Themes AlgaePARC
Microalgae strain development
To achieve high productivity of different components, or to make microalgae more suitable for production at an industrial scale, improving of physiological properties of microalgae is often required. To this end we are focusing on microalgae strain development via classical selection methods or by genetic modification.
Microalgae cultivation
An important way to decrease the costs of microalgae production is by increasing the production rate of microalgae biomass and products in a photobioreactor. This can be done either by optimizing the operation strategy of the bioreactor or improving the design of the photobioreactor. Both will have implication for scale up. The productivity gain therefore must be carefully balanced with potential higher (energy) costs of reactor construction and operation.
Microalgae biorefinery
Biorefinery refers to the process of converting the algal biomass into feedstocks that can be used in the manufacturing of a whole range of products for food, feed, fuel, materials, pharma and chemical applications. This approach is analogous to the refinery of crude oil where a range of products is manufactured from a single feedstock to optimize value. Currently, most biorefinery approaches only recover one or a few product types from plant materials.
Microalgae products
Application of algae components in different commercial sectors. Together with our industrial partners we are exploring the potential of the various refined microalgal raw materials and making the first steps towards product development.