The construction of the algal oil biorefinery of Veramaris is on track
Type of post: NEWS.
DSM and Evonik announced their intention to
start Veramaris in March 2017 (see post,
13/3/2017) but the official launch of this joint venture took place two day ago
(see press
release, 30/1/2018) after receiving all necessary approvals. The new
company is focused on the production of omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA from
natural marine algae for animal nutrition.
The press release contains some details about
its first production facility:
Location
|
Evonik
site in Blair (Nebraska, USA).
|
Production
capacity
|
The
initial annual production capacity will meet roughly 15% of the total current
annual demand for EPA and DHA by the salmon aquaculture industry.
|
Cost
|
200 M$.
|
Timeline
|
- Construction
has commenced and is proceeding according to plan.
- Commercial
quantities of the algal oil will be ready for sale in 2019 (pilot quantities
for market development purposes are already available.).
|
And, these are the key points of the process:
Raw materials
|
- Sugar: dextrose
obtained from locally sourced corn.
- Marine algae: the algal strain Schizochytrium sp. is cultivated in the
Nebraska plant.
|
Fermentation
|
During
the fermentation process, the algae cells multiply exponentially and convert
dextrose into omega-3 fatty acids, which accumulate in oil vesicles.
The Schizochytrium has the advantage of
producing both EPA and DHA in high concentrations (exceeds 50%).
|
Downstream
|
The cell wall is broken and the oil vesicles
are separated from the aqueous phase. Residual water is removed from the oil
by centrifugation and the end result is a highly concentrated algal oil and a
liquid co-product.
The liquid co-product can be used as a
protein source in beef cattle feed. Alternatively, it can be converted into
biogas for electricity production.
|
Figure 1. Simplified flow diagram of the algal
oil production process (extracted from Veramaris website)
The omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA added to
animal feed are almost exclusively from marine sources. Currently, a total of
16 million metric tons of wild fish are caught for the production of fish oil
and fishmeal. By using natural marine algae, Veramaris contributes to closing
the omega-3 EPA and DHA supply-demand gap, while helping to conserve marine
life and biodiversity in the oceans.
