• Posted on 4 Feb 2014
  • 4-minute read

The C3 Algal Biofuels Research Group are off to a excellent start for 2014 with the publication of their first paper in the high impact journal, PLOS ONE. The researchers used a  matrix of photobioreactors (PBRs) integrated with metabolic sensors to examine the combined impact of light and temperature variations on the growth and physiology of the biofuel candidate microalgal species Nannochloropsis oculata. The PBRs allow the research to mimic real-life conditions in algal ponds without the expense of extensive field trials.

The study demonstrates that the PBRs, with their environmental control features and high-resolution monitoring of algal growth and physiology, have the potential to answer many of the unresolved questions in algal biofuel production. 

Publication details:
The Effect of Diel Temperature and Light Cycles on the Growth of Nannochloropsis oculata in a Photobioreactor Matrix (PLOS ONE)
Bojan Tamburic, Supriya Guruprasad, Dale T. Radford, Milán Szabó, Ross McC Lilley, Anthony W. D. Larkum, David M. Kramer, Susan I. Blackburn, John A. Raven, Martin Schliep, Peter J. Ralph 
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0086047

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Professor Peter Ralph voiceover:
At UTS we believe that algal biofuels must be part of a sustainable energy future.
Our international team of researchers are advancing biofuel production and we want to make sure that this  knowledge is transferred to industry.

Dr Bojan Tamburic: “I have been working in the area of algal biofuel production for the past 4 years and I truly believe that algal biofuels have the potential to be the sustainable fuels of the future. We aim to replicate nature’s process, only faster”

Professor Peter Ralph voiceover:
 The specialists within our team are addressing the bottlenecks in algal biofuel production

Dr Martin Schliep: “We are using state of the art photobioreactors as you can see here. They are custom built to facilitate algal growth in a fully computer controlled environment. This is a world leading technology and you can mimic real world conditions, in there, as you get out in the field like seasonal variations or even diurnal light and temperature cycles. But we can also measure metabolic gas flux uptakes and this allows us  to compare different algal species and  how effective they are in Carbon uptake”

Professor Peter Ralph voiceover:  
Our expertise in algal photophysiology means that we can investigate photosynthetic processes from all angles to give our industry partners fast reliable feedback.
The broad experience of our young research team gives them a head start on strain selection and improving lipid yields

Supriya Guruprasad, PhD student: “I have been working in this field for 4 years in India and at UTS as a part of UTS and CSIRO collaborative work I am investigating the different environmental parameters on growth and lipid production in microalgae.”

Dale Radford, PhD student: “My PhD is focused on improving the photosynthetic inefficiencies of a small marine algae Nannochloropsis oculata and to see if this has an effect on improving lipid production within the cell”

Professor Peter Ralph voiceover:
“Our partnership with CSIRO Australian National Algae Culture Collection means we are able to use key algal strains to optimise  growth and product output”
Our commitment to keeping the community engaged with sustainable energy outcomes through exhibitions, installations and presentations means our industry partners can reach a broader audience

 Industry partners have access to our state-of-the-art photobioreactor technology and our team’s broader expertise in algal physiology.  This means we can offer industry increased oil productivity, efficiency andvalue for commercial- scale algal farms

Professor Peter Ralph: “At the end our partnership with a industry we’ll be able to deliver key products that will allow the industry to have a cost effective solution to a biofuels problem”

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