Archive
BIOENERGY. Latest published applications 2017-2019. Algae
Summary
Algae are considered a very promising alternative in the quest for more sustainable biofuels. To produce them specific species of algae are used. These species usually show a unicellular or diatom structure capable of generating compositions with a high lipid content, which can then be converted into fuels such as ethanol or biodiesel. Some species even boast a lipid content of up to 40 percent, which can be even further increased through selective breeding or modifications to the genetic makeup of the algae. Generating algal fuels has several advantages: it can be carried out using ocean or wastewater, so no freshwater is needed; as they are a natural product they do not cause environmental damage even if spills occur. However, large-scale commercialization of algal fuels has not yet been realised as their cultivation requires a larger land area and processing is costly. To reduce costs, algal fuel crops are usually bred in a photoautotrophic culture: an environment of light, CO2, water, inorganic salts and a temperature of 15-50°C. Among the most common growth mediums nitrogen, phosphorus, iron, and sometimes silicon can be found. Two main types of reactors are used for this process: the photobioreactor, which is closed, and the open reactor, such as an open pond or raceway. Both reactor types have problems with light penetration. Fouling and overheating is a major issue in closed reactors, as well as contamination. Water loss through evaporation and changing pond conditions, on the other hand, occur in open reactors. In order to obtain a final product, algae are harvested through mechanical, chemical, and electrolytic methods. Eventually, the lipids are won from the cells by disrupting the cell walls using methods, including, for example, bead milling, sonication or microwaves. The applications presented in this bulletin are aimed at solving some of the aforementioned issues.
A selection of patent applications related to biofuels from algae and published by patent offices around the globe in 2017-2019 is provided for review in the present bulletin. General research methodology can be found on the Advanced Energy Technologies website. The present bulletin includes 837 patent applications, prepared by applicants from 30 countries and registered in 27 patent offices. The patent documents mention 301 applicants and 788 IPC subgroups.
Key Highlights
The bulletin provides general statistical figures, including the overall distribution of patent documents by years, by patent offices and by applicant countries, applicant-related data (residents and non-residents), data on the most frequently mentioned International Patent Classification divisions (sections, classes, subclasses, groups, and subgroups). The most popular patent offices among the applicants were: USPTO (US), INPI (BR), CNIPA (CN), EPO, IP Australia (AU), JPO (JP), WIPO, KIPO (KR), ILPO (IL), IPOS (SG).
From the analysis of texts of applications presented in this bulletin, detailed information is extracted for each of the unified indicators, which include: technical problems, types of inventive solutions employed, belonging of a patent document to one or other technological segment. The results of the statistical processing of this data for the entire array of the applications examined are summarized in the correspondingly-named diagrams and tables. In addition to that, a list of the top 10 groups of patent documents with identical unified indicators is provided, where the groups are sorted by the number of patent documents and include ID numbers and applicant names of the documents.
The following information can be found for the top 10 applicants: breakdown of applications by problems, IPC sections, patent offices, (technological indicators), as well as the estimation of their share in the established intellectual property market. The 10 leading applicants by the number of patent documents were: Xyleco Inc. (US), Mara Renewables Corporation (CA), Neste Oyj (FI), Terravia Holdings Inc (US), Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) (AU), DSM IP Assets B.V. (NL), Arkema S.A. (FR), Corbion Biotech, Inc. (US), Reliance Industries Limited (IN), Solazyme, Inc. (US).
The bulletin contains lists of the top 10 prominent patent applications having the highest bibliographical rating, the most extensive coverage of IPC sections, and those not being part a of patent family.
The conclusive part of the bulletin represents the lists of all of the documents reviewed, arranged by the top 10 groups of patent documents with identical unified indicators and by patent offices with the indication of the ID numbers of the registered patent applications.
Who needs this bulletin?
The statistics bulletin under examination serves as one of the variants to monitor advanced technical achievements in the specified industrial sector. The statistical data, rating evaluations and carefully selected patent documents provided in the bulletin can be of interest for inventors, students and educators, engineers, as well as for businessmen and investors, who in one way or another are concerned with the problems of the development of biofuel production technologies.
