Photosynthetic production of biofuels from CO2 by cyanobacteria using Algenol’s “Direct to Ethanol®” process

Algenol’s “Direct to Ethanol^®” process comprises enhanced cyanobacterial strains, a novel photobioreactor-based production system, and energy-efficient downstream product recovery and conversion processes. In addition to the production of ethanol, the process yields gasoline, jet, and diesel fuels after hydrothermal conversion of the residual cellular biomass.

Strain development efforts at Algenol have utilized classical and recombinant genetic improvement technologies, and have relied on modern systems biology approaches to develop and prioritize strategies for strain improvement and to assess the various strains that have been produced. Genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics methodologies have all been successfully applied and have provided significant insights into Algenol’s primary production host strain. These analyses are coupled to physiological, biochemical, and photobiological studies to further refine various metabolic engineering strategies to develop next generation strains.

As a result of recent advances in strain and process improvements, Algenol has achieved outdoor productivities equivalent to over 8,000 gallons of total liquid fuel per acre per year and is well along the path to develop and operate commercial-scale facilities.