Reviewer Comments - EERE

2011 Algae Platform Review – Reviewer Comments
Reviewer Comments are direct transcripts of commentary and material provided by the Platform’s
Review Panel. They have not been edited or altered by the Biomass Program.
Reviewer: 4 Criteria Score: 3
See Overall Impressions text.
Reviewer: 5 Criteria Score: 4
Project goals are relevant to platform goals but were limited by the scales considered.
Reviewer: 6 Criteria Score: 8
I found the application of a competent LCA applied to open raceway ponds that incorporate results with
real energy balances (among other outputs) to be quite relevant.
Reviewer: 7 Criteria Score: 3
Previously published LCA's for algae biofuels are more relevant and complete.
Pond modeling work should be compared to current state-of-art to illustrate advancemetns being made.
Specific opportunites for modeling to improve pond design for biofuel scale facilites should be defined.
Presenter Response
4. Critical Success Factors
The project has identified critical factors, (including technical, business, market, regulatory, and legal
factors) that impact the potential technical and commercial success of the project
The project has presented adequate plans to recognize, address, and overcome these factors
The project has the opportunity to advance the state of technology and impact the viability of commercial
algal biomass feedstock supply and conversion, through one or more of the following:
i. Cross-Cutting Analysis (ex. economic analysis, sustainability analysis, resource assessments, risk
assessments)
ii. Feedstock Supply R&D (ex. biology, cultivation, resource use, biomass characteristics,
harvesting/dewatering)
iii. Downstream Refining R&D (ex. extraction, conversion, fuel, products, fuel/product infrastructure and
end-use)
iv. Environmental sustainability (example: water use, GMOs, energy consumption)
Reviewer Comments
Reviewer: 1 Criteria Score: 5
Delineation is adequate. One might question whether some alternative choices might have been selected.
Reviewer: 2 Criteria Score: 5
Costs of production may still be too high, even though not all costs are included. If so, consider different
scales of pond culture.
Reviewer: 3 Criteria Score: 6
Model provides a structure for Seambiotic pond optimization. Seambiotic Model can be useful for all
algae producers
Reviewer: 4 Criteria Score: 3
See Overall Impressions text.
Reviewer: 5 Criteria Score: 4
Critical success factors were not included in the presentation.
Page 125 of 223