System and method for research-scale outdoor production of microalgae and cyanobacteria

Eukaryotic microalgae and cyanobacteria have recently reemerged as promising organisms in the effort to develop sustainable options for production of food and fuel. However, substantial discrepancies consistently arise between laboratory and outdoor cultivation, and gains demonstrated using laboratory technologies have not paralleled gains observed in field demonstrations. For these reasons, a low-maintenance system and process for research-scale outdoor cultivation of a variety of both freshwater and marine microalgae and cyanobacteria was developed. Nine genera were evaluated in the system, demonstrating cultivation of both laboratory model and commercial-production organisms. Hundreds to thousands of grams of dry biomass could be produced in a single growth cycle, suitable for a variety of uses including inoculum generation, protein production, and biofuel applications. Following testing in outdoor stock-ponds, Scenedesmus and Nannochloropsis were grown semi-continuously in an 8000 L airlift-driven raceway, yielding in total over 8 kg of dry biomass for each strain.