TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - BIOTECHNOLOGY - Preferred Components: The solid organic material is a food manufacturing or agricultural byproduct. The algae is chosen from (a) Dinobryon, Chrysochromulina, Chrysosphaerella, Uroglena, Catenochrysis, Ochromonas, Chromulina, and Chrysococcus, (b) prymnesiophyte Chrysochromulina, coccolithophorid Coccolithus pelagicus, xanthophyte Chlorochromonas, chrysophytes Phaeaster, Chrysamoeba, and Pedinella, (c) photosynthetic dinoflagellate Ceratium hirundinella Muller, and (d) Cryptomonas ovata Ehrenberg. The solid organic material is waste activated sludge. Preferred Method: The method further involves forming an algal byproduct, where the algal byproduct includes treated waste activated sludge, and allowing the algae to grow by engulfing or uptaking the waste activated sludge which causes the pathogen level in the algal byproduct to be at a level below detectable limits. The algal byproduct meets one of the requirements chosen from density of fecal coliform in the algal byproduct is less than 1000 most probable numbers (MPN)/g total solids on a dry-weight basis, and density of Salmonella sp. bacteria in the algal byproduct is less than 3 MPN/4 g total solids on a dry-weight basis. The method further involves pretreating the solid organic material before combining the algae and the solid organic material by disinfecting and sterilizing any organisms and spores that exist in the solid organic material, and digesting at least a portion of the solid organic material by aerobic digestion and anaerobic digestion. The pretreating step includes treating the solid organic material with a base at a pH of more than 9 for 6 hours or more, and subjecting the solid organic material to sound energy to perform sonication. The method further involves combining the solid organic material with microorganisms, allowing the microorganisms to uptake nutrients from the solid organic material, and depleting at least one soluble nutrient component essential for microbial growth, where the steps of combining, allowing, and depleting occur before combining the algae and the solid organic material. The microorganisms are bacteria. The method further involves allowing phagotrophic algae to grow as the predominant algae, after depleting at least one soluble nutrient component essential for microbial growth and before combining the algae and the solid organic material. The method involves pretreating for maintaining the pH of the waste activated sludge for 20 minutes or more. The method further involves performing sonication by subjecting the waste activated sludge to sound energy before combining algae with the waste activated sludge.