G.S.

Venkataraman

Division of Microbiology, Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, India

Introduction

As early as 1949, Spoehr and Milner (1) suggested that mass culture of algae would help to
overcome global protein shortages. The basis for their optimism was that algae had a crude
protein content in excess of 50 per cent and a biomass productivity of the order of 25
tons/ha/year. Ironically, in spite of the lamentably low per capita protein supplies in many parts
of the world, mass cultivation of algae has received only casual interest. The United Nations
Environmental Programme (UNEP) is emphasizing nitrogen fixation and nutrient recycling
through a programme that will establish microbiological centres (MIRCENS), and it is hoped
that this will stimulate interest in micro-algae technology as a component of an integrated
recycling system for rural communities.

There are a number of relatively large production systems for micro-algae, using completely
synthetic nutrients. These systems are expensive, not only because of the high cost of land and
the technology required but also in terms of water use and the price of inorganic nutrients. Even
an optimistic cost extrapolation indicates that production expenses will be US$2 - 3 per pound of
crude algae, or US$4 - 6 per pound of crude protein. For reasons of economy alone, it is
therefore necessary to use organic wastes for industrialized production of algal protein feed.

In India, we are developing an integrated waste recycling system, in which algal production
forms an integral part (2). This is significant from both the biological and the environmental
point of view. This system can provide, simultaneously, fuel (methane), feed algae (for fish,
livestock), fish, manure for crops, and water for irrigation. The two main objectives of the All
India Co-ordinated Project on Algae are: a. to develop rural-based recycling systems involving
agriculture-aquaculture-pisciculture, and b. to develop viable, economical, rural-oriented systems
for algal biofertilizers for rice that will help to relieve the pressure on chemical nitrogen supplies
without impairing crop productivity. This will provide a cyclic instead of a linear system of
nutrient supply.

Cultivation of algae in wastes for feed

While Spirulina platensis is grown at Delhi (Indian Agricultural Research Institute) and Nagpur
(National Environmental Engineering Research Institute), Chlorella is being grown at
Pondicherry (Auroville Centre for Environmental Studies). Spirulina, besides its rapid growth
rate, high protein content, and lack of a thick cell wall (3), is amenable to simple filtration,
giving it an economic advantage over such algae as Scenedesmus and Chlorella.

At Delhi, the algal production unit is a 30 m� cement tank with a partition in the middle to
facilitate circulation of the algal suspension by means of a hand-operated paddle wheel turned for
30 minutes twice a day (Figure 1). For harvesting, the algal suspension is pumped out by a hand-
pump onto a series of cloth filters fitted to wire mesh baskets suspended in a frame. The filtered
algal slurry is scooped out of the cloth and sun-dried. The filtrate is then recycled into the
production unit. The average yield of algae amounts to about 15 - 20 g/day/m�.

Figure. 1. Schematic Diagram of the Spirulina Production Unit at the Indian Agricultural
Research Institute, New Delhi

Tables 1 and 2 show the growth potential of Spirulina in the digested slurry effluent from the
cow dung gas plant and in cattle urine, respectively, with and without bicarbonate fortification.
The slurry effluent supported algal growth at all dilutions even in the absence of added
bicarbonate, although addition of bicarbonate (18 9 NaHCO3/l) stimulated algal growth to the
level of algae grown in synthetic inorganic nutrient medium. In contrast, pure cattle urine failed
to support algal growth in the absence of bicarbonate, presumably because the urine lacks an
available carbon source. Supplementation of cattle urine with bicarbonate supported the growth
of the algae up to a level of 3 per cent urine, beyond which the urine per se seemed to inhibit
algal growth even with addition of bicarbonate.

TABLE 1. Growth Potential of Spirulina platensis in Digested Cow Dung Slurry Effluent, with
and without Added Bicarbonate (18 9 NaHCO3/l)

concentration of pH Solids Nitrogen Dry wt. alga

slurry effluent (g/l) (mg/l) (g/l)

1% 8.7     0.23
    0.0684 25  
1% + bicarbonate 9.2     0.63
2% 8.7     0.27
    0 1368 50  
2% + bicarbonate 9.3     0.74
3% 8.7     0.33
    0.2052 75  
3% + bicarbonate 9.1     0.87
5% 8.7     0.32
    0.3420 125  
5% + bicarbonate 9.1     1.08
7% 8.7     0.38
    0.4788 175  
7% + bicarbonate 9.2     0.84
10% 8.7     0.37
    0.684 250  
10% + bicarbonate 9.1     0.94
Control (synthetic medium) 9.2 - 400 0.9

Source: Rao and Venkataraman, unpublished data.

TABLE 2. Growth Potential of Spirulina platensis in Cattle Urine with and without Added
Bicarbonate (18 9 NaHCO3/l)

Concentration of urine pH Dry wt. Alga(g/l)

1% 7.9 -
1% + bicarbonate 8.8 1.33
3% 8.6 -
3% + bicarbonate 8.8 0.8
5% 8.7 -
5% + bicarbonate 8.8 -
7% 8.7 -
7% + bicarbonate 8.8 -
Control (synthetic medium) 9.2 0.91

Source: Rao and Venkataraman, unpublished data.

Spirulina has a 50 - 60 per cent protein content with a well balanced amino acid pattern except
for a deficiency of sulphur amino acids. The PER is higher than that in Chlorella and
Scenedesmus (4) (Table 3). The BV, TD*, and NPU values are 68, 75.5, and 52.7, respectively.
Cereals like rice, wheat, and ragi fortified with the alga were used in our experimental diet.
Because lysine content is higher in the alga (4.34 9/16 9 N) than in the cereals, an increasing
proportion of algal protein in the supplemented diets progressively improved the PER. The best
growth pattern was obtained in diets containing alga and rice, each of which contributed 50 per
cent of the protein.

TABLE 3. PER, NPU, and BV Values of Different Micro-algae.

  PER NPU BV
Spirulina maxim* 2.30 45.6 - 49.8 60 - 65
Spirulina platensis 2.07 52 7 68
Scenedesmus acutus** 1.27 52 72.1
Chlorella ellipsoidea 0.94 - -

* Clement and Van Landeghem (3)

** Becker et al. (4)

Two types of integrated recycling systems are being developed at the Nagpur centre. In one,
domestic sewage is utilized to produce an alga which is then used for fish culture. To adapt
Spirulina to raw and settled sewage, a system has been developed in which the alga is initially
grown in a synthetic medium that is progressively diluted at regular intervals with raw-plus-
settled sewage, and finally with raw sewage alone. By this means, a population of alga that grow
profusely in raw sewage has been selected. As sufficient phosphate is present in sewage, no
phosphate fortification has been found necessary. However, 2 - 3 g NO3/l are required under
such conditions for optimum growth of the alga. In contrast to a high requirement for bicarbonate
(18 9 NaHCO3/l) by the alga growing in the synthetic nutrient medium, only a little bicarbonate
(2 - 4 9 NaHCO3/l) is required in the sewage medium.

The other approach involves an integrated system of a night soil gas plant, algal culture, and
pisciculture. The digesters have a capacity of about 18 m� and yield about 25 m� gas per day.
The volatile solids loading is kept at about 2.5 kg/m3 /day. Destruction of volatile solids varies
from 40 to 50 per cent. The oxidation pond (36' x 18'x 4') is made of earthen embankments with
inlet and outlet structures and normally holds about 25 m� (825 cubic fee feet) of effluent. After
digestion, the sludge filtrate is added to the pond. The biological oxygen demand (BOD),
chemical oxygen demand (COD), suspended solids, pH, and alkalinity are being studied to arrive
at the optimum load for a pond of this size. The efficiency with which this system kills helminths
and other parasites will also be determined. The sludge is dried on special drying beds and carted
off as manure.

At Pondicherry, the major emphasis is on Chlorella production and harvesting. This requires
aeration and rain water collection, the latter achieved by pumping and water delivery systems.
The circular algal production unit of about 200 m� illuminated surface directs the circulating
culture alternatively in a thin moving sheet and in cool, deeper sections to optimize utilization of
light and CO2 as well as to control temperature. Three pre-existing concrete slopes have been
joined to the pond to give a total of more than 100 m� to be used for the moving sheet
illumination and aeration.

Four venturi devices have been installed in one compartment of the underground reservoir to
increase aeration in the circulation pattern. The suction produced evacuates the CO2enriched air
from a system of three inter-connected fermentation tanks of 25,0001 total capacity as well as
from two composting chambers (each 5 m x 0.75 m x 1 m). The fermentation tanks are heated by
the composting chambers as well as by the solar collectors that form the top of the tanks. The
complete circuit for the circulation of the culture thus includes an aeration chamber drawing
warm, CO2-enriched air from the fermentation tanks, a dark retention period in the underground
reservoir, passing through the pump into a thin, rapidly moving sheet over the sloping roof, a
distribution channel jetting into a cool, growing ring of 20,0001 capacity that overflows into a
thin sheet and collects in the cool central growing basin before again passing into the venturi
aerators by gravity.

This circulation can be timed at various speeds up to 30,000 I/sec. The average yield of the alga
in this system, which uses 3 per cent cattle urine, amounts to 10 - 15 9/ m� /day. Infusion of
small quantities of animal blood from a slaughter house has been found to stimulate algal growth
considerably.

The alga is harvested from the sedimentation tanks and sundried.

Problems of contamination

Simple production is not the main problem in algal technology. The shallow, open-air ponds are
vulnerable to contamination. Not only are methods required to maintain conditions favouring the
chosen algal species to the exclusion of other organisms, but also monitoring programmes must
be developed to insure a non-toxic, hygienically safe algal product. Serious problems of
contamination have not been encountered, although occasional infestation of the culture with
Brachionus and Chironomus larvae were observed during certain seasons. In waste stabilization
ponds, contamination with other algae was frequently seen, but this could be overcome by a
gradual population build-up of the desired organism.

Cultivation of algae for biofertilizer

The ability of certain forms of blue-green algae to carry out both photosynthesis and nitrogen
fixation confers on them an ecological and agricultural advantage as a renewable natural
resource of biological nitrogen. Nitrogen is one of the most important crop nutrients, and the
great demand for nitrogenous fertilizers is apparent from the more than 580 chemical fertilizer
plants now in operation or under construction throughout the world, representing an investment
of over US$10,000 million.

It is estimated that the total energy required for the production of global ammonium fertilizers is
equivalent to 2 million barrels of oil per day - a non-renewable resource. The energy crisis has
driven fertilizer prices unrealistically high, dramatically illustrating the dependence of the
world's food crops on petroleum-based fertilizers. Hardest hit by the chemical scarcity are the
densely populated and land-scarce nations of Asia, where more than half of the earth's people
live. Most depend on rice as their staple food. The millions of small-scale rural farmers in this
region who have reaped the benefits of the new rice technology often lack the capital for
chemical fertilizers. Any saving in the consumption of this fertilizer without affecting
productivity, and the introduction of a cyclic nutrient supply system through biological sources,
will be ecologically and economically advantageous.

Recent research has clearly shown that one of the most effective nitrogen-fixing biological
systems in the rice fields are certain blue-green algae that, expressed on a per ha basis, contribute
about 25 - 30 kg N/ha/season. A rural-oriented device to exploit these algae has been developed
at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute at New Delhi. The merit of this process lies in its
adaptability by the individual farmer without any appreciable capital investment or technical
complications. Many farmers are now using this method to produce their own algal inocula for
field application.

The basic principle is to grow algae using natural sunlight under conditions simulating the rice
field. A thin, one-inch layer of soil is spread in rectangular trays or shallow dugout areas lined
with polyethylene and flooded with two inches of water. After the soil settles down, the desired
strains of blue-green algae are inoculated into these with a little superphosphate. The entire unit
is kept exposed to the sun, and within a week, the entire water surface is covered by a copious
growth of the inoculated species of algae. The standing water and its algae crop are allowed to
dry in the sun, and the dried algal flakes are collected for field use. During bright summer, a
continuous production of about 100 kg algal material is possible every fifteen days from an area
of about 25 m� The cost of production is about 12 cents/kg, and the farmer needs only about 10
kg/ha to give him about 25 - 30 kg N/ha. The inherent capacity of these algae to stand extreme
dessication has made it possible to preserve the product in a sun-dried form without any
impairment of its viability (5, 6).

In India, a significant portion of algae production appears to have great potential as a highprotein
feed supplement for livestock, particularly for poultry, and also will make an excellent
biofertilizer for rice. This, coupled with the emphasis on waste recovery and efficient land
utilization, will encourage the integration of algae-feed-fertilizer production with livestock
raising in the nitrogen recycling systems. The major merit of algae as animal feed is that low-
quality algal protein can be converted by the animals into higher quality protein in the form of
meat or meat byproducts without the necessity for extensive pre-processing of the algal product.
The use of algae as biofertilizer provides a cyclic nutrient-supply system with inherent ecological
advantages.

References

1. H.A. Spoehr and H.A. Milner, "The Chemical Composition of Chlorella: Effect of
Environmental Conditions," Plant Physiol. 24: 120 (1949).

2. All India Co-ordinated Project of Algae, Annual Report, New Delhi, 1976 - 77, p. 44; 1977 -
78, p. 72,
3. G. Clement and H. Van Landeghem, "Spirulina-ein g�nstiges objekt fur die Massenkultur
von Mikroalgen," Ber. Deut Bot. Ges. 83 (1): 559 (1970).

4. W.E. Becker, L.V. Venkataraman and P.M. Khanum, "Digestibility Coefficient and Biological
Value of the Proteins of the Alga Scenedesmus acutus Processed by Different Methods," Nutr.
Rep. Internat. 14: 457 (1976).

5. G,S, Venkataraman, "Algal Biofertilizers for Rice Cultivation," Today & Tomorrow, p. 75,
New Delhi, 1972.

6. G.S. Venkataraman, in W.D.P. Stewart (ed.), Nitrogen Fixation by Free-Living

Microorganisms, pp. 207 - 218. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1975.

Acknowledgements

Grateful acknowledgement is made to Dr. K.P. Krishnamoorthy and Mr. Jim DeVries, Projectin-
Charge at Nagpur and Pondicherry centres, and to Mr. D.L.N. Rao, for their co-operation in
providing necessary details, and to Dr. Ripley Fox for the culture of Spirulina platensis.

Discussion summary

Spirulina is about 90 per cent stable with sewage, and could be even more so with other
substrates. There is a 30 per cent saving of inorganic fertilizer when blue green algae are used in
its place to fertilize rice, and crop response is evident within one year.
HOW ALGAL BIOFERTILIZERS
CAN ACCELERATE
SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE

View Video on YouTube

Rhykka Connelly, PhD 

Research Associate
Center for Electromechanics 
[email protected]

Until the 20th century, agricultural production, and thus population growth, was
limited by the availability of plant nutrients—namely nitrogen and phosphorus. From
1909 to 1913, Carl Bosch industrialized nitrogen synthesis by reacting nitrogen gas
with hydrogen gas to produce megatons of fertilizer and explosives. The fully
developed system is called the Haber–Bosch process. Today, the Haber–Bosch
process consumes more than one % of the energy on Earth and is responsible for
feeding roughly one- third of the world’s population. Many countries have enacted
policies that encourage the use of these synthetic fertilizers and other modern
farming technologies to boost crop yields and keep pace with population growth.
Over time, these practices have led to a number of environmental problems and
ironically, diminished crop yields. Aggressive synthetic fertilizer use and tillage is
credited with increased soil erosion, degrading local ecosystems that fight pests and
disease, increased water demand, and stunting crop productivity. Furthermore, the
production of synthetic fertilizers is dependent on fossil fuels and contributes
towards greenhouse gas emissions. In response to environmental concerns,
sustainable organic agriculture has become an increasingly popular option. The
application of biofertilizers has been shown to decrease soil erosion, pest
infestation, and water requirements, and improve soil tilth. The use of algae as a
biofertilizer is particularly appealing for several reasons. Algae can be grown in arid
areas that are unsuitable for traditional crops, can reclaim nutrients in waste
streams, and can produce biofertilizer “crops” year round. Large scale growth of
algae is accelerating and the Center for Electromechanics (CEM) at The University
of Texas has developed cost-effective technologies to harvest and process algal
biomass for use as animal feed or biofertilizer. CEM has been awarded a grant to
harvest algae from a tertiary waste stream and assess the recovered algae as a
biofertilizer on a larger scale on the UT campus in 2011-2012. Based on the data
generated in our pilot study and in the literature, we predict improved soil tilth and
improved plant nutrient uptake. The ultimate goal of the study is to provide the data
necessary to recommend replacement of synthetic fertilizer on the UT campus with
sustainable algal biofertilizer. This essay presents the challenges posed by
conventional agricultural practices through a historical perspective, outlines the
potential of biofertilizers as an alternative to mainstream synthetic fertilizers, and
presents our current applied research at the University of Texas demonstrating a
technique to use microalgae to reclaim phosphorous and nitrogen from waste water
streams and redirect it for support of agricultural production.

The Rise and Impact of Synthetic Fertilizers

Fig. 01. Fertilizer Production Routes. The Haber-Bosch process converts natural gas and nitrogen from into ammonia to
produce urea and commercial fertilizers. Phosphate rock is converted to usable phosphates.
Fertilizers are substances added to soil to improve its fertility, and thus, the growth
and yield of plants. In the earliest times, people noted that the first yield on a plot of
land qualitatively surpassed subsequent ones. Thus, there had to be a way of
maintaining or even enhancing yield while staying on the same plot of land. Between
800 to 200 B.C. Greek farmers enriched their soils by applying city sewage and
animal manure to their vegetable crops and olive groves. 1 With time, natural
fertilization became more refined to keep pace with population growth. By the 20th
century, it was understood that the core plant nutrients for optimal plant growth and
yield are nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P), and potassium (K). Until the 20th century,
agricultural production, and thus population growth, was limited by the availability of
plant nutrients— namely nitrogen and phosphorus. From 1909 to 1913, Carl Bosch
industrialized nitrogen synthesis by reacting nitrogen gas from air with hydrogen gas
from natural gas to produce megatons of ammonia-based fertilizer. The fully
developed system is called the Haber–Bosch process. Today, the Haber–Bosch
process consumes more than one % of the energy on Earth and is responsible for
feeding roughly one-third of the world’s population. 2 It has been called the most
important technological invention in the twentieth century. 3

Because of the Haber-Bosch process and other improvements, industrial agriculture

has substantially increased crop yields in parallel with population growth. For
example, in 1920 when the world population was ~1.65 billion, U.S. farmers
produced an average of 30 bushels of corn per acre; today, the world population is
~6.5 billion and corn yields average about 134 bushels per acre, an increase of
almost 350%.4The fertilizer consumption rate in 1920 was ~6.1 million tons. One
hundred years and 4.8 billion people later, the fertilizer consumption rate is
estimated to reach 200 million tons.5 By 2050, global population is projected to
increase by 50% and global grain demand is projected to double. 6 Given synthetic
fertilizer’s dependence on natural gas and rock phosphate, an alternate supply of
fertilizer N:P:K will be required to meet future global food demands.

Fossil Fuel Requirements. It is estimated that one percent of the world’s energy
consumption now goes toward fertilizer manufacture. 7 On average, 5.5 gallons of
fossil fuels per acre, per year are needed to fertilize soil for farming. 8 Another way to
state this is that the average U.S. farm uses three kcal of fossil energy to produce
one kcal of food energy. Ironically, it is estimated that crops actually absorb only
one-third to one-half of the nitrogen applied to farmland as fertilizer, 9 although this
%age remains controversial (Nielsen and Jensen 1986). 10 The excess nutrients are
free to remain in the applied soil, or they can be washed away as fertilizer run-off.

Eutrophication of Waters. One of the most dramatic illustrations of the

environmental cost of excessive nitrogen fertilizer is the massive hypoxic (low
dissolved oxygen) “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico, where runoff from the
agricultural belt of the United States is concentrated by the Mississippi River system
and deposited into the Gulf. High-nutrient levels stimulate algal blooms, and when
the bloom subsides, subsequent decomposition by bacteria consumes dissolved
oxygen deep in the water column faster than it can be replenished from the
surface.11 Low oxygen levels decimate immobile bottom dwellers and drives off
mobile sea life such as fish and shrimp, which further impacts organisms further up
in the food change and those whose livelihoods depend on the marketing of these
organisms.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has blamed current farming practices for
70% of the pollution in the nation’s rivers and streams. The agency reports that
runoff of chemicals, silt, and animal waste from U.S. farmland has polluted more
than 173,000 miles of waterways.12Elevated levels of nitrate and pesticides have
likewise been found in shallow groundwater in more than half of the United States’
agricultural watersheds.13 Water in more than 20% of these watersheds exceeds
safe drinking water standards for nitrate,14 which is a potential risk factor for cancer
and reproductive problems.15

Impact on Air Quality. Nitrogen-based fertilizers contribute directly to global

warming.16 Making (Haber-Bosch) and transporting one kilogram of nitrogen in a
fertilizer releases 3.7 kg of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. 17 Currently, one third
of N2O emissions and greater than half of the total global CH4 emissions stem from
anthropogenic sources including industry, fossil fuel acquisition and use, biomass
burning, and agricultural.18 The IPCC estimated that the agricultural sector
contributes 65% of global anthropogenic N2O emissions, 40% of global
anthropogenic CH4 emissions, and 10-12% of global anthropogenic CO2
emissions.19

Impact on Soil Tilth. Tilth refers to the physical condition of a soil, including its
texture and relative ability to hold moisture and nutrients. It is a key indicator of a
soil’s health. Soil in good tilth is a loamy nutrient-rich soil that has an appropriate
mixture of sand, clay and organic matter that prevents severe compaction and
promotes oxygen circulation. It takes more than 20 years for a centimeter of soil to
form. The deterioration of soils is one of the most serious global challenges facing
humankind as it attempts to feed a growing population. It has been estimated that
since World War II, poor farming practices have damaged ~1.3 million acres, or
about 38% of all farmland in use today.20Chemical fertilizers decrease soil fertility by
stimulating the growth of microorganisms that thrive on nitrogen. Over time, these
organisms can deplete the soil of organic matter, resulting in decreased soil tilth and
crop yield. Simultaneously, many beneficial microbes may be displaced by synthetic
fertilizers, further resulting in poor soil formation, a lack of decomposition of
nutrients, and inadequate protection from parasitic and fungal growth. 21 Excess
fertilizer also causes substantial accumulation of major (K+, Ca2+, Mg2+) and
heavy-metal (Cd2+, Zn2+) ions in soil solutions and a decrease in soil pH, factors
that may be inhibitory to plant growth.22

Transitioning to a Sustainable Agricultural Economy with Biofertilizers

Sustainable agriculture can be defined as practices that meet current and future
societal needs for food, healthy ecosystems, and healthy lives, and that do so by
maximizing the net benefit to society. Additionally, sustainable agriculture also
requires sustainability of energy use, manufacturing, transportation, and other
economic sectors that also have significant environmental impacts. Despite the
apparent unsustainability of synthetic fertilizers, it is also clear that in order to
sustain the future world population, use of some form of fertilizers is necessary.
Biofertilizers represent a promising alternative to synthetic fertilizers. Biofertilizers
include microorganisms, such as bacteria, fungi, cyanobacteria, and algae and their
metabolites that are capable of enhancing soil fertility, crop growth, and/or yield.
Applying organic biofertilizers to agricultural land could increase the amount of
carbon stored in these soils and contribute significantly to the reduction of
greenhouse gas emissions by eliminating the requirement of fossil fuels for
production through reclamation of N:P:K from wastewater streams. Furthermore,
increasing organic matter in soils may cause other greenhouse gas-saving effects,
such as improved workability of soils, better water retention, less production and use
of mineral fertilizers and pesticides, and reduced release of nitrous oxide. 23

Nutrient reclamation. Microalgae are microscopic plant-like organisms that grow

suspended in nitrogen- and phosphorus-rich, CO2-fertilized water. The microalgae
feed upon these suspended nutrients to promote growth and conversion of CO2 to
O2. As a result, incorporating microalgal systems into conventional wastewater
treatment has the potential to improve the water quality of the effluent by reducing
both nitrogen and phosphorous nutrient loads into freshwater ecosystems. 24 The
microalgae-rich Salton Sea in Southern California is an example of a potentially very
large-scale application of nutrient reclamation. Over one billion cubic meters of
agricultural drainage waters flow annually into this body of water. These
wastewaters contain approximately 1,000 tons of phosphate and 10-times this
amount of nitrate. Nutrient removal from these drainage waters by microalgae
cultures would avoid eutrophication of the Salton Sea while producing approximately
100,000 tons of microalgae biomass.25

Biofertilizer nutrient transfer to crops. It is now known that at least 16 plant- food
essential elements are necessary for the growth of green plants. Green plants obtain
carbon from CO2 from the air, O2 and H from water, and the remaining elements
are absorbed from the soil. Plant roots take up plant-food elements from the soil in
their ionic forms; potassium(K+), Calcium(Ca2+), magnesium(Mg2+), iron(Fe3+),
zinc(Zn2+), nitrogen(NO-3), phosphorous( H2PO-4), sulphur(SO-4), Chlorine(Cl-),
etc. Given that it is estimated that crops actually absorb only one-third to one-half of
the nitrogen applied to farmland as fertilizer, 26 there is a need to develop a suitable
agricultural system which requires lower fertilizer input with higher fertilizer use
efficiency. Recent studies by Das et. al and Rivera-Cruz et. al showed that an
inoculation of a single biofertilizer significantly increased the biomass yield through
increased nutrient uptake in plants.27 Both studies predicted that a lower
concentration of biofertilizer would be required to produce the same yields promoted
by conventional fertilizers. Neither study used algae as their biofertilizer. In fact,
evidence of increased nutrient uptake from algal biofertilizers is lacking and is
currently being investigated by the University of Texas.

Soil stability. Land degradation due to accelerated erosion is a serious global issue

because soil resources of the world are finite and nonrenewable in the human- time
scale. In general, background erosion removes soil at roughly the same rate as soil
is formed. But “accelerated” soil erosion—loss of soil at a much faster rate than it is
formed—is a far more recent problem primarily due to aggressive agricultural
practices. There are different methods of reducing soil erosion, including contour
tillage or no-tillage, installing windbreaks, and leaving processed crops on the field.
Interestingly, microalgae may also participate in the reduction of soil erosion by
contributing soil- binding polysaccharides from their cell walls. 28 The long-term
influence of polysaccharides on aggregate stability may result from microbial
mineralization of extracellular polysaccharides. 29 Bailey et al.30 found that
microalgae-supplemented soil significantly increased the %age of soil aggregates
after six weeks of incubation as compared to soil without algae. These data,
together with the prediction that lower amounts of biofertilizers are required for
equivalent nutrient uptake by crops, may mean that soil erosion and consequent
nutrient run-off may be much reduced through the use of algal biofertilizers.

To date, many studies have shown that biofertilizers have numerous benefits to soil
quality and crop yield:

 increased nutrient transfer,31

 comparable crop yield,32
 increased beneficial microorganisms,33
  stabilization of soil aggregates,34 and
 decreased reliance on fossil fuels.35

Currently, data characterizing the use of microalgae as a biofertilizer is lacking.

However, individual reports suggest that microalgae could represent a promising
alternative to commercial, or alternative organic fertilizers:

 Microalgae have been shown to efficiently recycle N:P:K nutrients from

wastewater streams36 and stabilize soil aggregates37;
 Microalgae can be grown in environments that cannot support traditional land-
based crops and therefore do not displace those crops;
 The production of microalgae, if coupled to a wastewater stream, requires no
fossil fuel inputs;
 Algae can convert waste CO2 to O2; and
 Our pilot study using processed microalgae as a biofertilizer showed that crop
yield exceeded that of chemical fertilizer applied at the same rate.

Taken together, the University of Texas Algae Processing Program believes that
microalgae may hold an important place in the future of agriculture. UTAPP has
designed study to harness the power of microalgae as a biofertilizer on the UT
campus. The study will be conducted over the 2011-2012 season and is outlined in
more detail below.

Replacement of Traditional Fertilizers with Processed Algal Biomass on the UT

Campus

UT has developed and deployed an end-to-end algal biomass processing solution

that recovers algal lipids and produces clean biomass suitable for use as
animal/aquacultural feeds or biofertilizers. UT has partnered with the City of Austin
Wastewater Utility at Hornsby Bend to harvest microalgae from their water polishing
ponds to yield algal oils and clean biomass. In this process, the UT-developed
mobile processing unit extracts algal water, separates the algae from the water,
ruptures the algal cells, then recovers the oil, all without the use of harmful
chemicals and solvents. This means that the processed (de- oiled) biomass is clean
and rich with proteins and nutrients suitable for use as a biofertilizer.
UT has conducted a preliminary study examining the effects of processed biomass
on crop yields. The beds were conditioned with either 12.5 kg/acre dried Chlorella
sp. biomass,38 or with an identical concentration of commercial fertilizer (positive
control). A third unfertilized garden bed was established as a negative control. Each
bed contained six cherry tomato plants and six herb plants. Soil analyses were
conducted prior to and after soil fertilization. The data showed that the algal-fertilized
crops grew 21% taller, and yielded 25% more produce than plants in the control
beds. These data, suggest that processed Chlorella sp. improves crop production
compared to a commercially available inorganic fertilizer.

Google Satellite view of the JJ Pickle Research Campus (left) and the proposed site of the fertilizer plots located on the
Pickle Campus (right).

A larger scale algal biofertilizer project supported by the UT Sustainability Initiative is

commencing this fall. For this demonstration, nutrient-enriched algae from the Water
Utility at Hornsby Bend’s ponds was processed using UT technologies. The
processed biomass has been analyzed for nitrogen and phosphorus content. Algae-
conditioned plots will be compared to plots conditioned with the comparable amount
of traditional fertilizer. The results will be reported to the Sustainability Office and the
wider community. We expect improved soil conditions and plant health at a fraction
of the cost of the traditional fertilizer.

Our larger scale demonstration with rigorous testing parameters serves as a first
step to replace unsustainable inorganic fertilizers with a system wherein algae
efficiently recovers waste nitrogen and phosphorus for re-use in agricultural
production, thereby mitigating environmental and economical issues facing the
agricultural industry.