Algal Biomass Organization Publishes Descriptive Language Guidelines for the Algae Industry for Comment

The Algal Biomass Organization (ABO), the trade association for the algae industry, has released a document, “Algal Industry Minimum Descriptive Language”. This is the first attempt to standardize language used in the algae industry with the aims of setting standards that will make comparison of technologies more valid and to aid Life Cycle Analysis. The current state of the industry is one in which the positives and negatives of a research development or technology can be provided in such a way that they cannot be compared. For example, different analytical methods produce different results from the same sample and there is no standard method. The measures themselves are not standard and can also be misleading; the dry weight of algae does not necessarily reflect its oil content. Variation in oil content between species, processing methods and microbial contamination mean that such data can be used to create an inaccurate picture of the output of the technology. The guidelines presented here set out a framework that can be used to clarify where such data fits into the wider picture of LCA, with commentary on measures and methods. The document is currently available for viewing and public comment here on the ABO website.

Executive Director of ABO, Mary Rosenthal:

“The absence of common descriptive language has led to a lack of harmony among technologists, researchers, life cycle analysis specialists and entrepreneurs as they evaluate and promote algae technologies. This confusion has made it hard for others to truly capture, analyze and quantify algae technologies relative to one another. With a common language, such as the one we and many volunteer stakeholders have proposed, we hope to bring more clarity to the industry.”

The newly-released document was authored by the ABO’s Technical Standards Committee chaired by Jim Sears of A2BE Carbon Capture. The committee works to develop standards and best practices for the algae industry and facilitate the flow of information among industry stakeholders. More than 20 industry experts and organizations reviewed and commented on the document, including individuals from industry associations, national labs, companies and research institutions. It provides a set of metrics and variables for estimating and measuring the economic and environmental footprint and economic impact of an algal production facility, including all inputs and outputs.

ABO’s efforts at standardizing language for the algae industry come as the industry continues to demonstrate significant growth. Between 2005 and 2009, the number of algae-to-biofuel start ups more than tripled. A leading analysis of the algae industry projected that the industry would grow by nearly 50 percent annually over the coming decade.

The ABO will be accepting comments to the document through March 31, 2011. To provide comment, please submit your comments to technicalstandards@algalbiomass.org. All submitted comments will be reviewed by the Technical Standards committee and a determination will be made by the committee for inclusion in the final document due for publication in the second quarter of 2011.

Included in the document are guidelines for presentation of the total Carbon, Water, Energy, Consumables and Nutrient input, total labor needed and also the total infrastructure area. Guidelines are also presented for indirect algal outputs, solid and liquid waste, uncaptured gaseous emissions and algal constituent products. For each of these, general descriptions of the input, standard units for measurement over time (usually per year), descriptions of the source and the type of detail needed are given. Information presented for algal biomass R&D that adheres to these guidelines would build a detailed picture of the process.

The document uses the concept of a “Green Box” which represents the manufacturing process; in theory any algal operation can be represented box and the listed inputs and outputs apply to this “Green Box”. The concept of a flexible “Green Box” is useful, as it allows the guidelines to be applied to many different types of algal technology; with the current wide variation in R&D efforts around algal biomass, this makes adherence to these guidelines easier. While this does not resolve the dry weight vs oil content issue, the appendix of the document contains brief discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of various analytical methods for determining which may be more appropriate to use. The appendix also highlights the issues surrounding use of dry mass as a measure of useful output of the process and the fact that developments must be made in lipid analysis for widespread use to determine the quality and yield of algal oils. There is no “standard method” as yet, and currently the wide spectrum of analytical approaches at various stages of development means that lipid analysis of the same sample can produce wildly different results. The ABO makes it clear that they are monitoring the issue, it is likely that developments here will result in revisions of the document with recommended analytical methods to encourage standardisation, and therefore comparison of data produced by these recommended methods will then be valid.

This work could have a profound effect on the Algal Biomass industry; standard analytical methods, standards for the minimum amount data and the efforts being made to establish a dialog within the industry on these issues might lead to developments in Life Cycle analysis and in turn new ways to improve the efficiency of Algal fuel production.