THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS Sustainable Development of Algal Biofuels Committee on the Sustainable Development of Algal Biofuels Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources Division on Earth and Life Studies Board on Energy and Environmental Systems Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Sustainable Development of Algal Biofuels THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS 500 Fifth Street, NW Washington, DC 20001 NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance. This study was supported by Contract/Grant No. DE-DT0001899 between the National Academy of Sciences and the Department of Energy. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations or agencies that provided support for the project. International Standard Book Number 13: 978-0-309-26032-9 International Standard Book Number 10: 0-309-26032-9 Additional copies of this report are available for sale from the National Academies Press, 500 Fifth Street, NW, Keck 360, Washington, DC 20001; (800) 624-6242 or (202) 334-3313; http://www.nap.edu/. Cover: Design by Anne Rogers. Photo courtesy of Sammy Boussiba, J. Blaustein Institute for Desert Research, Sde-Boker. Copyright 2012 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. 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Sustainable Development of Algal Biofuels COMMITTEE ON THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF ALGAL BIOFUELS JENNIE C. HUNTER-CEVERA, Chair, Hunter and Associates, Ellicott City, Maryland SAMMY BOUSSIBA, J. Blaustein Institute for Desert Research, Sde-Boker JOEL L. CUELLO, The University of Arizona, Tucson CLIFFORD S. DUKE, Ecological Society of America, Washington, DC REBECCA A. EFROYMSON, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Tennessee SUSAN S. GOLDEN, University of California, San Diego JENNIFER HOLMGREN, Lanzatech, Roselle, Illinois DONALD L. JOHNSON, Grain-Processing Corporation (retired), Muscatine, Iowa MARK E. JONES, The Dow Chemical Company, Midland, Michigan VAL H. SMITH, The University of Kansas, Lawrence CAI STEGER, Natural Resources Defense Council, New York GREGORY N. STEPHANAPOULOS, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Massachusetts LARRY P. WALKER, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York ERIC WILLIAMS, Rochester Institute of Technology, New York PAUL V. ZIMBA, Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi Staff EVONNE P.Y. TANG, Study Codirector K. JOHN HOLMES, Study Codirector RUTH S. ARIETI, Research Associate KATHLEEN REIMER, Senior Program Assistant ROBIN A. SCHOEN, Director JAMES ZUCCHETTO, Director v Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Sustainable Development of Algal Biofuels BOARD ON AGRICULTURE AND NATURAL RESOURCES NORMAN R. SCOTT, Chair, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York (Emeritus) PEGGY F. BARLETT, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia HAROLD L. BERGMAN, University of Wyoming, Laramie RICHARD A. DIXON, Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, Ardmore, Oklahoma DANIEL M. DOOLEY, University of California, Oakland JOAN H. EISEMANN, North Carolina State University, Raleigh GARY F. HARTNELL, Monsanto Company, St. Louis, Missouri GENE HUGOSON, Global Initiatives for Food Systems Leadership, St. Paul, Minnesota MOLLY M. JAHN, University of Wisconsin-Madison ROBBIN S. JOHNSON, Cargill Foundation, Wayzata, Minnesota A.G. KAWAMURA, Solutions from the Land, Washington, DC JULIA L. KORNEGAY, North Carolina State University, Raleigh KIRK C. KLASING, University of California, Davis VICTOR L. LECHTENBERG, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana PHILIP E. NELSON, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana KEITH PITTS, Marrone Bio Innovations, Davis, California CHARLES W. RICE, Kansas State University, Manhattan HAL SALWASSER, Oregon State University, Corvallis ROGER A. SEDJO, Resources for the Future, Washington, DC KATHLEEN SEGERSON, University of Connecticut, Storrs MERCEDES VAZQUEZ-AÑON, Novus International, Inc., St. Charles, Missouri Staff ROBIN A. SCHOEN, Director CAMILLA YANDOC ABLES, Program Officer RUTH S. ARIETI, Research Associate KAREN L. IMHOF, Administrative Coordinator KARA N. LANEY, Program Officer JANET M. MULLIGAN, Senior Program Associate for Research KATHLEEN REIMER, Senior Program Assistant EVONNE P.Y. TANG, Senior Program Officer PEGGY TSAI, Program Officer vi Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Sustainable Development of Algal Biofuels BOARD ON ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SYSTEMS ANDREW BROWN, JR., Chair, Delphi Corporation, Troy, Michigan WILLIAM F. BANHOLZER, The Dow Chemical Company, Midland, Michigan MARILYN BROWN, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta WILLIAM CAVANAUGH III, Progress Energy (retired), Raleigh, North Carolina PAUL DeCOTIS, Long Island Power Authority, Albany, New York CHRISTINE EHLIG-ECONOMIDES, Texas A&M University, College Station SHERRI GOODMAN, CNA, Alexandria, Virginia NARAIN HINGORANI, Independent Consultant, Los Altos Hills, California ROBERT HUGGETT, Independent Consultant, Seaford, Virginia DEBBIE NIEMEIER, University of California, Davis DANIEL NOCERA, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge MICHAEL OPPENHEIMER, Princeton University, New Jersey DAN REICHER, Stanford University, California BERNARD ROBERTSON, Daimler-Chrysler (retired), Bloomfield Hills, Michigan GARY ROGERS, FEV, Inc, Auburn Hills, Michigan ALISON SILVERSTEIN, Consultant, Pflugerville, Texas MARK THIEMENS, University of California, San Diego RICHARD WHITE, Oppenheimer & Company, New York City Staff JAMES ZUCCHETTO, Director DANA CAINES, Financial Associate ALAN CRANE, Senior Program Officer K. JOHN HOLMES, Senior Program Officer LANITA JONES, Administrative Coordinator ALICE WILLIAMS, Senior Program Assistant JONATHAN YANGER, Senior Project Assistant vii Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Sustainable Development of Algal Biofuels Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Sustainable Development of Algal Biofuels Preface T he desire to develop energy sources that can provide greater environmental and secu- rity benefits has spurred research and investments in the development of alternatives to petroleum, the dominant source of liquid transportation fuels. Because of its high biomass (and oil productivity in some cases), algae and cyanobacteria (commonly referred to as blue-green algae) frequently have been considered a promising renewable feedstock for fuel production. We all were taught that petroleum and other fossil fuels formed on this planet from plant remains that were compressed for millions of years at high temperatures. It seems fitting that scientists would choose to study some of the most primitive life forms to develop large-scale biofuel replacements for such fossil fuels. Algae have been grown under a variety of conditions for the production of lipids and high-value products for sev- eral decades. Two factors that influenced the consideration of algal biofuel production in the past were the cost of a barrel of oil and the ability to cultivate algae and process them into transportation fuel at a reasonable cost. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) had a robust program to develop biofuels from algae from 1978 to 1996, when it was concluded that algal biofuel would not be cost competitive with petroleum soon. Fast forward to 2012, and with advances in genetics and engineering, we are back to the future in considering whether algae can be an economic and sustainable alternative source of liquid transporta- tion fuels. Could it be that use of algae to produce biofuels is the answer to becoming less dependent on foreign oil? At the request of DOE, the National Research Council (NRC) appointed a committee of 15 experts with diverse backgrounds and experience to examine the sustainability of algal biofuels. The committee reviewed many scientific papers and government and industry reports, and listened first hand to company representatives, academic experts, and govern- ment agency program managers who deal with production of algal biofuels. The committee also met three times and held regularly scheduled conference calls to deliberate and reach agreement as to how to best address the charge from DOE to identify potential sustainability concerns, mitigate environmental concerns, and identify indicators of sustainability and metrics that could be used to monitor progress as the technology advances on several fronts. ix Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.