Algal Biomaterials From Recycled Wastewater Biomass

Helen E. Wexler; Madison I. Dunitz; Israel Kellersztein; Anthony R. Stephen; Kai Li; Jamieson M. Brechtl; Shelley Blackwell; Tryg Lundquist; Victoria Orphan; Anil Saigal; Chiara Daraio

doi:10.1002/pol.20250915

Algal Biomaterials From Recycled Wastewater Biomass

Helen E. Wexler
, Madison I. Dunitz
, Israel Kellersztein
, Anthony R. Stephen
, Kai Li
, Jamieson M. Brechtl
, Shelley Blackwell
, Tryg Lundquist
, Victoria Orphan
, Anil Saigal
, Chiara Daraio

Multifunctional Equipment Integration

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Fabricating high-performance, binder-free biomaterials from microalgae grown during wastewater treatment is an opportunity in sustainable materials. However, the impact of strain morphology and mechanical preprocessing on material properties remains largely uncharacterized. This study investigates binder-free biomaterials fabricated from wastewater-grown, filamentous Tribonema minus and food-grade, unicellular Chlorella vulgaris. The impact of three mechanical comminution methods (ball mill, mortar-and-pestle, and speed mixer) on the mechanical properties is evaluated. The results demonstrate that feedstock morphology and processing are critical, interacting factors. Under gentle comminution (mortar-and-pestle), filamentous Tribonema biomaterials exhibit significantly higher flexural modulus and strength than unicellular Chlorella. Conversely, high-shear speed mixing diminishes Tribonema's structural advantage while enhancing Chlorella's particle packing, leading to a convergence in mechanical properties. All final biomaterials exhibit near-hydrophobic surfaces (contact angles > 85°). This research validates that non-food-competing wastewater algae can be transformed into high-performance biomaterials, yielding materials with densities of ≈1.0–1.1 g/cm³ and flexural moduli ranging from ≈0.3 to 1.0 GPa.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1583-1595
Number of pages	13
Journal	Journal of Polymer Science
Volume	64
Issue number	7
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1002/pol.20250915
State	Published - Apr 1 2026

Funding

This work was supported by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (2020290705). National Science Foundation (2308575, 2330702). Oak Ridge National Laboratory, IBUILD Fellowship. Resnick Sustainability Institute for Science, Energy and Sustainability, California Institute of Technology. Helen E. Wexler acknowledges support from the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program under Grant No. 2020290705. This research was also performed under an appointment to the Building Technologies Office (BTO) IBUILD Graduate Research Fellowship administered by the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) and managed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) for the United States Department of Energy (DOE). ORISE is managed by Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU). All opinions expressed in this paper are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policies and views of DOE, EERE, BTO, ORISE, ORAU, or ORNL. This manuscript has been authored by UT-Battelle LLC, under contract DE-AC05 00OR22725 with the US Department of Energy (DOE). The US government retains and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the US government retains a nonexclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, worldwide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this manuscript, or allow others to do so, for US government purposes. DOE will provide public access to these results of federally sponsored research in accordance with the DOE Public Access Plan (https://www.energy.gov/doe-public-access-plan). This research was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy Buildings Technologies Office. This work was supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 2308575 (FMRG: Eco: CAS-Climate: Sustainable Manufacturing Using Living Organisms and Agriculturally Derived Materials) and the NSF I-Corps Teams Program under Award No. 2330702. Additional support was provided by the Resnick Sustainability Institute through the Ideation Grant Program and the Explorer Grant. The John & Ursula Kanal Charitable Foundation Caltech Parental Fellowship is also gratefully acknowledged. The authors thank the Caltech Beckman Institute for access to confocal microscope instruments and Prof. Andres Collazo and Dr. Giada Spigolon at the Caltech Beckman Imaging Center for assistance with obtaining algae images. SEM imaging was conducted with the assistance of Dr. Jack Lasseter at the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences (CNMS), a DOE Office of Science User Facility at ORNL. Helen E. Wexler acknowledges support from the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program under Grant No. 2020290705. This research was also performed under an appointment to the Building Technologies Office (BTO) IBUILD Graduate Research Fellowship administered by the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) and managed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) for the United States Department of Energy (DOE). ORISE is managed by Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU). All opinions expressed in this paper are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policies and views of DOE, EERE, BTO, ORISE, ORAU, or ORNL. This manuscript has been authored by UT‐Battelle LLC, under contract DE‐AC05 00OR22725 with the US Department of Energy (DOE). The US government retains and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the US government retains a nonexclusive, paid‐up, irrevocable, worldwide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this manuscript, or allow others to do so, for US government purposes. DOE will provide public access to these results of federally sponsored research in accordance with the DOE Public Access Plan ( https://www.energy.gov/doe‐public‐access‐plan ). This research was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy Buildings Technologies Office. This work was supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 2308575 (FMRG: Eco: CAS‐Climate: Sustainable Manufacturing Using Living Organisms and Agriculturally Derived Materials) and the NSF I‐Corps Teams Program under Award No. 2330702. Additional support was provided by the Resnick Sustainability Institute through the Ideation Grant Program and the Explorer Grant. The John & Ursula Kanal Charitable Foundation Caltech Parental Fellowship is also gratefully acknowledged. The authors thank the Caltech Beckman Institute for access to confocal microscope instruments and Prof. Andres Collazo and Dr. Giada Spigolon at the Caltech Beckman Imaging Center for assistance with obtaining algae images. SEM imaging was conducted with the assistance of Dr. Jack Lasseter at the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences (CNMS), a DOE Office of Science User Facility at ORNL. This work was supported by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (2020290705). National Science Foundation (2308575, 2330702). Oak Ridge National Laboratory, IBUILD Fellowship. Resnick Sustainability Institute for Science, Energy and Sustainability, California Institute of Technology.

Keywords

Tribonema
algae biomaterial
biomaterials
chlorella
compression molding
sustainable materials
wastewater algae

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10.1002/pol.20250915

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title = "Algal Biomaterials From Recycled Wastewater Biomass",

abstract = "Fabricating high-performance, binder-free biomaterials from microalgae grown during wastewater treatment is an opportunity in sustainable materials. However, the impact of strain morphology and mechanical preprocessing on material properties remains largely uncharacterized. This study investigates binder-free biomaterials fabricated from wastewater-grown, filamentous Tribonema minus and food-grade, unicellular Chlorella vulgaris. The impact of three mechanical comminution methods (ball mill, mortar-and-pestle, and speed mixer) on the mechanical properties is evaluated. The results demonstrate that feedstock morphology and processing are critical, interacting factors. Under gentle comminution (mortar-and-pestle), filamentous Tribonema biomaterials exhibit significantly higher flexural modulus and strength than unicellular Chlorella. Conversely, high-shear speed mixing diminishes Tribonema's structural advantage while enhancing Chlorella's particle packing, leading to a convergence in mechanical properties. All final biomaterials exhibit near-hydrophobic surfaces (contact angles > 85°). This research validates that non-food-competing wastewater algae can be transformed into high-performance biomaterials, yielding materials with densities of ≈1.0–1.1 g/cm3 and flexural moduli ranging from ≈0.3 to 1.0 GPa.",

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author = "Wexler, \{Helen E.\} and Dunitz, \{Madison I.\} and Israel Kellersztein and Stephen, \{Anthony R.\} and Kai Li and Brechtl, \{Jamieson M.\} and Shelley Blackwell and Tryg Lundquist and Victoria Orphan and Anil Saigal and Chiara Daraio",

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AU - Wexler, Helen E.

AU - Dunitz, Madison I.

AU - Kellersztein, Israel

AU - Stephen, Anthony R.

AU - Li, Kai

AU - Brechtl, Jamieson M.

AU - Blackwell, Shelley

AU - Lundquist, Tryg

AU - Orphan, Victoria

AU - Saigal, Anil

AU - Daraio, Chiara

PY - 2026/4/1

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AB - Fabricating high-performance, binder-free biomaterials from microalgae grown during wastewater treatment is an opportunity in sustainable materials. However, the impact of strain morphology and mechanical preprocessing on material properties remains largely uncharacterized. This study investigates binder-free biomaterials fabricated from wastewater-grown, filamentous Tribonema minus and food-grade, unicellular Chlorella vulgaris. The impact of three mechanical comminution methods (ball mill, mortar-and-pestle, and speed mixer) on the mechanical properties is evaluated. The results demonstrate that feedstock morphology and processing are critical, interacting factors. Under gentle comminution (mortar-and-pestle), filamentous Tribonema biomaterials exhibit significantly higher flexural modulus and strength than unicellular Chlorella. Conversely, high-shear speed mixing diminishes Tribonema's structural advantage while enhancing Chlorella's particle packing, leading to a convergence in mechanical properties. All final biomaterials exhibit near-hydrophobic surfaces (contact angles > 85°). This research validates that non-food-competing wastewater algae can be transformed into high-performance biomaterials, yielding materials with densities of ≈1.0–1.1 g/cm3 and flexural moduli ranging from ≈0.3 to 1.0 GPa.

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Algal Biomaterials From Recycled Wastewater Biomass

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