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From 2010.igem.org

Project Background

The project the team has decided on for this year is in association with the Chemical Engineering department’s joint project to produce hydrocarbons from algae biomass. This consists of hydrothermal processing of the algae followed by catalytic upgrading of the “bio crude” oil. Before the hydrothermal processing can take place the algae needs to be concentrated from 1 to 10 g/L to over 250 g/L. Traditional methods that are used like centrifugation, filtration and chemical flocculation are energy intensive. We propose creating a bioflocculation circuit in E. coli to flocculate the algae as an alternative option. This consists of a “trigger” for flocculation which would then express proteins that cause the surface of the E. coli cells to become sticky and flocculate with the algae.