Narsi's Blog |
All News about Algae is about Menace
Just thought it'd be a good idea to see what news comes on top when I type in the key word "Algae" in Google News search. Funny, almost all the top 20 news items (and possibly more as well, did not have the patience to check!) were about harmful algae choking rivers, damaging the ecosystem and poisonous algae even harming humans...see for yourself here - Google News Search for Algae .Rather than being concerned, I am wondering, is there a positive in this? If there is so much algae that people are worried about, isn't just a question of removing them at low cost, and these "harmful algae blooms" suddenly change into useful algal biomass. Ok, we might not be able to get oil out of it, but biomass in any form is useful as well - for animal feed, as fertilizer and as a feedstock for cellulosic ethanol or thermochemical-process based hydrocarbon production
What are your thoughts on this?
Seaweed extract to cure pimples
Seaweed extract can kill pimples - An active ingredient from a brown seaweed, off the coast of Brittany, may help kill pimples and oily skin. Hoisted up from the seabed and converted into an extract for acne treatment, it goes on sale across Britain.Link
While the algae fuel researchers are waiting for the breakthrough, perhaps they can try these kinds of avenues to keep the revenues and motivation high
Michigan Researchers Turn Wet Algae into Biodiesel
This has been something we have been researching at Oilgae as well - doing away with the drying part for WAB (wet algae biomass)...listen to this:"University of Michigan scientists have published a paper on a two-step hydrolysis-solvolysis process that eliminates costly biomass drying, organic solvent extraction and catalysts:
In the first step, wet algal biomass contained 80 percent moisture and was reacted with subcritical water to hydrolyze intracellular lipids, conglomerate cells into an easily filterable solid that retained the lipids and produced a sterile, nutrient-rich aqueous phase. In the second step, the wet, fatty acid-rich solids underwent supercritical transesterification with ethanol to produce fatty acid ethyl esters (FAEEs). The team used Chlorella vulgaris algae, which contained 53.3 percent lipid content."
Source link
Reckon this is still at the research stages...I am very keen on following developments in the wet extracton stuff...it has the potential to cut off one huge cost component - drying...
If any of you know any other resources / ideas / concepts in this regard, will be pleased to hear from you...
Sat September 04 2010 10:30:38 AM by Narsi
oil extraction | wet extraction
Algae-based CO2 Sequestration at Power Plants
I was wondering if there are members in this club who have done / or are doing work on algae-based CO2 capture at power plants and other large CO2 emitting industries. It is well known that it is a tricky area with a number of stiff challenges, but if we are able to make it happen, it could be really wonderful.I thought this club might be a good place to kick off interactions and discussions on this important subject.
I am looking forward to members who have some interest/experience in this dropping a note in the comments section.
Have a great day
Photo-Bioreactor for Algae & Aquaculture Using Recycled Bottles
This instructable will show you how to construct and maintain a basic bioreactor that can be used to grow all sorts of cool things like algae, brine shrimp, or SeaMonkeys! The Bioreactor also makes an interesting conversation piece to show off to your friends, as well as utilizing discarded plastic bottles.http://www.instructables.com/id/Photo-Bioreactor-for-Algae-amp-Aquaculture-Using/
Very nice!
Companies following the algae biomass -> Gasification route
I strongly feel that the algal biomass to fuels using the gasification and chemical synthesis route (the thermochemical route) have significant potential.Can someone provide the prominent companies that are following this route?
I know that the following cos are doing it:
Genifuel - http://www.genifuel.com
Solena - http://www.solenagroup.com
DHA from Algae Better than that from Fish
According to Dr Barbara Levine, associate professor of nutrition in medicine at Weill Medical College of Cornell University, ?the purest source of DHA is not the fish itself, but rather what fish consume: the ocean?s vegetarian plant algae. Taking DHA supplements produced from marine algae is therefore a safe way for pregnant women to boost their fatty acid stores.?Martek Biosciences from the US is the only company in the world that has managed to produce DHA from patented strains of algae grown in large-scale fermentation tanks located away from the sea using filtered water ? under tightly controlled GMP manufacturing conditions.
Farmed algae located away from the sea means that there is no exposure to oceanic contaminants. DHA from algae source is also free from other long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, like EPA, that is found naturally in fish oil.
Apparently, this is the reason why Martek?s DHA is found in more than 99% of DHA-enriched infant formulas in the US. Interesting!
Source - http://bit.ly/arlrr2
Pollution Chemistry Study in Algae Biofuels to be Funded by NSF
So let's just assume all the numbers work out and algae-based biodiesel fulfills its destiny as the most promising second-generation biofuel out there. Then what? Well, two researchers from Colorado State University intend to find out.Anthony Marchase and Azer Yalin have received a $325,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to determine the pollutant formation chemistry of algae-derived biofuels. Marchase summed up the study by posing the questions: "What are the consequences if we were to suddenly go from zero to 20 billion gallons of algae-based biofuel per year over the next 20 years? Are there going to be any consequence that we may not have thought about?"
More from here - http://bit.ly/dp0UbE
Sun March 28 2010 09:59:30 PM by Narsi
algae-oil-consequences
Key Cost Components of Algae PBR
I was discussing with my colleague on the cost reduction strategies in PBRs.Our discussion turned to the key components that are significant contributors to cost:
1. Materials
2. Aeration
3. Lighting
I have requested my colleague to read up on the latest efforts in these specific topics. I hope to share the data from these with our newsletter readers.
CO2-eating algae turns cement maker green
A mixture of hot gas rises out of a flue stack at the St. Marys Cement plant about 50 kilometres west of Waterloo. But not all the CO2-rich exhaust is vented to the open air.Some is redirected through a 15-centimetre thick pipe connected to the side of the stack. The pipe carries the gas into a high-tech facility where a species of algae from the neighbouring Thames River uses photosynthesis to absorb the carbon dioxide and release oxygen in return.
"It's a small model of what a big full-scale facility could be," says Martin Vroegh, environment manager with St. Marys Cement Inc., headquartered in Toronto. The algae project, which went live last fall, is believed to be the first in the world to demonstrate the capture of CO2 from a cement plant.
http://www.thestar.com/business/article/781426--co2-eating-algae-turns-cement-maker-green
Thu March 25 2010 11:13:44 AM by Narsi
co2-capture | cement
