The available database comprises research projects in Fisheries, Aquaculture, Seafood Processing and Marine Biotechnology active in the time period 2003-2022.
BlueBio is an ERA-NET COFUND created to directly identify new and improve existing ways of bringing bio-based products and services to the market and find new ways of creating value from in the blue bioeconomy.

More information on the BlueBio project and participating funding organizations is available on the BlueBio website: www.bluebioeconomy.eu

Last Update: 2024/06/19

ProAlgae
Aquaculture
Marine Biotechnology
Industriell produksjon av marine mikroalger som råvare for EPA og DHA i fôr til laksefisk: Grunnlag, kunnskapsstatus og muligheter - Industrial production of marine microalgae as raw material for EPA and DHA in feed for salmonids: Basis, knowledge status and opportunities
National Programme
National
Hans Kleivdal
hans.kleivdal@uni.no
NA
NA
2012
2013
€ 229,000
http://www.fhf.no/prosjektdetaljer/?projectNumber=900771
Production of aquafeed requires significant amounts of fish oil or meal, and the omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA are essential. As the fish resources become scarce, prices rise and are expected to rise further in the near future. It has become clear that new solutions must be found and searches for alternative sources of EPA and DHA are initiated. Fish by-products/trimmings, krill, as well as genetically modified microorganisms and plants are considered. Marine microalgae are primary producers of EPA and DHA. Due to the high productivity and sustainable production possibilities, microalgae are considered as a promising future alternative. Most microalgae are photoautotrophs, meaning that they use light energy to produce chemical energy and convert inorganic carbon (CO2) into sugars and organic compounds. Another group, called heterotrophs, grows without light and use organic carbon compounds as both the energy and carbon source. The important parameter for commercial scale cultivation is the productivity, given as the biomass produced per volume over time. Photoautotroph microalgae can produce 15-30% EPA of total fatty acids, while heterotrophic thraustochythrids can produce biomass with 55% DHA of total fatty acids. The EPA/DHA yield can be optimized by increased biomass production, and/or increased lipid productivity. By systematic investigation of the biodiversity, novel productive strains with high EPA and DHA levels can be identified. The production pathways for EPA and DHA are known, and subject to improvement. Three main strategies to actively increase the yield is described: by exploitation of physiological potential, by strain selection and breeding of promising candidates, or by genetic modification. There is an ongoing development of molecular tools to increase the photosynthetic efficiency, and the EPA and DHA content in the cell. The combination of natural selected strains and improvement strategies is expected to increase in biomass productivity and lipid yield by 2-4 fold (or more) within the coming 5-8 years. Cultivation of microalgae is conducted in either open pond systems or closed bioreactor systems. Improved biological productivity has the most impact on production economics, and several initiatives are made to increase the photosynthetic efficiency and to adapt better to production conditions. While the photosynthetic microalgae industry is in development, the heterotrophic production of DHA are based on mature technology and is currently in commercial use for high value products. Phototrophic production is considered as sustainable due to factors such as use of renewable resources (CO2 and sunlight, waste water and animal wastes), use of non-arable land and high productivity. The harvested microalgae biomass needs to be processed by the most cost efficient methods ensuring high digestibility of the EPA and DHA in the algae when used in aquafeeds. There is an ongoing technology development - driven by the biofuel industry - towards more cost-efficient harvesting systems. To ensure high stability and best use in fish feed the biomass must be dried and suitably processed for use in aquafeed. Species/strains of microalgae have been suggested to have a great potential to provide protein, lipids, vitamins, carotenoids and energy in feed for carnivorous fish species. Several microalgae/microorganisms have been tested for use in fish feed and the results shows high digestibility and positive growth effects up to a certain addition level. Because microalgae are a novel resource in aquafeed production, little work has been done on the effects of adding algae oil into fish feed in terms of nutrition but also on the technological challenges in feed production Traditionally, the commercial microalgae industry is directed towards high-value products and low-volume, specialty markets, such as nutraceuticals, cosmetics and food products. However, the political will to develop sustainable algal biofuels in the US have been the key driver of the industrial technology development to make controlled microalgae production more operational, more scalable and more cost-efficient in general. Through strategic and consistent political consistent support over decades, there has been accelerated development the recent years. The algae biofuel industry has just recently entered commercialization of algae biofuels based on both heterotrophic (Solazyme) and phototrophic (Sapphire) production, and is currently scaling up production facilities. There is a clear trend among biofuel companies to explore synergetic opportunities to market co-products while at the same time developing larger scale production to meet the commodity market in the future. Because the production process steps are similar, the technology developments and research advances related to phototrophic biofuels will directly benefit the development of low-cost EPA/DHA. A SWOT analysis was conducted for the phototrophic production of microalgae based EPA and DHA. The most important strengths: good sustainability at lowest trophic level, original source of EPA/DHA with very high productivity. Among the indicated weaknesses: currently high CAPEX for closed systems, high OPEX formixing, and that a technology development is required to reduce processing costs. The major opportunities are that the technological development will decrease CAPEX and OPEX, and that strain improvement efforts are underway to increase productivity driven by the big biofuel industry. The identified threats are a possible increased production of EPA/DHA in transgenic land plants, yeast, bacteria; the lack of strategic R&D perspective and funding, and contamination by grazers and disease organisms. A techno-economic analysis was performed to evaluate three different technologies in two different locations. The input data are based on prior research and technological know-how. Among the three technologies, the innovative flat panel reactors show highest production cost efficiency at locations in Spain due to higher irradiation levels, and also cheaper land costs. At present the estimated production cost for the phototrophic production of EPA and DHA is 39 USD/kg EPA&DHA eq, when using flat panel reactors in high irradiance regions. A future optimization of productivity, and reduction of production costs, which are realistic in a 5 year perspective have been described in the techno-economic analysis. Based on these projections, the production cost may be further reduced to 11.9 USD/kg EPA&DHA eq. At present, the price projections made for the heterotrophic production of DHA (19 USD/kg DHA eq) are competitive with the price levels of DHA equivalents in refined or concentrated fish oil. The production cost may be further reduced to 11.5 USD/kg DHA eq, based on a foreseeable productivity increase in the next 5 years. Microalgae production of EPA and DHA has the potential to develop into a sustainable alternative to fish oil for use in aquafeed. This potential can be realized by establishing a fit-for-purpose research and development pipeline with integrated research along the value chain. In light of the recent price development and the future fish oil price projections, this seems to be a viable strategy for accessing novel EPA/DHA sources. The projects are to conduct a feasibility study of the international status of knowledge on industrial production of marine microalgae. Describe the possibilities to produce EPA and DHA in microalgae for use in feed at an economically viable cost. Investigate scientific knowledge basis, with emphasis on the potential and limitations Identify future research needs and possibilities to develop a commercially viable production to support aquafeed production.
Bioprospecting; Feed composition; Salmon; Technology; Animal feed; Fish oil replacement; Land-based aquaculture; Fish meal replacement; Algae; Fish; Aquaculture development;
Norwegian Sea (27.IIa)
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