NEWS | Prodigio >
ICM-CSIC visits Universidad de Almería (UAL) facilities
On November the 24th, a team from the Institute of Marine Sciences (ICM-CSIC) in Barcelona (Spain) visited the facilities of University of Almería (UAL) in Almería (Spain), where the experimental facilities for microalgal cultivation are located.
IDConsortium
Two different raceway ponds, fed with wastewater and fertilizers (Fig. 2), have been sampled three times per week for the last 9 months. Samples are sent periodically to ICM-CSIC for specific chemical and molecular analyses. Researchers from both institutions discussed all the practicalities about the raceways design, functioning, algal community sampling and limitations inherent to the technology in order to optimize samplings and produce high quality datasets. The visit was very fruitful for both teams and PRODIGIO project will benefit from the exchange of knowledge from researchers with such diverse range of scientific backgrounds, from bioprocess engineering to theoretical ecology.
During the second day of the visit, a meeting was held to design the new experiments that will take place from January onwards.
The experiments will be carried out in bench-scale raceways where PH, light and temperature are strictly controlled and sampling can be done at a relatively high frequency.
Stepwise increases in temperature and acidity will be forced over time (simulating gradual warming and acidification) in two of the raceways while the others will be held unchanged. The experiments are intended to force and monitor the eventual collapse of the algal biomass production systems. The data generated will serve to understand the mechanisms underlying the failure of the systems and design early-warning signals to anticipate and mitigate these crashes.
More news about this project:
Green Gas Mobility Summit abre las puertas de La Nave a Prodigio
Green Gas Mobility Summit es el evento de referencia sobre transporte sostenible en la Península Ibérica, y Prodigio estará allí.
A communication and dissemination plan for the next generation of renewable energy by exploiting microalgae capabilities
The COP26 world summit was recently held in Glasgow with the aim of reaching a global agreement on greenhouse gas emissions and alleviating the problem of global warming.
Progress and challenges in microalgal large-scale production
Microalgae have been proposed as an alternative to conventional processes for the supply of foods and feeds, biomaterials and biofuels, and including for wastewater treatment and capture of CO2 from flue gases.