ST. LOUIS, MO, June 13, 2011 – The First International Conference on Algal Biomass, Biofuels, and Bioproducts will be held July 17 – 20, 2011 at the Westin Hotel in St. Louis. The conference will cover all areas of emerging technologies in algal biology, biomass production, cultivation, harvesting, extraction, bioproducts, and econometrics. The event is chaired by Dr. José A. Olivares, Los Alamos National Laboratory and Dr. Richard Sayre, Donald Danforth Plant Science Center. The conference is being produced by the science publisher Elsevier B.V. Sponsorship of the conference includes, among others, the National Alliance for Advanced Biofuels and Bioproducts led by the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center.

The program has been designed to provide a new level of direct interaction between preeminent scientific leaders in this rapidly developing scientific field, the strategic partners and delegates. Emphasis will be placed on latest unpublished technical and scientific results, discussion and direct interactions with strategic partners and leaders in the field. The conference is designed to facilitate extended discussion periods with dedicated networking sessions.

Plenary presentations will be given by: Dr. Valerie Sarisky-Reed (US DOE-EERE), who will provide an overview of the DOE biomass and biofuels strategy for the future; Dr. Nathan Danielson (DuPont), who will provide an overview of the scientific and technical challenges and opportunities facing the bioplastics industry; and by Dr. Richard Sayre (Enterprise Institute for Renewable Fuels at the Danforth Plant Science Center) who will provide an overview of current advances in the development of algae as a feedstock for biomass and biofuels.

Confirmed Speakers include:
Ami Ben-Amotz, National Institute of Oceanography Israel, Haifa, Israel
Heriberto Cerutti, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, USA
Nathan Danielson, DuPont, USA
Brian Goodall, SRS Energy, USA
Mark Hildebrand, University of California, San Diego, USA
Shanna Ivey, New Mexico State University, New Mexico
Anthony J. Marchese, Colorado State University, USA
Babetta L. Marrone, Los Alamos National Laboratory, USA
Sabeeha Merchant, UCLA, USA
Matthew Posewitz, Colorado School of Mines, USA
James W. Richardson, Texas A&M University, USA
Valerie Sarisky-Reed, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) Biomass Program, USA
Richard Sayre, Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, USA
Mario Tredici, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Italy
Makoto M. Watanabe, University of Tsukuba, Japan
Ji-Won Yang, Advanced Biomass R&D Center KAIST, Republic of Korea
Qingyu Wu, Tsinghua University, China

For details and registration please visit, www.danforthcenter.org

About The National Alliance for Advanced Biofuels and Bioproducts (NAABB)
The NAABB was created through the association of a large number of academic institutions, industrial companies, and national laboratories, to develop innovative technologies that will help bring biofuels to a commercial reality. In 2010 the NAABB received funding from the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Biomass Programs, to focus on the development of the algal biofuels industry. As a government and industry partnership, the NAABB will devote $49M of federal funds along with $20M of cost share commitments from its partners to new research, development and demonstration activities in algal biofuels. The NAABB will develop technologies for cost-effective production of algal biomass and lipids, economically fuels and co-products, and provide a framework for a sustainable biofuels industry.

About The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center
Founded in 1998, the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center is a not-for-profit research institute with a mission to improve the human condition through plant science. Research at the Danforth Center will feed the hungry and improve human health, preserve and renew the environment, and enhance the St. Louis region and Missouri as a world center for plant science. The Center’s work is funded through competitive grants and contract revenue from many sources, including the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Energy, National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Agency for International Development and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center invites you to visit its new website, www.danforthcenter.org, featuring interactive information on the Center’s scientists, news and research, including the Enterprise Rent-A-Car Institute for Renewable Fuels, the Center for Advanced Biofuel Research, and the National Alliance for Advanced Biofuels and Bioproducts. Public education outreach, RSS feeds and the brand-new “Roots & Shoots” blog help keep visitors up to date with Center’s current operations and areas of research.

ST. LOUIS, MO April 26, 2011 – Algae have significant potential as a clean, renewable, and economical fuel source, and the St. Louis region is recognized as a leading center for algal biofuels research. This summer, area residents of all ages can contributes to the region’s reputation through Backyard Biofuels, a quest to find the ideal algal species that will help lead our nation to energy independence. To kick off the algae collecting season, the Saint Louis Science Center and the Center for Advanced Biofuel Systems at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center are hosting the 2nd annual Algaepalooza on Saturday, May 7, 2011 from 10am to 4pm in the Life Science Lab at the Saint Louis Science Center. Algaepalooza is the first opportunity in 2011 for citizens to pick up algae-collecting kits as part of the Backyard Biofuels citizen science research project.

At Algaepalooza, visitors will have the opportunity to talk with the research scientists behind the project and learn why algae have the potential to be a sustainable source of fuel used to power cars, trucks and jet airplanes. As well as how to identify various types of algae and participate in hands-on experiments and activities like painting with algae and make algae ball necklaces.

Last year, 1,000 families and individuals were given collection kits, and approximately 170 samples were cultured in the Life Science Lab to isolate individual algae species that produce oil. More than 100 of those isolated strains were sent to the Enterprise Rent-A-Car Institute for Renewable Fuels at the Danforth Plant Science Center, where they were tested for how much oil could be made and used for biofuel production. Those that showed promise are undergoing additional tests.

“Ten samples from last year’s algae gave high readings of oil production. Such encouraging results wouldn’t be possible without the help of citizen scientists.” said Matthew Stevens, senior lab technician at the Danforth Plant Science Center who conducts the research for the Backyard Biofuels program. “This year we have a goal to identify an algae species that boast better oil productivity than last year.”

Many algae naturally produce and store lipids which can be extracted and converted into fuel. The process for harvesting their oil content has been established by scientists, and now it only needs to be perfected. While most studies of algae have occurred with lab-grown strains, most wild algae have been ignored mainly due to the time required to collect and analyze them. Each species has the potential to produce just the right amount and kind of oil to make it useful, but its potential will remain unknown until it can be isolated and analyzed.

This year participants have the option of mailing their collection kits back to the Science Center instead of having to return them in person. This will allow for more out-of-town visitors to participate in the program. Participants can track the analytical progress of their sample on the website, backyardbiofuels.org. Collection kits will be available throughout the summer and into the fall at the Life Science Lab.

“We had a large number of kits turned in last year with many samples from the area,” said Cindy H. Encarnación, Ph.D., Director of Life Sciences. “This year, we’d like to see more samples from across Missouri and other parts of the country. The more different types of algae we can test, the more likely we are to identify really high oil-producers.”

Although popularized as a nuisance to swimming pool owners, algae offer several advantages for sustainable biofuel production over common food-crop plants. They can be grown using much less water, fertilizer and chemicals than conventional crops. They produce more oil per area than almost any plant, and are not a major food source. Algae can be grown using gray water from treatment plants and can capture carbon dioxide from coal burning power plants or other CO2 sources thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Backyard Biofuels is a collaborative project of the Saint Louis Science Center and the Center for Advanced Biofuel Systems at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center. It is supported through grants from the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy. For more information about the Backyard Biofuels program, visit backyardbiofuels.org

Images of 2010 Algaepalooza

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Trademarks:
Thank you for covering the Saint Louis Science Center. We ask that you include the full names of our institution: Saint Louis Science Center, OMNIMAXÒ Theater, and James S. McDonnell Planetarium when writing your story.

Saint Louis Science Center
The Saint Louis Science Center is one of the top five science centers in the United States, serving 1.2 million visitors annually. Recently named one of the Top 10 Science Centers for Families by Parents magazine and one of America’s most visited museums by Forbes Traveler Magazine, – the only museum in Missouri to be named to either list – the Saint Louis Science Center complex includes a four-story OMNIMAXÒ Theater, the air-supported EXPLORADOME and the James S. McDonnell Planetarium. Its mission is to ignite and sustain lifelong science and technology learning. For more information about the Saint Louis Science Center and its programs, visit slsc.org

The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center
Founded in 1998, the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center is a not-for-profit research institute with a mission to improve the human condition through plant science. Research at the Danforth Center will feed the hungry and improve human health, preserve and renew the environment, and enhance the St. Louis region and Missouri as a world center for plant science. The Center’s work is funded through competitive grants and contract revenue from many sources, including the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Energy, National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Agency for International Development and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center invites you to visit its new website, www.danforthcenter.org, featuring interactive information on the Center’s scientists, news and research, including the Enterprise Rent-A-Car Institute for Renewable Fuels, the Center for Advanced Biofuel Research, and the National Alliance for Advanced Biofuels and Bioproducts. Public education outreach, RSS feeds and the brand-new “Roots & Shoots” blog help keep visitors up to date with Center’s current operations and areas of research.

Method employs cost saving catalyst and produces useful byproducts

St. Louis, MO, November 17, 2010 – The National Alliance for Biofuels and Bioproducts (NAABB), a consortium of leading scientists and engineers from universities, private industry, and national laboratories announced today that they have met a significant benchmark by successfully producing biodiesel using oil extracted from algae that meets specifications set by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM). ASTM develops international standards for materials, products, systems and services used in construction, manufacturing and transportation.

Eldorado Biofuel, one of 13 industry members of the NAABB consortium, provided the algal oil while Catilin, Inc. converted the oil to biodiesel using the company’s commercially available T300 solid catalyst. Conventional conversion methods use highly caustic materials such as sodium hydroxide. Using Catilin’s method, researchers verified that they could produce high-quality algal based biofuel that meets ASTM standards more efficiently and economically while producing highly purified glycerin, a valuable byproduct which can be used by the food and pharmaceutical industry.

“We are very pleased to have demonstrated that our catalytic process is effective for algal oil feedstocks. Not only are the conversion costs reduced relative to the conventional process but the quality byproducts produced in the process will open additional markets,” said David Sams, vice president, business development, Catilin Inc.

“We are happy we could provide this resource to help move the algae biofuels industry forward,” said Paul Laur, CEO, Eldorado Biofuels.

“This step represents a major success and illustrates the high level of interaction between members which is a good sign that we are starting to reap the benefits of the consortium concept,” said Jose Olivares, executive director, NAABB. “It demonstrates our member’s commitment to developing the industry.”

The next step will be to distribute samples of the ASTM algae based biodiesel among members of the NAABB consortium for follow-up analyses necessary for engine emissions testing.

About NAABB
The National Alliance for Advanced Biofuels and Bioproducts is a consortium of industries, universities and national laboratories led by the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center in St. Louis, MO and funded by the U.S. Department of Energy. The overall goal of the National Alliance for Advanced Biofuels and Bioproducts consortium is to produce new technologies that can be implemented by our commercial partners and others developing the algal biofuel industry. In order to achieve this goal, our program incorporates major objectives in Algal Biology, Cultivation, Harvesting/Extraction, and Conversion to fuels, Coproduct development, and Economic/energy-balance modelling and resource management components that will establish the technologies’ viability for overall sustainability. For more information, please visit www.naabb.org.

Media contact: Karla Goldstein, (314) 406-4287, kgoldstein@danforthcenter.org

About Catilin Inc
Catilin is a technology company focused on the global clean technology market including biofuels and biochemicals. Catilin’s first commercially available catalyst, T300, greatly reduces the cost of producing a gallon of biodiesel while creating a superior quality biodiesel and glycerin co-product. The pioneering research of Catilin, in conjunction with Ames Laboratory and Iowa State University, continues to focus on the future of clean technology, including award-winning research on biochemical extraction from algal oil. For more information, please visit http://www.catilin.com.

Media contact: Dave Sams, (415) 389-0295, dsams@catilin.com

About Eldorado Biofuels
Eldorado Biofuels, based in Santa Fe, NM, is committed to commercializing sustainable technologies to help provide the water needed to grow enough algae to meet the National Renewable Fuel Standard for advanced biofuels requirement of 5.5 billion gallons by 2015. Eldorado Biofuels is tasked in NAABB with recycling waste water generated in oil and natural gas production for growing algae.

Media contact: Paul Laur, (505) 670-8490. paul@eldoradobiofuels.com

About The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center
Founded in 1998, the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center is a not-for-profit research institute with a mission to improve the human condition through plant science. Research at the Danforth Center will feed the hungry and improve human health, preserve and renew the environment, and enhance the St. Louis region and Missouri as a world center for plant science. For more information please visit www.danforthcenter.org

Media contact: Karla Goldstein, (314) 406-4287, kgoldstein@danforthcenter.org