reality check 3
Hi fellow algae enthusists. Algae has been growning naturally in an open channel owned by one of our clients. For years it's been a nusence for operations and the particulate component has been removed through a mechanical screen. They have dumpsters full of the stuff seasonally and my company is evaluating harvesting methane from algae through anaerobic digestion. It's a white paper effort for now, but we have several other client with similar issues that may have varying degrees of applicability. We are sizing a pilot scale unit and are currently taking regular samples to trend the amount of algae available. We're trying to confirm realistic algae production and energy output. Limited published values are available, but estimates range from 40-200 lbs algae generated/acre of open system/day. Similarly, the methane production values we have seen seem to be in the area of 5-10 cft CH4/lb of algae. We're assuming about 600 BTU/cft CH4. Is anyone aware of any other published values on this? Additional carbon sources are in the neighborhood (power plant with a stack full of carbon) and manure for additional digestion carbon sourcing to get us closer to a 20-25 C:N ratio. If we can show that enough hp can be generated to power some of their equipment (taking hp off the grid) through the white paper, then the next step is a pilot, then eventually full scale.We're looking for partnering opportunites with algae vendors for verifying open system methane production from algae, with harvesting experience and or with carbon sequestering experience. Thank you.
Mon August 02 2010 07:26:01 PM by Telberti
open system | methane recovery | algae harvesting | partnering opportunities
246 views
If one can replicate this natural unweildy growth, we may be having a business proposition, as algae may be growing fast and if nothing else, it can be useful as a biomass.
Have u tried here
http://www.oilgae.com/algae/pro/met/met.html
The above article says
" In this context it is usually known as natural gas, and is considered to have an energy content of 39 megajoules per cubic meter, or 1,000 BTU per standard cubic foot."