team photo

Figure 1
project photo

Figure 2
project photo


Team 10

Team Members

Faculty Advisor

Joseph Megale
Chad Moreau
Noah Kosh
Stephen Sheak (not pictured)

Yu Lei, Yongku Cho

Sponsor

National Science Foundation

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Optimization Of Photobioreactor Design To Achieve Sustainable Algae Growth

Our project harnesses the power of microalgae as a sustainable source of methionine, an essential nutrient for organic poultry feed. The market for organic food is growing as consumer demand for natural and sustainable products increases. Since methionine is an essential amino acid in poultry feed but cannot currently be produced commercially, organic food standards allow the use of synthetic methionine in organic feed. Our group aims to create a scalable bioreactor that grows high density microalgae while being energy efficient and economically viable. Our final solution will pump the microalgae from a stirred tank through a series of tubing to increase light exposure while maintaining the mixing effect. Our project will impact the organic poultry industry and reduce the harmful pollutants released during the synthetic methionine production process.