Optimisation of starch production from microalgae

Alternative methods of plastic production are critical to sustain and grow the economy whilst reducing reliance on fossil fuels. Microalgae are considered a sustainable resource for producing various ranges of valuable bioproducts. They require much less area than terrestrial crops and have a high photosynthetic rate as well as CO2 fixation capability. Algae use sunlight, CO2, nutrients, and water to produce various useful products including bioplastics and microalgal biopolymers through their proteins, cellulose and starch. Approx 50 percent of the bioplastics used comercially are prepared from starch.

The high costs of algal biomass processing poses commercialization difficulty; upstream and downstream processing of algal biomass is still challenging, and new technology developments and paradigms are needed. Mixotrophic cultivation of microalgae will be performed and the algal growth and product quality will be compared from novel thin-film bioreactors and photobioreactors. Optimal lysing and extraction methods will be developed and include e.g. bead milling, high-pressure homogenization, ultrasonication, pulsed electric field, osmotic shock, microwaves, enzymatic treatment, and hydrolysis to identify optimal extraction method for bioplastic production. The impact of the growth parameters and downstream extraction techniques on the bioplastic material characteristics will be identified.