Nitrogen nutrition in the production of microalgae biomass and vectors of bioenergy

CURATTI L; DO NASCIMENTO M; ORTIZ MÁRQUEZ JC; SANCHEZ-RIZZA L; ARRUEBARRENA DI PALMA A

Mar del Plata

Simposio; Symposium of Energy from Biomass at the XV Congreso Latinoamericano y XXX Reunión Argentina de Fisiología Vegetal; 2014

Sociedad Argentina de Fisiología Vegetal

Microalgae biomass represents one of the most promising alternatives in the field of alternative energies mostly due to its high rate of photosynthetic growth and capacity to accumulate lipids and/or carbohydrates as feedstocks for biodiesel (with a potential productivity 100-fold higher than that of soy) or bioethanol, respectively. However, despite of its potential, algal biomass is currently only commercialized for high value bioproducts mostly because of its relatively high production costs. To this regard it is important to point out that the high N content of algal biomass (up to 10%) would make the extensive production of this biomass more N-intensive than traditional agriculture. At the same time, microalgae accumulate lipids and/or carbohydrates as a physiological response to a deficit in the N supply. During the talk we will show results from our laboratory towards: 1) local bioprospection efforts to domesticate highly productive and N-utilization-efficient native microalgae, and 2) the development of alternative strategies for the utilization of atmospheric N for the biofertilization of algae mediated by selected diazotrophic bacteria for the production of algae biomass and bioenergy feedstocks at lower cost and environmental impact.