A pilot scale algae facility in Olgergen, Holland is looking for ways to use algae cultivation as a means to treat wastewater. The project, which is being developed by Ingrepro Renewables, is accommodated in Waterstromen bv, a water treatment facility that treats municipal wastewater and wastewater sourced from a nearby potato processing plant.

Richard Haarhuis, the spokesperson of Waterstromen noted that the facility also houses an anaerobic digestion system and produces fertilizer for local potato crops. A portion of the methane produced through anaerobic digestion is fed into a combined heat and power plant that provides process heat to the facility. Excess power is fed to the grid while the remaining methane is shipped back to the potato processing facility, where it provides power for the plant.

Ingrepro’s pilot-scale algae facility at the water treatment plant consists of three 300m² open ponds. According to the company’s managing director of renewable, Marcel Oogink, the three ponds allow his team to evaluate the impact of production variables, such as pH and nutrient levels in order to determine the impact of these factors on yields. He added that they are testing several effluents and will mix several streams with each other and then send it to the ponds. Ingrepro is looking for the production of proteins at the water treatment facility and ultimately using the algae in pet food or fertilizers.

Ingrepro is also working to develop an algae encapsulation technology. According to the company the wastewater flows around encapsulated algae beads, which would efficiently absorb nutrients. Because the algae are encapsulated in beads, the company said water separation could be simplified.

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