Turning Microalgae into a Sustainable High Protein Food Solution

 As climate change and a growing global population strains our existing food supply, scientists are looking on land and at sea for innovative solutions.

Yangchao Luo, associate professor, and Mingyu Qiao, assistant professor in innovation and entrepreneurship, in the Department of Nutritional Sciences in the College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources have found a way to grow microalgae with a significantly higher protein content. These results were published in Biomass and Bioenergy.

The team found that by changing the amount of nitrogen, carbon, and sunlight the microalgae get while growing in a lab, the tiny marine plants produced up to 25% more protein. By increasing the organic carbon concentration and adjusting the carbon to nitrogen ratio, they were able to increase the protein biomass (how much of the microalgae is protein) from a quarter to a third to half.

Turning Microalgae into a Sustainable High Protein Food Solution