Since my Euglena seem to be super invasive across most of my samples ( most likely coming from the air supply tubing ) is it possible to grow euglena as a biofuel?
here is an informative article on Encyclopedia Britannica -
https://www.britannica.com/science/Euglena
Euglena are characterized by an elongated cell (15–500 micrometres [1 micrometre = 10−6 metre], or 0.0006–0.02 inch) with one nucleus, numerous chlorophyll-containing chloroplasts (cell organelles that are the site of photosynthesis), a contractile vacuole (organelle that regulates the cytoplasm), an eyespot, and one or two flagella. Certain species (e.g., E. rubra) appear red in sunlight because they contain a large amount of carotenoid pigments. Unlike plant cells, Euglena lack a rigid cellulose wall and have a flexible pellicle (envelope) that allows them to change shape. Though they are photosynthetic, most species can also feed heterotrophically (on other organisms) and absorb food directly through the cell surface via phagocytosis (in which the cell membrane entraps food particles in a vacuole for digestion). Food is often stored as a specialized complex carbohydrate known as paramylon, which enables the organisms to survive in low-light conditions. Euglena reproduce asexually by means of longitudinal cell division, in which they divide down their length, and several species produce dormant cysts that can withstand drying.
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10811-013-9979-5
Euglenoids achieved a maximum lipid content of 24.6 % (w/w) with a biomass density of 1.24 g L−1 (dry wt.).
The japanese company - apply named EUGLENA - states -
Euglena's oil formation is suited for jet fuels
A jet engine uses kerosene, which is lighter than diesel but heavier than gasoline. The oil extracted and refined from euglena happens to be well suited to be refined in to kerosene compared to other algal oils.
High productivity and efficient land use
Since euglena uses special equipment for cultivation, it does not compete over farmland with food unlike biofuels derived from corn and sugarcane.
Productivity per acre is also significantly higher compared to many other feedstocks.
In our laboratory in Tokyo University, we have achieved 15 times higher productivity compared to palm oil.
Alternative fuel
Fossil fuels releases CO2 captured underground and releases it into the atmosphere, causing global warming.
On the other hand euglena absorbs CO2 from the atmosphere during production so there is a chance of reducing CO2 emission
if there are further technical developments.
Euglena, a Japanese microalgae developer and producer, has partnered with Japan’s largest airline ANA Holdings to develop an algae-based jet fuel.
A 3 billion yen (appr. €23m) demonstration plant, using technology from Chevron, is scheduled to come online in early 2018 with plans to 125,000 litres of renewable jet fuel.
Euglena hopes to be able to commercialise the fuel, derived from its namesake euglena algae, by 2020 and set up more facilities with output more than 400 times that of the demonstration plant.
The company also want to set up large-scale cultivation facilities outside of Japan.
The algae fuel, refined in the US from oil extracted from euglena, has a chemical makeup similar to the of jet kerosene.
‘We'll use the fuel from the demonstration plant on real flights, mixing it with standard oil-based fuel,’ says Kiyoshi Tonomoto, executive VP at ANA Holdings.
The International Civil Aviation Organisation aims to stabilise the aerospace industry’s CO2emissions at 2020 levels.
Biofuels are attracting attention as a carbon-neutral option to help achieve this goal, since plants absorb carbon dioxide as they grow and release it when burned.
The biggest hurdle to commercializing the algae-derived fuel will be reducing the price, which is reportedly ten times higher than petroleum-derived kerosene.
To me it would seems that one would chose the most prolific species of algae, in my samples it is totally invasive and takes over all my samples, and use it instead of trying to control all of the environmental parameters to try too keep euglena out.
One just needs to research and find the correct parameters to make FAT EUGLENA??
Another article - The Potential in Your Euglena Pond -
(Algae Industry Magazine) Scientists at the John Innes Centre, in Norwich, England, have discovered that Euglena gracilis, the single cell algae that inhabits most garden ponds, has a whole host of new, unclassified genes that can make new forms of carbohydrates and natural products.
Even with the latest technologies, sequencing the DNA in Euglena remains a complex and longwinded undertaking. Dr. Ellis O’Neill and Professor Rob Field from the John Innes Centre have therefore sequenced the transcriptome of Euglena gracilis, which provides information about all of the genes that the organism is actively using.
The team also found that different sets of genes become active when Euglena is grown in the dark to when it is grown in the light. This indicates that Euglena can dramatically shift its metabolism depending on its environment, which reflects its ability to live successfully in varied environments.
Euglena creates many well-known, valuable natural products including vitamins, essential amino acids and a sugar polymer, which is reported to have anti-HIV effects. Given the usefulness of the compounds we know about, these findings have the potential, with further research, to lead to the discovery of new medicines including new antibiotics, nutrients and new forms of biofuel, among other products.
JAPAN - Japanese oil company, Nippon Oil and Hitachi subsidiary Hitachi Plant Technologies have joined forces to develop jet fuel from a single celled pond and lake organism, Euglena.
The companies have acquired shared in Euglena Inc, which is developing systems to extract oil from the algae to produce fuel.
Euglena, meaning “beautiful eye”, is a single-celled algae that can be found in lakes, ponds, and even puddles. It was named after Leeuwenhoek, a microscope inventor in the 17th century, who incidentally found Euglena through the lens. Euglena has the characteristics of both animal and plant, where it moves around like an animal, and photosynthesises like a plant.
The joint venture has a culturing system in place that can be used to grow Euglena efficiently and the yield is better than crops such as corn and sugar cane usually used to produce biofuel, a report in
Crunch Gear says.
The company is trying to lower the cost of production to 80 cents a litre to make biofuel production competitive.
The company says mass-producing Euglena-derived biofuel should be possible by 2015.
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