Algae are highly efficient at storing energy in the form of sugars and oils. In the Great Lakes especially, algal populations are often classified as nuisance species that are negatively impacting the fishing industry, the habitability of aquatic environments for other living creatures, and cause health hazards at vacation beach fronts. This project developed an efficient method of extracting sugars produced by algae for fermentation into ethanol or other alcohols that could be used for bio-based chemical synthesis. Sugar samples were collected from live algal cultures. HPLC and a refractive index detector were used to analyze the samples. Sugar solutes in the sample were isolated and the concentrations were catalogued. The data was used to determine whether significant amounts of sugar had been harvested from the algae to be processed into further alcohols.

Sugar harvesting from Great Lakes algae

245th National Meeting (2013)

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