A KSA lab is studying the use of local algae for animal feed and wastewater cleaning

KSA lab cultivating local algae to use for animal feed + wastewater cleaning: A pilot facility launched in the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology is cultivating different algae species to use for aquaculture feed, animal feed, and cleaning up wastewater, the Saudi Gazette reports. The purpose-built lab isolates, identifies, and characterizes algal species adapted to Saudi Arabia’s extreme temperatures, then cultivates the local strains in 22 purpose-built bioreactors that use CO2, wastewater, and algae to produce biomass and oxygen.

How it works: To determine the optimal conditions for growth for each new algae species, the scientists put every new strain “in six reactors to grow under different conditions — continuous light, day-night cycling and then one reactor each to simulate winter, spring, summer and autumn in Saudi Arabia,” said Kyle Lauersen, a specialist in algal synthetic biology and metabolic engineering and leader of the pilot facility.

Different algae serve different purposes: The researchers also characterize the algae and measure what they are producing, such as the amount of oil, protein, and carbohydrates. This “biobank” of information helps determine what species are suitable for which purpose. For example, the dairy industry produces waste water with very low pH and thus would need algae that grow at the same pH levels, Lauersen explains.

What is algae’s magical power? Algae can grow in waste waters by “converting nitrogen, phosphorus, and CO2 into a biomass that is full of oil, protein, carbohydrates, pigments and clean water,” the news outlet writes.

KSA is getting ahead of the alga(m)e: The pilot facility is one of the only dedicated algal biotechnology labs in the Arabian Peninsula, and has one of the “largest suite of bioreactors for growing algae of any academic institution in the world,” Lauersen said, adding that more than 60 strains have been isolated for further testing so far.

Why is this important? The technology holds the potential to accelerate water treatment efforts in the region. In 2019, Saudi Arabia treated 850 mn cbm of wastewater, 185 mn of which was used in agriculture irrigation, according to a study (pdf). Egypt’s Bahr El Baqar wastewater treatment plant alone treats around 5 mn cbm of water every day — or 1.8 bn cbm per year — making it the largest of its kind in the world. The UAE's total volume of treated wastewater in 2020 was approximately 770 mn cbm.