Valorization of novel streams of algae biomass byproduct through incorporation into the Living Ink algae-derived pigment production process

Currently, companies that grow algae for value-add products generate algal biomass streams that has little to no value within commercial markets. Often, these companies see the byproduct as a liability that is often destined for landfills, which negatively impacts the sustainability and economics of algae production. This grant will employ novel strategies that convert domestic algal biomass byproduct and other algal waste resources into cost-competitive and high-performance black pigments capable of being utilized in the ink, foams, and plastics coloring industries. Specifically, this grant will test preprocessing steps that allow previously unusable waste biomass to be generated into pigment particles that are well positioned to be leveraged in downstream applications. This grant will investigate the best workflow processing steps that can generate pigments that are economically competitive, high performance and that have the greatest impact on greenhouse gas emissions as possible. This DOE SBIR phase I grant will investigate multiple novel algal byproduct biomass provided by USbased companies growing algae for commercial uses. Various pre-processing steps will be investigated to understand how various treatments impact different algal feedstocks and how to achieve efficient pigment production. Additionally, this grant will investigate the economic and environmental impact associated with the process steps used to generate pigment particles from the biomass. Life cycle analyses (LCA) will be performed with each feedstock and will include the various process steps required to generate the pigments to better understand the overall associated greenhouse gas emission impacts. The best candidate algal biomass byproducts and process steps will then be used to scaleup volumes to be incorporated into commercial ink and algal foam for footwear products which will be tested on commercial production equipment and evaluated by end users for appropriate fit within the markets. If successful, this grant will allow the broadened use and increased commercial value of algal biomass byproducts currently seen as a liability for algae companies. This grant will allow a wider range of algal biomass byproducts to be utilized in commercial products like inks, black plastics, and black foams. Further, there is the potential to enter broader consumer markets like cosmetic applications and rubber applications. This incorporation of algal derived pigments into consumer products will improve the life cycle analysis by decreasing the release of greenhouse gasses compared to traditional methods of producing petroleum derived pigments currently leveraged in a multitude of commercial markets. This grant will lead to an increase in the value and application of algal biomass byproducts, impacting the algae farmer, consumers looking for eco-alternatives and the environment.