Since the 1960s, human beings have begun to actively reflect on and summarize the disadvantages of the traditional economic development model. The world has conducted a "60 year" discussion on "sustainable development", and adopted a series of frameworks, conventions, documents, etc. The UN Summit on the post-2015 development agenda held from September 25 to 27, 2015 deliberated and adopted "Changing our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development", which clearly put forward 17 goals (SDGs) for global sustainable development by 2030.
The concept of "sustainable development" has been running through our projects. We mainly contribute to the sustainable development goals from three aspects: water resource management, wastewater recycling and solving the high cost of biodiesel. These 17 sustainable development goals are interrelated and interdependent, and the achievement of one goal will promote the development of other goals in a better direction. Through our projects, we directly support Clean Water and Sanitation (SDG6), Affordable and Clean Energy (SDG7), Decent Work and Economic Growth (SDG8), Industry Innovation and Infrastructure (SDG9), Sustainable Cities and Communities (SDG11), Responsible consumption and Promotion (SDG12), Climate Action (SDG13), and Life Below Water (SDG14).
Fig1. Main SDGs contributed to by CHINA-FAFU
On March 23, 2021, the United Nations released this year's World Water Development Report, with the theme of "water and climate change". Warn that climate change will affect the supply, quality and volume of water needed to meet basic human needs, thereby harming the basic rights of billions of people to enjoy safe drinking water and sanitation. Although we have made significant progress in increasing access to clean drinking water and sanitation, billions of people, mainly in rural areas, still lack these basic services. Around the world, one third of the people do not have access to safe drinking water, and two fifths do not have basic hand washing facilities equipped with soap and water. With the continuous growth of the world population, the shortage of freshwater resources will become more and more obvious.
Our project focuses on the eutrophication of natural water bodies and wastewater treatment process. Through the construction of engineered algae strains, we can improve their nitrogen and phosphorus removal capacity, improve the water quality and improve the efficiency of wastewater recycling, provide more people with usable and clean water sources, so as to relieve the pressure on water resources. It conforms to the development goal of "Clean Water and Sanitation".
At present, rivers, lakes and other water bodies in many countries and regions are facing the problem of eutrophication due to human activities such as non-standard wastewater discharge. Through a series of improvements, we have enhanced the ability of engineered algae to absorb the nutrient elements N and P that cause eutrophication, so as to treat water bodies. So that the residents along the river can see the clear and vibrant "mother river" in their memory again, which makes us further away from the goal of "everyone has access to clean drinking water".
At the moment when water resources are scarce, many countries in the world regard water reuse and wastewater recycling as the second source of water. However, the urban wastewater treatment rate and secondary treatment rate are still at a low level. Combined with the biological treatment methods commonly used in the current wastewater treatment, the enhanced nitrogen and phosphorus removal capacity of our engineered algae can improve the wastewater treatment rate while reducing the treatment cost and possible new pollution caused by the treatment pro cess. Give full play to the huge economic, social and ecological benefits generated by wastewater recycling . To promote and protect human health and reduce the risk of diseases, especially cancer and teratogenesis caused by drinking unclean water.
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Energy is the basis of economic and social development. Since the beginning of the 21st century, energy crisis and environmental pollution have become major issues faced by mankind, and environmental pollution caused by the massive use of fossil fuels has become a major challenge faced by the whole world. In this context, the energy industry of most countries in the world has gradually developed into an environment-friendly economy with zero net emissions and maintained inclusive growth. Clean energy is a technology system for clean, efficient and systematic application of energy, and emphasizes the cleanness and economy of low carbon emissions. The engineered algae strains designed by our project pay full attention to the development goal of "Affordable and Clean Energy", and take advantage of its characteristics of high oil content, high biomass and high photosynthetic efficiency. So as to promote the wide application of biomass energy and biodiesel.
At present, biodiesel, one of the mainstream clean energy sources, has become the main direction of energy development in the future due to its good environmental protection performance, fuel performance, wide source of raw materials, renewable and other characteristics. However, the commercial application of microalgae biodiesel is often hindered by its high production cost. The cultivation methods and engineered algae strains designed by our project are based on the idea of improving the biomass and single cell oil content, combined with the laboratory model and the actual application of the cooperative factory, to provide support for further reducing the production cost of biodiesel.
Microalgae biological products have already had a lot of commercial applications in the current commodity markets, such as nutrition products and fine chemicals, but the application scale of these markets is still limited. In order to play a more important role in sustainable development, it is necessary to further reduce the cost of microalgae as raw materials.
Our project focuses on improving the sustainable development performance of the engineered algae strains. On the premise of high oil content, we try to change its oil composition and increase its polyunsaturated fatty acid content ; Secondly, similar to the idea of reducing the production cost of biodiesel, we also increased the content of fucoxanthin while improving its photosynthetic efficiency. Such improvement reduces the cost of engineered algae strains as raw materials for the commercial production of EPA and fucoxanthin. At the same time, combined with the corresponding technologies of the factory, such as supercritical carbon dioxide extraction, it can make biodiesel and other by-products available, further improving the economic applicability of microalgae biodiesel.
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In order to promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, promote employment , and enable everyone to have decent work, which can stimulate the economy without harming the environment. The planning goal of our project fully notes the development goal of "Decent Work and Economic Growth".
As a new environmental protection technology, microalgae treatment of sewage has strong innovation and creativity. Since the epidemic in 2020, the world has witnessed a wave of closures and layoffs. Under the fierce epidemic, trade disputes and economic sanctions have continued to unfold. In such a bad external environment, we are facing a severe situation of unemployment and reemployment, from groups, families to individuals, and these people are just meeting the recruitment requirements of our microalgae factory. Our technology cost model fully considers the labor cost, which can provide employment opportunities for more farmers while maximizing the benefits of the factory.
When using our digital model to select the site of microalgae factory, we fully considered the areas with low development index, such as villages and towns. We hope to inject energy into more underdeveloped regions. In the future, our site selection and technology promotion scope will be extended to the whole world, and more assistance and support will be provided to underdeveloped regions to drive local economic development.
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The development of infrastructure, such as energy and health facilities, is crucial to achieving sustainable development and promoting community development in many countries. Historical experience shows that the growth of productivity and income, the improvement of human health and education level can not be separated from the investment in facilities. Our team's project is designed with the development goal of "Industry Innovation and Infrastructure" in mind to promote the innovation and industrial upgrading of microalgae in wastewater treatment, energy industry, health care products and fine chemicals.
Based on biological treatment methods commonly used in wastewater treatment, our team has designed a practical new-type wastewater treatment device. This device can not only effectively reduce the content of N and P in wastewater, but also has the advantages of low cost, high safety, long service life, etc., which makes it a perfect example for future wastewater biological treatment methods.
Microalgae is rich in oil and nutrition. It can not only produce biodiesel, but also be developed into high-quality food and health care products. This provides innovative impetus for the development of energy industry and food industry to form a sustainable industry.
In addition to providing high-performance engineered algae strains, our team also provides a convenient and fast method to improve microalgae biomass, photosynthetic efficiency and oil content. In industrial production, the former is more suitable for the production of biodiesel and photosynthetic carbon fixation; In terms of commercial production, especially for food and health products, which are temporarily not allowed to use genetically modified engineered algae strains in most countries and regions, but we can use the convenient methods provided by the latter. The application strategies of two different industrial models give more choices for the innovation and upgrading of microalgae industry.
At present, the increasing wastewater discharge is a very noteworthy environmental problem. The non-standard discharge of wastewater is extremely harmful to humans, animals and plants, and causes great damage to the biological chain. The engineered algae strains designed by our project pay full attention to the development goal of "Sustainable Cities and Communities". Microalgae has the characteristics of rapid growth and reproduction, high photosynthetic efficiency, and can effectively remove nitrogen, phosphorus, metal ions and toxic substances in wastewater. It is a promising wastewater treatment method for urban wastewater, aquaculture wastewater, industrial wastewater and other types of wastewater.
The engineered algae strains constructed by our team this year have stronger nitrogen and phosphorus removal capacity, which can effectively improve the wastewater treatment rate. In addition, we have fully considered various influencing factors in the actual wastewater treatment process, and built a practical new wastewater treatment device to enhance the operability of the project , so that it can bring tangible dividends to the community.
In the siting model of the microalgae plant, we set the indicator of "wastewater volume", so that the plant can be located in a province with a high volume of wastewater discharge as much as possible, creating jobs in the province while effectively treating municipal wastewater, and making the carbon emissions of the wastewater treatment process much lower, contributing to urban wastewater use, oxygen production and sustainable development. We will contribute to the sustainable development of wastewater use, oxygen production and employment in the city. low cost, high safety, long service life, etc., which can effectively reduce the treatment cost of the wastewater treatment plant and promote the development of the entire industry.
At present, we consume 1.7 times more resources than the earth can supply. We must change the current mode of consumption and production, or it will cause irreversible damage to the earth and human livelihoods. Less than 3% of the world's water is fresh water (potable water), of which 2.5% is frozen in Antarctica, the Arctic and glaciers. Therefore, we can only rely on the remaining 0.5% to meet the freshwater needs of all human ecosystems. At present, the rate of human pollution of water exceeds the rate of natural circulation and purification of water in rivers and lakes. Further promoting wastewater recycling has become a popular choice.
Our team's project design focuses on the development goal of "Responsible consumption and promotion", which not only provides another renewable source of raw materials for biodiesel production enterprises, but also effectively assists the recycling of wastewater.
Biodiesel has many sources as biomass energy, and microalgae as raw material has incomparable advantages. At the same time, microalgae, as the main force of biological carbon fixation in carbon neutralization, is one of the important supports for realizing zero carbon economy. Our team has designed an engineered strain of microalgae that has significantly improved lipid content and photosynthetic efficiency compared to wild-type microalgae. Meanwhile, our engineered algae strains also have the same characteristics of easy cultivation, renewable and short growth cycle as wild-type microalgae, which means that the production of biodiesel by microalgae can effectively alleviate the current shortage of fossil fuels and provide support for the sustainable development of biodiesel consumption and production. In addition, our engineered algae strains can also be developed into high-quality food and health products, providing innovative impetus for food production.
Combined with the biological treatment methods commonly used in the current wastewater treatment, the enhanced nitrogen and phosphorus removal capacity of our engineered algae can improve the wastewater treatment rate while reducing the treatment cost and possible new pollution caused by the treatment process. Give full play to the huge economic, social and ecological benefits generated by wastewater recycling. Then promote the rational use and distribution of resources.
Climate change is affecting every country in the world, not only disrupting the national economy and affecting normal life, but also making people, communities and countries pay a heavy price. This impact is not only present, but also likely to last into the future. Therefore, coping with climate change has become an urgent challenge for human society in the 21st century, and promoting green development has become a global consensus. The engineered algae strains designed by our project pay full attention to the development goal of "Climate Action", and actively respond to the Paris Agreement by improving the photosynthetic carbon fixation efficiency of algae strains to control the global temperature rise within 2 ℃.
Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) technology, an important component of CCUS technology, grows in importance over time in the IEA sustainability scenarios, with carbon capture increasing 85% in Phase III (2050-2070) over the previous phase, 45% of which comes from BECCS.
The engineered algae strains designed by us have high photosynthetic efficiency, which also means that our algae strains can absorb more carbon dioxide in the same time. This also improves the carbon fixation capacity of the whole ocean as the largest carbon sink system in the world. At the same time, the high unsaturated fatty acid content of the engineered algae strain makes it easier to produce biodiesel on an industrial scale, while the cost can be appropriately reduced.
The oceans drive multiple global systems, making the earth livable. Our rain, drinking water, weather, climate, coastlines, a variety of food, and even the oxygen in the air we breathe in the air are all essentially provided and regulated by the ocean.
The engineered algae strains in our project are designed with the development goal of "Life Below Water" in mind, using seawater resources to actively address climate and energy issues.
Since the industrial revolution, the ocean has absorbed 41% of the carbon for mankind. In the past century, the ocean's carbon sink capacity has been growing steadily. Data based analysis shows that the ocean will still be a stable carbon sink system in the next few hundred years.
SDG14 sustainable development goal is the core concept of our project, which uses marine resources to promote sustainable development. We use marine microalgae to increase its carbon fixation, alleviate the eutrophication of seawater, and provide a better living environment for other aquatic organisms. At the same time, it will help carbon neutralization to cope with climate change, ultimately promote global ecosystem stability and curb biodiversity loss; Generate and consume affordable, sustainable and clean energy; Increase employment opportunities, balance economic development, and promote clean water to promote the development of cities and communities.
