EFRI-PSBR: Biodiversity & Biofuels: Finding Win-Win Scenarios for Conservation and Energy Production in the Next Century

ABSTRACT Development of renewable energy resources like algal biofuels has become a national priority due to climate change and dwindling fossil fuel reserves. To date, most research on algal biofuel has focused on identifying "super-species" - strains of algae that can be genetically modified and grown in environmental conditions that maximize production of combustible lipids. While it is relatively easy to grow high lipid algal monocultures in idealistic lab conditions, it has been challenging to scale-up these cultures to commercially viable scales where populations often fluctuate wildly. Monocultures also tend to be inefficient at capturing and recycling nutrient waste streams, leading to concerns about their environmental impacts and sustainability. Indeed, some have argued that single-species approaches to energy production could generate the same environmental problems that have plagued single species approaches to food production. During the green revolution, vast tracts of land were converted into high-yield crop monocultures that required intensive management and application of biocides and fertilizers to maintain productivity. While the advent of modern agriculture was a huge success for feeding people, it also became the leading cause of biodiversity loss, organic pollution, and degraded water quality worldwide. Commercial-scale 'farming' of algal monocultures to produce biofuel has potential to repeat many of the same environmentally damaging practices, and poses the same challenges to conservation. Is it a possibility to find 'win-win' scenarios for biodiversity and biofuel production? Can we develop sustainable biofuels while, at the same time, avoiding unintended environmental impacts and conserving the diversity of life that is the ultimate source of all renewable resources? The interdisciplinary team of ecologists and engineers of Professors Bradley Cardinale, Phillip Savage, and Nina Lin of the University of Michigan and Todd Oakley of the University of California Santa Barbara believe this is possible. In this project awarded by the National Science Foundation through its Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation initiative, the team intends to test the hypothesis that certain naturally diverse groups of algae have complementary traits that enhance the efficiency and stability of biofuel yield beyond what any single species can achieve alone. This hypothesis stems from a wealth of ecological research that shows whenever species specialize in their use of nutrients or light, or respond to environmental fluctuations differently, diverse communities will (a) more efficiently capture available resources, (b) produce more biomass than even the single most productive species, and (c) maintain yields more stably through time. The ultimate goal of this work is to identify the most productive and sustainable multi-species algal biofuel systems, and then, on a longer term, scale these up to commercially viable biorefineries. One of the key products of the project work will be the generation of a new genomics database that will identify the genes that code for metabolic pathways involved in the production of biocrude oil. This database will not only help identify the genetic code that leads to biofuel production, it will make that code available to future researchers who wish to use genetic engineering to enhance the efficiency, productivity, and stability of algal biofuels even further. The investigative team has partnered with established programs like the University of Michigan's Center for Engineering Diversity and Outreach, and the Ecological Society of America's SEEDS extension service, to aid in selecting the student personnel. Utilizing these programs will foster participation by minority groups in the sciences by connecting researchers to ethnic and economically disadvantaged minorities who are seeking research opportunities. In addition to training a new cohort of scientists, the team has also partnered with the Leslie Science & Nature Center to promote public education on sustainable algal biofuels. The Leslie Science & Nature Center is a Michigan nonprofit that provides environmental education and experiences to >25,000 visitors annually, mostly kindergarten through high-school students. A hands-on science exhibit will be developed to teach the public about the benefits of algal derived sustainable bio-oils, and "Citizen Scientist" summer camps will be used to show kids how to collect, identify, culture, and digest algae that are commonly used in biofuel production.