Biofuel research and development in the lab

Merck Millipore is the developer and manufacturer of the benchtop Guava HT series flow cytometers for the research laboratory. Assays have been developed on the Guava instruments for research and production of oils from algae, the development of natural gas from coal and the production of fuels from bacteria.

The research of algae to oil begins with species selection. Of the more than 10,000 species of algae, about 300 species produce the proper lipids required to develop oil. Powerful Millipore Incyte software used by the Guava instruments allows multifaceted intracellular testing to determine which species will maximise lipid production.

The instruments count and measure the cells for viability, chlorophyll content, chlorophyll phenotyping and lipid content to determine the species that will achieve maximum production. The algae are harvested. Lipids are separated to produce algae crude. The algae crude is refined to produce different grades of oil used in the production of biofuels and lubricants. In addition, the algae crude has been successfully developed to produce omega oils used in nutritional products.

Algae oil has been refined and employed to power commercial planes. The US Navy has used algae diesel to help power its destroyers. Companies like Solazyme have developed lipids from algae for the production of omega oils and nutritional food additives.

Companies including Luca Technologies and Ciris Energy are researching coal to produce natural gas. There are millions of miles of abandoned coal mines around the globe.These companies purchase these mines. Coal samples are taken to the laboratory and tested for the presence of anaerobes. Like algae, anaerobes devour carbon. A by-product of the digestion of the coal by anaerobes is the production of natural gas. Coal samples are transported to the laboratory where the coal is crushed into a powder and washed. The samples are then stained with a proprietary marker to identify the anaerobes. Anaerobes are counted using Guava instrumentation. A count threshold is maintained. If enough anaerobes are present, the mines are tapped for natural gas. Where the count is low, anaerobes are grown and placed in the mines. In about two years, these anaerobes devour enough coal to have the mine ready to tap more natural gas.

Bacteria are being used in the production of ethanol from sugar. California-based companies, like Amyris, develop these ‘super bugs’ to digest sugars to produce gases that are refined into ethanol. Other companies, including Codexis, develop bacteria for the production of enzymes that assist in the manufacturing of chemicals. The Guava instruments are used to count and test viability of bacteria and measure the cell growth of bacteria populations.

All of these technologies developed to produce oils and gas are carbon reducing. Investment into research is being made to eliminate our worldwide dependence on fossil. Merck Millipore will continue to develop technologies used to enhance biofuels production.

By Jim Mulry, the Clinical Development Manager at EMD Millipore, a division of Merck, KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany.