Oilgae Blog » Algae-Harvesting

Benemann Calls LiveFuels ‘Biofuel-from-Fish’ Approach Possible

Parkavikumar — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 04:49:00 +0000

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Dr. John Benemann, one of the authors of a seminal U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory report from 1998 on biofuel from algae and an internationally-recognized bioenergy expert said he thinks LiveFuels is “in as good of shape as anybody” to make its R&D happen.

Morgenthaler-Jones said LiveFuels has been taking a different direction since 2006, growing the algae in what the company said is low-cost, saltwater ponds, feeding the algae to tiny, filter-feeding fish and other aquatic herbivores and then processing them for renewable oils and other valuable products such as omega-3 fatty acids.

The oil would then be “handed off to the petroleum guys,” Morgenthaler-Jones said.

“Fish need 1/800th of the energy of a centrifuge to process algal water,” she said, adding that as a bonus, the fish do the lipid conversion themselves.

In the near future, Morgenthaler-Jones said the company is looking to achieve 5,000 pounds of fish per acre, eventually getting to an intermediate stage of 25,000 pounds per acre. It’s unclear, she said, whether that intermediate stage would happen in Texas, or on reclaimed bayou land in Louisiana, for which the company is currently scouting.

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Nanotechnology to Aid Commercial Production of Algae Biofuel

Parkavikumar — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 06:57:00 +0000

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Recently two interesting pilot programs seems to improve the commercial viability of algae bio-fuel :

The first was the grant from the California Energy Commission to use the nano-metals as catalysts for generating bio-fuel from algae. The company called QuantumSphere will be developing a nanocatalyst-based bio-gasification process for taking wet algae from Salton Sea in California.

The second project leverages the nano-particles as harvesters for collecting oil from algae – without harming the algae crop. Thus, it reduces both the production cost as well as the generation cycle.

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Algae Venture System’s Harvesting Technique

Parkavikumar — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 04:59:00 +0000

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The breakthrough technology in algae harvesting, dewatering,and drying is a model of nature’s liquid moving strategies in organisms. No biological system has anything even remotely close to a functioning centrifuge.

A centrifuge moves the entire mass of water and its contents in order to separate into fractions. This was also true of flocculation, flotation, and other methods to a certain degree because the focus was on moving the algae and not moving the water. A water molecule is 1/33,000 the size of a 10 micron algae. When differential pressure (even excessive gravitational pressure in the form of a water column) is moved to force algal mass and water through a screen, this energy compacts the algal mass into a form that blocks water and impacts algal mass into screen.

So using several of methods to move the water molecules by changing the surface tension, adhesion, cohesion, taking advantage of the meniscus being formed, a capillary action from a compression pull (think artificial Transpirational) allowing absorption and next, use water’s surface area to mass to dramatically improve evaporation (think of a water based paint applied thin and how quick it dries).

Surface tension can be broken by hundreds of ways, however, a class of materials that were patented several years ago called superabsorbent polymer (SAP) fabrics. It is these SAP fabric material types of we call our “cap belt” when put into contact with the bottom of the screen (water meniscus), have the capability to move vast amounts of water without moving the algae because the molecular bonds from water to water are stronger then water to algae, as long as energy applied does not break water’s bonds to itself. The capillary effect and adhesion effect (once wetted, and rung) can be designed to be continuous, just like the screen can be designed to be continuous.

This continuous approach allows for a thin layer of algae to be continuously processed from in solution to dry flake in a distance of four feet at a scalable rate with scalable equipment. In our prototype equipment, the rate exceeds 500 liters per hour on less than 40 watts per hour of run time.

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Stellarwind Bio Energy Cultivates Algae in Indianapolis

Parkavikumar — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 03:54:00 +0000

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Stellarwind said the process of harvesting algae involves feeding the material into a processor, which extracts the oils. Residual bio-mass can then be converted into one of several valuable resources including methane, industrial grade charcoal, fertilizer and/or synthesis gas.

“Our goal is to produce a continuously renewable energy source that is ecologically friendly, uses everything, and wastes nothing,” Will Kassebaum, president and CEO, said in a statement.

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Solix, Solazyme and Phycal’s cost-effective Harvesting Techniques!

Parkavikumar — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 10:18:00 +0000

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One can grow algae but it doesn’t mean its free.Although algae is believed to be one of the chief feedstocks for biodiesel, growing large amounts of algae and then converting the single-celled creatures remains expensive.

Algae biofuel startup Solix, for instance, can produce biofuel from algae right now, but it costs about $32.81 a gallon. The production cost is high because of the energy required to circulate gases and other materials inside the photo -bioreactors where the algae grow. It also takes energy to dry out the biomass, and Solix uses far less water than other companies.But it said the production cost can be broughtdown to $5.50 a gallon,by exploitingwaste heat at adjacent utilities.

It’s only in phase II of Solix’s business plan that it will be able to drop production costs to $3.30 to $1.57 a gallon, or around $60 to $80 a barrel. Solix has set a goal of cutting the cost of making algae by 90 percent.

But algae comes with trade-offs. Wild algae grows fast, but it doesn’t yield tremendous amounts of oil naturally – two thirds or more of the body weight of wild algae will be proteins and carbohydrates instead of oil. Genetically modified algae can boost the oil content, but that slows the growth process. Closed bioreactors – i.e., sealed plastic bags placed in the sun — cost more than open ponds, but it’s tough to keep invasive species from taking over open ponds and out-competing algae optimized to produce oil.

Some companies, like Solazyme, are exploiting genetic science and fermenting techniques to accomplish the task. In fermentation, specific species of algae are locked into brewing kettles with sugars derived from old plant matter. When the time is right, Solazyme takes out the microbes and squeezes out the oil. It’s cheaper to get large volumes of feedstock oil through fermentation than growing algae in ponds or bioreactors. Genetically modifying the algae can boost the lipid, or oil, content to 70 percent of the organism’s weight. In a sense, Solazyme practices indirect photosynthesis: the algae doesn’t grow by having sunlight shone upon it but by eating sugars that were grown in the sun.

The algae fuel company Phycal is trying to harvest oil from algae without killing the algae. Instead, Phycal bathes the algae in solvents which can suck out the oil. Some strains of algae can go through the process four times or more.

Source

The Oilgae Academic Edition gives more detailed insights on algal harvesting techniques.

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Opinion on Algodyne Harvesting Algae Blooms in the Wild

Parkavikumar — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 19:48:00 +0000

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Here’s an opinion on AlgoDyne’s idea of harvesting algae in the wild.

“AlgoDyne’s concept of harvesting algae from the wild is not exactly new. Many similar ideas have been proposed in the past, most notably those of harvesting sea-weeds such as kelp on a large scale to utilize the biomass for energy. Several small companies have also been harvesting wild algae from lakes, with specially designed harvesting machines, for years. The process is energy intensive and cumbersome. It remains to be seen whether AlgoDyne’s idea to actually collect phytoplankton from the open oceans is practicable. It basically remains an activity that can not be planned, scaled or rationalised, as algae blooms have the tendency to grow and disappear suddenly.”

Source: Biopact

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Microalgae Membrane Harvesting Project of Prof Harry Gregor – 1978

Parkavikumar — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 19:30:00 +0000

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Came across an interesting tidbit here about a membrane harvesting experiment for microalgae in 1978

“Professor Harry Gregor at Columbia University was funded for 2 years to develop membrane systems for cross-flow filtration harvesting of microalgae. However, the membranes available at the time, the pressure drops required, and the fouling problems encountered made this approach impractical.”

Wonder if any one know of any similar experiments going on now? Given than harvesting presents a serious cost bottleneck for microalgae, could research on something like be reopened?

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Drum Filter for Algae Harvesting – Filtration Using Rotary Drum Filters

Parkavikumar — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 17:26:00 +0000

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One of the questions regarding algae fuel is the best method to harvest algae. It should be noted that algae harvesting could form a significant part of the total cost of producing algae fuel.

A number of methods are discussed – sedimentation, filtering, centrifugation, coagulation / flocculation & froth flotation. It is difficult to say which is the best, but different companies have been having success with differing methods so it is indeed a tough call.

On filtration, some of the questions are what type of filters should be used if indeed one is looking at filtration as the method to harvest. On this, based on the case studies I have seen so far, I think the most common filters that have been used are the drum filters. These types of filters are rather standard fare and have been used in industries for many years.

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Blue Marble Energy Turns Toxic Algae Blooms into Alternative Energy

Parkavikumar — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 05:49:00 +0000

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Most algae-to-energy company’s research focus on creating biofuels for cars or jets. Instead of liquid fuel, Blue Marble wants to convert algae into natural gas and biochemicals.
Along with private investment, Blue Marble has a contract with the Washington Department of Ecology to collect sea lettuce at two bays in Puget Sound. The department’s Alice Kelly watched the recent harvest from the beach. She says her agency hopes this gets rid of the rotten egg smell neighbors have been complaining about without harming the fragile near-shore ecosystem and the creatures that live there.

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Aquaflow Bionomic Corporation seeks to raise up to $30m

Parkavikumar — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 04:23:00 +0000

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Aquaflow Bionomic Corporation said it was offering up to 60m new shares at 50c each. It was seeking to raise $20m but reserved the right to accept over-subscriptions of up to $10m.Aquaflow said it had developed and was operating a commercial scale prototype harvesting plant on a wastewater plant in Blenheim, and was continuing pilot plant-scale testing of an algae conversion plant in Nelson.

The company had achieved a major milestone of being able to harvest tonnes of wild microalgae.It was now working on conversion processes which should give an increasingly better energy balance, while continuing to develop lower cost harvesting technologies.A great deal of research and development still had to be done, and it was anticipated that would continue to be Aquaflow’s major activity for the remainder of 2008 and 2009.

“The company hopes to be able to generate income from the production or sale of its technology in the future, however it is not clear at this stage when revenue streams will produce positive net cash,” Aquaflow said.

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