotechnology performed the bulk of the practical
work from January 2014 – June 2014. This work included the cultivation in the home
photobioreactor, the preparation of and culture with the urine based growth media,
chemical and microbiological analysis work. Portions of the analysis work were also
performed at 3rd party certified laboratories.
The farm based cultivation was assembled and operated for two weeks in April 2014.
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3
Results and Discussion
3.1
Algae related research and industry in Sweden
A summary (in Swedish) of current and ongoing algal research and industrial activities as
of August 2013 is presented in Attachment 1.
3.2
Importing Spirulina to Sweden
Spirulina is a cyanobacterium native to highly alkaline lakes in Africa and South
America. As searches in the SLU’s species databank gave unclear results as to whether
this species exists in Sweden, importing a start culture from within the EU was chosen
as the most viable option for this project.
Kristof Capieau at the Swedish Board of Agriculture clarified that “there are no
restrictions regarding the import of live Spirulina culture to Sweden from France or
Germany”. Spirulina cultures imported from outside the EU must be accompanied with
a phytosanitary certificate that fulfils the guidelines stated on the Board of Agriculture’s
website [16].
Upon request from the Board of Agriculture we have also contacted Melanie Josefsson
at The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency 2013-10-28 and have been informed
that there is no current legislation that places restrictions on this taxonomic group [17].
Contact with the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water management advised us to
contact the local municipal wastewater treatment plant regarding the discharge of used
cultures to the sewers. The opinion of Lars Lindblom, head of Quality and
Environmental Control at Stockholm Water was that “…if Spirulina was to be an
invasive species then it would most likely already be prevalent in Sweden” [18].
For reasons of phytosanitary caution, all cultures and equipment were treated with 5%
chlorine solution for 1-2 hrs. [20] and/or StarSan brewery acid sanitizer prior to
discharge to the sewers.
3.3
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Design of the prototype home photobioreactor
The final bioreactor design chosen is displayed below in Figure 1. A flat panel
bioreactor made of 15 mm glass panes was installed in a kitchen bench furniture unit on
wheels of model “Stenstorp” from IKEA [28]. The style is of a classic colour scheme
easily identified in many Swedish homes with an oiled oak bench top and trims with a
cream white painted beech frame. Stainless steel is used on the shelves. The flat plate
reactor is fitted on the side of the furniture unit placed closest to the window. This
design assumes placement in an illuminated area such as a floor to ceiling south facing
window. Each unit occupied a floor space of 800 x 600 mm.
Figure 1: The prototype home photobioreactor installed at ÅF in Solna.
The underside of the shelves provides space for electrical installations and the control
system. The upper side of the shelves provides space for the custom built dimmable 0160 W red LED grow lights and storage of nutrient mixes, and other equipment such as
harvest press. Nylon printing cloth was used as harvest filter as per reference [7] in
combination with a stainless steel potato press for expelling water. The lid of the reactor
was manufactured in birch plywood lined with food grade epoxy. The lid provided
installation space for a peristaltic harvest pump (also used for draining the reactor)
connected to a food grade silicon line from the bottom of the reactor and an inlet for an
adjustable air pump connected to an air sparger at the bottom of the reactor. Aquarium
thermostat controlled submersible heaters were used to maintain the culture
temperature of 30°C during the light period. The temperature in the reactor was never
below 20°C as it was placed indoors. Maximum temperature during full sunlight was
recorded to 34°C, below reported temperatures of 39-40°C that can be harmful to the
cells [22]. The internal dimension between the reactor walls, hence the light path of the
reactor was 65 mm. This was chosen as a trade-off between volume required for
thermal mass so as not to overheat during full sunlight, final weight of the unit and
accessibility to clean out the reactor.
3.4
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Growth results in the home photobioreactor
Detailed results regarding the growth trials are presented in Daniel Heinsoo’s Master Thesis Report,
please see Attachment 2.
Cultivation during February to April in the home bioreactor achieved a maximum
biomass productivity of 4.34 gm-2day-1 with 160 W supplementary red LED lighting (see
Figure 1, left) and 0.9 gm-2day-1 without LEDs. The growth curve for the semi
continuous batch operation run 2A with continuous artificial illumination [20] is shown
below in Figure 2, where blue vertical lines represent harvests.
Figure 2: Semi continuous batch operation for cultivation run 2A, (DW = dry weight, OD = Optical
density at 560nm) see D. Heinsoo’s thesis [20] page 23 for further details.
Average sunlight levels reaching the reactor remained relatively constant despite more
sunlight hours per day as time went towards summer, see Figure 2. This is believed to
be due to the change in inclination of the suns path relative to the building’s façade
resulting in a greater angle of reflection. Growth, displayed by the fitted curves in Figure
2, showed a negative tendency as time went on which was the opposite of what was
expected. The DW measurement furthest to the right depicts the culture after having
crashed when sudden flocculation due to polysaccharide accumulation and wall growth
was experienced. Future work with this reactor is recommended to test harvesting at a
lower optical density as the linear growth characteristic is indicative of light inhibition
[20], [24].
These biomass production values are lower than expected. A yearly average of 6-8 gm2
day-1 is achieved by a large industrial Spirulina producer using raceway ponds in
California [23]. In more favourable climates production values are commonly 15 gm2
day-1 and values of 25 gm-2day-1 are reported for photobioreactor systems in such
climates [25]. The very low production results from cultivation without supplemental
illumination indicate that a number of factors were not optimal during the cultivation.
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Based on these results the home photobioreactor with supplemental illumination could
provide a 10 gram dose of Spirulina once every 5 days. This could provide a
recommended daily dose of 5 gram per person [7] for 2 people per week. The electricity
usage for the entire unit including LED lights was 104 W and operated 24h/day.
Assuming 1 SEK/kWh then the monthly electricity cost was 75 SEK/month. With the
measured productivity the biomass was produced for around 1250 SEK/kg not
including the investment cost of the reactor and nutrients. The cost of nutrients varied
greatly due to the amount purchased. The retail price of equivalent biomass in health
food shops in Stockholm and France is commonly around 1000-1500 SEK/kg [26],
[27]. In the interests of sustainability, electricity sourced from renewable energy
production such as wind and solar should be used to power such a system.
The selected strain of Arthrospira displayed a strong tendency to flocculate in a range of
different conditions throughout the project. A recommendation for future work is to
test cultivation of more robust and productive strains of Arthrospira. For cultivation
without artificial illumination, thinner panels and hence shorter light paths are
recommended.
Foaming, see Figure 3, was another problem encountered
when the pH in the culture rose above 10. The foam had a
tendency to transport cells up above the water line that
would later dry out encrust the inside of the reactor walls.
The solution to this problem was the use of a surface
tension reducing food grade silicon oil that was manually
introduced. Future work should install an automatic dosing
system to reduce the manual labour associated with the
maintenance of the system, as an end consumer product
should aim for as little maintenance as possible.
Figure 3: Foaming in reactor
The biomass produced was deemed microbiologically safe when cultured under sanitary
conditions equating to a home/coffee-room environment. The nutrient content was
comparable to commercially available Spirulina [20].
Lead levels in the biomass were however marginally over the legal requirements set by
the EU. This was considered to be due to corrosion of a portion of the sparging system.
The sparger used was from an aquarium supplier, similar to the spargers recommended
in reference [7]. A recommendation from the work performed herein is to use glass,
food grade silicon, food grade stainless steel and to avoid aquarium equipment as far as
possible when choosing reactor equipment. Appropriate changes to the reactor design
and sparger system are recommended for future product development work.
Further product development work is recommended regarding design of a user friendly
harvesting unit and a low cost quality control and analysis system for continuous
monitoring of the culture. This is believed to be an important tool to develop if
consumers with little or no experience of algae cultivation are to culture Spirulina at
home, as we believe costs for sending samples to laboratories for analysis are inhibitory
for potential micro-producers.
3.5
Growth results on urine medium
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A brief summary of the results from the ozone treatment of human urine spiked with medicinal residues
and used as nutrient media for Spirulina cultivation is presented below. For a detailed report, please see
Attachment 2: Daniel Heinsoo’s M.Sc. Thesis [20].
Human urine was collected from a urine separating toilet located at The Machine
Design Department at KTH. The collected urine was spiked with diclofenac and
carbamazepine as these were the easiest and the most difficult substances to break down
in a previous study performed by TeknikMarknad AB [12]. The ozone treatment step
was performed in an experimental setup at the TeknikMarknad laboratory over a period
of 3 days. Analysis work regarding removal of active substances and effect on plant
nutrient parameters was performed by Eurofins AB.
A 36 hour residence time in the ozone treatment system reduced the medicinal active
substance levels to less than 1 % of their initial values. Urea nitrogen was largely
unaffected by the ozone process. Ammonia and nitrite nitrogen were significantly
reduced to nitrate. The odour of the urine media was largely reduced in the treatment
step due to the chemical break-down of the uric acid, a positive factor not to be
neglected when considering that such a process is envisioned to be placed in an urban
environment.
A separate parallel batch cultivation of Spirulina was performed in 1 l flasks in the ÅF
Material and Water Chemistry Laboratory with the dimmable red LED lights on floor
level 8. The experiment was designed to replace the conventional nitrogen source with
the urine media, results are displayed below in Figure 4.
Figure 4: Batch cultivation of Spirulina on urine media, se reference [20].
Cultures fed with the urine based medium grew faster than those on the standard
mineral based nutrient. Potential harmful substances from the ozone treatment of
medicinal residues were hence deemed not to affect growth. Further analysis of such
potential break-down substances was left outside the scope of this project.
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This initial trial indicates that a nutrient solution as described herein and in references
[12] and [20] could well serve as a sustainable nutrient source for urban Spirulina
production of the future. Longer term cultivation in a continuous or semi batch
operated mode on this form of nutrients is recommended for future work.
3.6
Farm cultivation results
A brief cultivation experiment was performed at Gårdsjö Ecological Farm in Heby, 2
hrs. drive north of Stockholm. Twenty-five litre column photobioreactors made of
polyethylene tubing with welded seams were inoculated with approximately 5 litres of
start culture with optical density >0,5 OD at 560 nm. Start nutrient media from
AlgaeLab [7] was used together with carbon filtered local tap water. Flue gas from a 200
kW woodchip fired boiler was sucked through an ash filter by means of a membrane
compressor and pumped approximately 120 m to the greenhouse. Flue gas was
introduced by means of a low cost pH controller to the culture on demand as an
additional carbon source. The CO2 content of the flue gas was on average 14%.
Temperature in the greenhouse varied between 10 degrees in the night time to 35 during
daylight. No artificial illumination was used. The cultivation setup and boiler are
displayed in figure 5 below:
a)
Flue gas extraction
b)
Cultivation setup with PE column reactors
c)
Left: Boiler house. Right: Greenhouse where the cultivation was installed, see b)
Figure 5: Farm experiment setup.
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Growth results for the cultivation period lasting from the 6th to the 26 of April 2014 are
displayed below in Figure 6. Cultivation commenced with only air mixing, flue gas was
introduced from day 17.
3
OD 560 nm
2,5
2
1,5
1
0,5
0
0,00
5,00
10,00
15,00
20,00
25,00
Time (d)
Figure 6: Growth measurements for farm based experiment.
A higher culture density was reached in the column reactors of outer diameter 200 mm
compared to the flat plate reactor in the prototype home bioreactor, when flue gas was
introduced from day 17. It was around days 18-20 that the maximum productivity was
measured at roughly 0.2 gl-1day-1. Focus was placed on the practical trial of different
equipment, especially the low cost control system which performed well after the
original pH electrode was swapped to a more expensive unit. The total cost for the unit
was less than 600€ and allowed for remote monitoring of the system so as to provide
telephone support to the farmers. This can be considered a viable replacement for the
control system listed as a part of the cost calculation in ÅForsk report 12-242 [21]. The
flue gas proved, as expected, to accelerate the growth of the culture.
A trial operating for a longer period including a harvesting protocol should be
performed in future work to gather further data regarding productivity. The bag reactors
from the Canadian supplier failed on many occasions and are not recommended for
further use.
4
Conclusions
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Productivity in the home photobioreactor was lower than expected but the concept is
still considered viable. The home photobioreactor with supplemental illumination could
provide a 10 gram dose of Spirulina once every 5 days, providing 2 people with a diet
supplement. Harvesting once a week (even if not once a day) can still be considered
better than harvesting once per season, as is the case with for ex. tomatoes. The running
costs in terms of electricity are in the same order of magnitude as the price of
purchasing an equivalent amount of powdered Spirulina from health food shops in
Stockholm.
There is much room for improvement regarding productivity. The first
recommendation for future work is to cultivate a different strain of Spirulina. A strain of
A. Platensis has been collected from a commercial producer in France [27] and further
work will be performed outside of this project. A number of other recommendations
for future work have been laid forth in this report.
The produced biomass was deemed microbiologically safe when cultured in a
kitchen/coffee-room environment, even when frequently visited by different people.
Adjustments must be made to portions of the reactor system to remove sources of
heavy metal contamination. This is believed to be a simple procedure. To come closer
to a consumer product, improvements in user friendliness are considered necessary for
the home photobioreactor. Recommendations for this include better systems for
harvesting and monitoring the culture.
The ozone treatment system eliminated medicinal residues and did not greatly affect the
plant nutrients. The urine based fertilizer solution was successfully used to cultivate
Spirulina in this initial trial. This indicates that a nutrient solution as described herein
and in references [12] and [20] could well serve as a sustainable nutrient source for
urban Spirulina production of the future. Longer term cultivation in a continuous or
semi batch operated mode on this form of nutrients is recommended for future work.
Low cost equipment for a farm based system has been evaluated and functioned to a
satisfactory level. This is considered a positive first step towards the development of a
remote support system for Spirulina farmers in Sweden.
5
Acknowledgements
I would like to extend my gratitude to:
1) Ångpanneföreningens Foundation for Research and Development for financing
this work.
2) Daniel Heinsoo and Luis Montero for their collaboration and support during
this project.
3) The Gårdenborg family for hosting the farm based experiment and Jonas
Lindblom for help with the assembly of equipment.
4) Åsa Sivard, Jonas Eriksson and all the other people involved at ÅF in Solna on
level 8.
6
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CRC Press.
Biodiesel from microalgae, 2007, Yusuf Chisti, accessed online:
https://www.tamu.edu/faculty/tpd8/BICH407/AlgaeBiodiesel.pdf
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Guo, L. Qin, Y. Tang, Advances in Space Research 41 (2008) p. 742-747.
MELISSA: A potential experiment for a precursor mission to the Moon, 1996 Ch.
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Odla under tak i eller nära bostaden, 2013, Annika Carlsson-Kanyama, Eva-Lotta
Johansson Thunqvist, Tore Larsson, KTH Centrum för Hälsa och
Byggande, ISBN 978-91-7595-085-3.
Grow Your Own Spirulina Superfood – A Simple How-To Guide, 2013, Aaron
Baum, AlgeaLab LCC
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2013-10-23
Telephone correspondens with Melanie Josefsson, The Swedish
Environmental Protection Agency 2013-10-28
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Stockholm Vatten, 2013-11-08
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Attachment 1:
17(21)
Algrelaterad forskning och industri i Sverige
Nedan följer en kort summering av algrelaterade forskning och kommersiella aktiviteter
i Sverige. Summeringen utgår till stor del från Eva Albers presentation från The Nordic
Algae Network konferens 2012 med kompletteringar från mina förfrågningar senaste
tiden. För att avgränsa sammanfattningen har examensarbeten ej medtagits, vidare har
fokus lagts på applicerad forskning.
Akademisk forskning sker hos flertal universitet och högskolor i Sverige, se figur 1 för
översikt.
Albers skriver att det finns en stark
bas inom marinbiologisk forskning
inom Sverige och att tillämpad
forskning förekommer i små spridda
grupper.
Allmänt ligger mer forskningsfokus på
mikroalger [1], trots att makroalger
och mikroalger förekommer inom den
svenska algindustrin.
Figur 1: Akademisk forskning om alger i Sverige, figur från Albers [1]
Fredrik Gröndahl på Industriell Ekologi hos KTH, även baserat hos Sven
Lovéncentret i Fiskebäckskil, har nyligen beviljats 31 MSEK [2] för ett 5 årigt projekt
för odling av havsbaserade makroalger på västkusten. Upptag av närsalter från havet och
biomassa till ett bioraffinaderikoncept ska undersökas med start i mitten av augusti
2013. Biomassan ska analyseras hos Chalmers (samarbete med Eva Albers) och KTH
Polymerteknik i syfte att utreda potentiella mattillsatser till livsmedelsindustrin, hur
behandling av biomassan ska gå till samt hur biomassan ska förvaras. Möjligheter till
rötning av rester från denna process ska sedan utföras hos Linné Universitet [3]. På
KTH AlbaNova forskar Björn Renberg om bioenergi från cyanobakterier [1].
Eva Albers och Ingrid Undeland på Chalmers i Göteborg har sedan 2008 undersökt
bl.a. flocculeringsmetoder för skörd av mikroalger, bioetanol från algbiomassa
(samarbete med Francesco Gentili SLU), tillväxt och cellsammansättning från
algkulturer odlade på rökgaser (samarbete med Susanne Ekendahl på SP) samt utfört
processmodellering för industriell CO2 infångst för biogas och bioetanol framställning
[1] [4]. Pågående projekt handlar om extraheringsmetoder för omega-3 oljor (EPA och
DHA) samt matsmältningsegenskaper hos människor för extrakt från brunalger [1].
Francesco Gentili på SLU i Umeå utför pilotodling av mikroalger på avloppsvatten
och rökgaser från Dåva kraftvärmeverk. Kontinuerlig odling sker i fyra 6-10 m3 raceway
bassänger i växthus [1] [5]. Under 2011 började Francesco undersöka lokala vilda arter.
Catherine Legrand hos Linné Universitetet har i april 2013 startat ett 3-årigt
pilotodlingsprojekt ”Algoland” där prestanda för CO2-infångst utreds för lokala marina
(Östersjö) mikroalgarter i anslutning till Cementas bruk på Öland. Odling kommer att
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ske på upp till 200 m2 på en yta som tidigare använts för oljecisterner och matas med
rökgaser från en cementugn. Projektet bygger vidare på deras tidigare Å-Forsk
finansierade projekt. ÅF har verkat som teknisk rådgivare gällande odlingssystem till
detta projekt. Odlingsystemet har invigts den 14.e juni 2014.
Susanne Ekendahl på SP har tilldelats 4 MSEK av Vinnova till pilotodling av alger hos
Bäckhammars Bruk. Syftet är att framställa biooljor utifrån pappers- och massarester för
analys av användbarhet. Blandade sötvattensgrönalger ska odlas på en yta upp till 500 m2
i öppna bassängreaktorer med rökgaser från en sodapanna [6]. Odlingen har invigts den
27.e maj 2014.
Fikret Mamedov och Stenbjörn Styring driver forskning hos Uppsala Universitet där
väteproduktion från grönalger utreds [7].
ÅF Bygg & Anläggning har sedan juni 2012 arbetat med Å-Forsk projektet
”Förutsättningar för storskalig produktion av biomassa genom alger i svensk industri” där
lönsamhet för en teoretisk Spirulinaodling kopplat till spillresurser inom svensk industri
har analyserats..
Karolina Ininbergs och Sara Jonasson på SU Botaniska har utfört en förstudie om
rökgasrening och biogasproduktion med mikroalger [8].
SLU i Alnarp under ledning av Malin Hultberg har sökt anslag för att utreda effekter
av LED belysning på omega 3 produktion hos grönalgen Chlorella vulgaris [9].
Jesper Olsson på Mälardalens Högskola undersöker samrötning av algbiomassa med
diverse substrat från kommunala reningsverk [25].
Algindustrin i Sverige består av ett fåtal aktörer, se figur 2 för översikt.
AstaReal AB är Sveriges pionjär
på den kommersiella
algodlingsarenan och startades
som spin-off företag från
Uppsala Universitet 25 år sedan.
Företaget var först i världen att
kommersiellt producera
astaxanthin från mikroalgen
Haemaotoccus pluvialis.
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Figur 2: Kommersiella aktörer i Sverige, figur från Albers [1]
Odling sker inomhus i bioreaktorer i Gustavsberg. Företaget är helägt av Fuji Chemical
Industry CO från Japan [10]. Omsättning 2012-03 uppges vara 29 MSEK [11].
SimrisAlg AB grundades av Fredrika Gullfot och Tony Fagerberg 2010 som spin-off
från KTH och Lunds Universitet. De har nyligen installerat ett fotobioreaktorsystem i
ett 2000 m2 växthus i Hammenhög. Deras första produkter beståendes av omega 3 oljor
och pigment ska lanseras under 2013 och är riktade mot hälsokost marknaden [1] [12].
Omsättning 2012-12 uppges vara ca 1 MSEK [13].
Algi Nutrition AB i Göteborg undersöker alginater från makroalger p.g.a. dess
blodtryckssänkande egenskaper med syfte att inkorporera dessa i knäckebröd producerat
av ”Tångbrödsspecialisten”[1]. Grebbestad Bageri AB ”Tångbrödsspecialisten” producerar
knäckebröd med mjöl framställt från makroalgen Laminara digitata som skördas lokalt
[14]. Omsättning 2012-04 uppges vara ca 1 MSEK [15].
Ostrea Sverige AB odlar ostron (Ostrea edulis) och till detta ändamål odlar även
mikroalger [1] [16].
En svensk pionjär inom akvaponisk fisk- och grönsaksodling, Per-Erik Nygård hos
Kattastrands Kretsloppsodling i Härnösand [18], går snart i pension men har nämnt
planer på integrering av algodling hos detta system.
Till företag i Sverige som sysslar med utredningar och konsultverksamhet inom
algområdet kan nämnas N-research AB [19], Bio Marin Lund [20], Clear Water
Energy Nordic AB [21], Scandinavian Biogas Fuels AB [22], ÅF Bygg och
Anläggning samt Sweco [23]. Mer information om projekt och kontakter finns hos
Submariner [4] och Nordic Algae Network [24].
Författaren reserverar sig för att ha missat någon eller några aktörer.
Med vänlig hälsning, Max Larsson, +4672 207 5150, ÅF Bygg & Anläggning
Källor till Bilaga 1:
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Algae Activities in Sweden, Presentation av Eva Albers, besökt online 2013-07-29
http://www.nordicinnovation.org/Documents/Attachments/NordicAlgeaNetwork_MarineProject/Algae%20activities
%20in%20Sweden_Eva%20Albers.pdf
Alger ska bli mat och energi, DN besökt online 2013-07-29 på http://www.dn.se/ekonomi/alger-ska-bli-mat-ochenergi/
Fredrik Gröndahl, KTH, telefonsamtalal, 2013-07-29
Submariner Contact Network, besökt online 2013-07-29 på http://www.submarinerproject.eu/index.php?option=com_zoo&view=category&Itemid=378
Algodling ska ge råvara för biobränsle, SLU 2012-07-05, besökt online 2013-07-30
http://www.slu.se/sv/centrumbildningar-och-projekt/sluholding/nyhetsarkiv/2012/7/algodling-ska-ge-ravara-forbiobransle/
Susanne Ekendahl, SP, Personlig kommunikation 2013-05-15.
New findings on hydrogen production in green algae, Uppsala Universitet 2013-04-16 besökt online 2013-07-30
http://www.uu.se/en/research/news/article/?id=2505&area=2,5,8,10,16&typ=artikel&na=&lang=en
Karolina Ininbergs, personlig kommunikation 2012-04-13
Hans G Forsberg, personlig kommunikation 2013-06-10
AstaReal AB, besökt online 2013-07-30 http://www.bioreal.se/index.php?page=1&id=6
Allabolag, besökt online 2013-07-30 http://www.allabolag.se/5566431317/AstaReal_AB
SimrisAlg AB, besökt online 2013-07-30 http://www.simrisalg.se/vad-vi-gor/
Allabolag, besökt online 2013-07-30 http://www.allabolag.se/5568419187/Simris_Alg_AB
Grebbestad Tångknäcke/Tångbaguette, besökt online 2013-07-30 http://www.tangbrod.se/
Allabolag, besökt online 2013-07-30 http://www.allabolag.se/5567746341/GREBBESTAD_BAGERI_AB
Ostrea Sverige AB, besökt online 2013-07-30 http://www.ostrea.se/odling.php
Jonas Lindblom, personlig kommunikation 2013-07-01.
Per-Erik Nygård, personlig kommunikation vid platsbesök hos Kattastrands kretsloppsodling 2013-02-09
N-research AB besökt online 2013-07-30 http://www.n-research.se/
Bio Marin Lund besökt online 2013-07-30 http://www.submarinerproject.eu/index.php?option=com_zoo&task=item&item_id=1293&Itemid=378
Clear Water Energy Nordic AB, personlig kommunikation på Submariner konferensen 2011-09-28
Scandinavian Biogas Fuels AB, besökt online 2013-07-30 http://www.submarinerproject.eu/index.php?option=com_zoo&task=item&item_id=1265&Itemid=378
Rooftop algae farm designed by architects from Sweco, 2011-07-04, besökt online 2013-07-30
http://www.swecogroup.com/en/sweco-group/Press/News/2011/Rooftop-algae-farm-designed-by-architects-fromSweco/
Nordic Algae Network, besökt online 2013-07-30 http://www.nordicinnovation.org/projects/marine-innovationprojects/nordic-algae-network/
Jesper Olsson, personlig kommunikation 2014-06-03
Attachment 2:
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M.Sc. Thesis Report, Daniel Heinsoo
See attached .pdf:
Cultivation of Spirulina in Conventinal and Urine Based Medium in a Household Scale System