Completed
Biofuels made from algae are gaining attention as a domestic source of renewable fuel. However, with current technologies, scaling up production of algal biofuels to meet even 5 percent of U.S. transportation fuel needs could create unsustainable demands for energy, water, and nutrient resources. Continued research and development could yield innovations to address these challenges, but determining if algal biofuel is a viable fuel alternative will involve comparing the environmental, economic and social impacts of algal biofuel production and use to those associated with petroleum-based fuels and other fuel sources.
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Consensus
·2012
Biofuels made from algae are gaining attention as a domestic source of renewable fuel. However, with current technologies, scaling up production of algal biofuels to meet even 5 percent of U.S. transportation fuel needs could create unsustainable demands for energy, water, and nutrient resources. Co...
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Description
The National Research Council proposes to appoint a committee to examine the promise of sustainable development of algal biofuels, identify potential concerns and unforeseen sustainability challenges and unintended consequences for a range of approaches to algal biofuels production, explore ways to address those challenges, and suggest appropriate indicators, and metrics that can inform future assessments of environmental performance and social acceptance associated with sustainability. Although economics is an important aspect of sustainability, the study will not assess costs of algal biofuels. Algal biofuels production approaches and technical systems are still emerging, and facilities have not reached commercial scale. Public data on the economics of algal biofuels production is sparse. Therefore, it is premature for the committee to conduct generalized economic analyses of algal biofuels.
The committee will:
1. Identify the potential sustainability concerns for commercial production (including larger centralized and smaller distributed facilities) of algal biofuels associated with a selected number of different pathways of biomass production and conversion. Potential concerns to be addressed could include the availability and use of land, water, and nutrient resources, human health and safety associated with feedstock cultivation and processing, potential toxicity associated with algal metabolites and their adverse impacts on downstream co-products, and other impacts that are of social and environmental concern.
2. Identify information or data gaps related to the impacts of algal biofuels production.
3. Suggest indicators and metrics to be used to assess sustainability concerns across the algal biofuels supply chain and data to be collected now to establish baseline and to assess sustainability. Identify indicators that are most critical to address or have the greatest potential for improvement through DOE intervention. This input will inform DOE EERE-OBP’s broader analysis of biofuels and bioenergy sustainability.
4. Using selected approaches as illustrations, discuss whether any, or combinations of, the identified challenges could present major sustainability concerns.
Are there preferred cost and benefit analyses that could best aid in the decision-making process, and could those decisions be performance based and technology neutral?
The committee will conduct a review of published literature on assessing environmental sustainability of algal biofuels production. If available published literature is insufficient to satisfy the study requirements, the committee will solicit information from federal and state agencies, environmental groups, companies, and other organizations involved in R&D and implementation of S&T, systems, and processes for production of algal biofuels and feedstocks in order to get an idea of ongoing and planned research on related environmental sustainability. The committee will write a report addressing its statement of task and supporting its conclusions and recommendations.
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Conflict of Interest Disclosure
Disclosure of Conflict of Interest: Susan Golden
In accordance with Section 15 of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, the "Academy shall make its best efforts to ensure that no individual appointed to serve on [a] committee has a conflict of interest that is relevant to the functions to be performed, unless such conflict is promptly and publicly disclosed and the Academy determines that the conflict is unavoidable." A conflict of interest refers to an interest, ordinarily financial, of an individual that could be directly affected by the work of the committee. As specified in the Academy's policy and procedures (http://www.nationalacademies.org/coi/index.html), an objective determination is made for each provisionally appointed committee member whether or not a conflict of interest exists given the facts of the individual's financial and other interests and the task being undertaken by the committee. A determination of a conflict of interest for an individual is not an assessment of that individual's actual behavior or character or ability to act objectively despite the conflicting interest.
We have concluded that for this committee to accomplish the tasks for which it was established its membership must include among others, at least one person who has extensive knowledge in the biology of cyanobacteria and experience in applying molecular genetic tools to select and develop strains for different applications.
To meet the need for this expertise and experience, Dr. Susan Golden is proposed for appointment to the committee even though we have concluded that she has a conflict of interest because she is an inventor of cyanobacterial knockout libraries, which have been licensed by a company in the past and could be licensed in the future. Their value could be affected by the pace and extent of the development of the algal biofuels industry.
Dr. Golden is one of the pioneers in developing molecular genetic tools for cyanobacteria. As her biographical summary makes clear, she has expertise in gene expression, functional genomics, and metabolic engineering of cyanobacteria. She has extensive experience in developing and using molecular genetic tools to identify and produce cyanobacterial strains that fit various industrial needs. Her expertise and experience are critical to the ability of the committee to fulfill its task. We believe that Dr. Golden can serve effectively as a member of the committee and that the committee can produce an objective report, taking into account the composition of the committee, the work to be performed, and the procedures to be followed in completing the work.
After an extensive search, we have been unable to find another individual with the equivalent technical expertise and experience as Dr. Golden who does not have a similar conflict of interest. Therefore, we have concluded that this potential conflict is unavoidable.
Sponsors
Department of Energy
Staff
Evonne P.Y. Tang
Lead