SBIR Phase I: Optimizing effluent uptake and bioactive stability of Asparagopsis taxiformis as a methane-reducing livestock feed additive

The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to improve the growth and processing parameters of a methane-reducing seaweed feed additive for ruminant livestock (i.e,. cattle). Globally, livestock methane emissions contribute up to 10% of total global greenhouse gas emissions. Recent feed trials have determined that a special red tropical seaweed can help reduce the amount of methane produced by ruminants by over 98%. The proposed project will advance this as a feed additive at scale by exploring three novel solutions for natural lighting optimization in land-based cultivation systems, profiling and integrating aquaculture wastewater (AWW) as a circular nutrient stream, and deploying an alternative processing method to the energy-intensive industry standard. These growth processes can likely be applied to algae production for other uses, such as food, while drying innovations are expected to be broadly applicable in tropical climates. The proposed SBIR Phase I project will build on work to grow Hawaiian Asparagopsis taxiformis in land-based systems and optimize for both yield and concentration of desired metabolites. Diurnal changes in solar position and irradiance, along with occlusion caused by algae self-shading, result in photosynthetic inefficiencies. AWW contains large amounts of waste nitrogen and phosphorus; only 20-30% of nitrogen from the fish feed is retained in fish biomass. The integration of AWW will recover some of these nutrients and avoid downstream consequences of pollution, such as eutrophication. While drying material is important for the production of a shelf-stable product, existing technologies are either energy-intensive or perform poorly at retaining critical compounds in seaweed tissue. The project will test proposed solutions to this quandary, as well as contamination and strain development. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.