Algenol Biotech LLC — Department of Defense SBIR Phase I: A17-081

Description

Algenol proposes to develop an innovative industrial scale biogenic process to convert propellants and/or energetics into valuable and environmentally friendly biofuel. The US Army has a large stockpile of unused propellants and energetics that have exceeded their useful life and must be disposed of. Algenol proposes to build off of previous contract work that demonstrated the use of hydrolyzed M6 propellant waste nitrogen as a nutrient source for the biological production of transportation fuel. This next phase of that research would leverage Algenols proprietary algae based technology platform to use nitrogen, in the form of nitrate and nitrite, generated from the alkaline hydrolysis of M6 propellant to produce algal biomass in semi-continuous cultivation as a precursor to the production of biocrude via hydrothermal liquefaction. Utilization of M6 propellant in this manner would circumvent the need to dispose of the material by open burn/open detonation and instead augment algal biomass growth and biofuel production thus reducing emissions and yielding a product that can be used as a transportation fuel by the general public or for military vehicles.