Introduction to this topic

[cacofonix]

This topic will discuss all issues related to oil extraction from algae

[alg1]

I have been raising algae for a year,Oilgae is a fantastic site,I use evaporation and then solvents, first batch of diesel i used a gallon in a heater first,then put several gallons in my tractor,a gallon or so at a time,results were great,checked filter and kept an eye on temp.Everything worked well.I have 2 ,125 gallon horse tanks full of algae and I am putting a 12x12 pond liner this week,I am getting ready to retire soon and hope to build a shallow clay pond for algaculture.
Can't wait to start producing more,Dan

[cacofonix]

Hi alg1,

Your experience is certainly very encouraging! Please also let us know any inputs you have on the total cost. How much do you reckon the diesel you have thus produced would have cost you?

And the transesterification part, any inputs you can give us on that will help as well.

Well, what all of us are seeing are oil to algae successes at the home brewer / small-scale level, let's hope it can translate to large-scale production as well, algae would then start making a difference!

[alg1]

Yes it works,cost will be high because I grew the algae indoors,artificial light,aquarium heaters,and aerators.The simple pondliner tank that I am costructing will give me a good idea of cost,I have to defray the cost of the original culture,startup,etc.The outdoor tank will be the cost analysis of real world conditions.
I used the system Old Dominion University displayed on the Discovery channel in an episode of Invention Nation,heating the oil to 300c,slow pyrolsis,and condensing any vapor above 100c.This is very similar to essential oil extraction systems.
Scaling up shouldn't be difficult and the ecomonics of scale should put it in the dollar a gallon range,but I will have actual cost breakdown on the outdoor system.i'm confident it's viable.My neighbor is a retired refinery chemist and he is confident that an existing refinery coud be setup to process the bulk algae oil.
Oilgae is the best source of information,startups should be able to become profitable,Thanks

[Jazzbo]

Can you point a person interested in learning about algae culture how to get started? What equipment and such is necessary to get going? Are there any classes or books on the topic?

[cacofonix]

@ Jazzbo

Have you checked out this page at Oilgae - http://oilgae.com/algae/oil/biod/cult/cult.html ?

We have tried to provide a lot of inputs in the above page, but if you need further inputs, please specify what inputs you are looking for and I will revert

Thanks!

[alg1]

I agree oilgae has a lot of GOOD info,a 10 gallon aquarium,aerator pump,and fluorescent light will get you started,algae can be purchased from Ward Scientific,Carolina Co.,or UTEX.Oilgae can help you on which species,I bought Nannoclorpsis from Aquatic Ecosystems,they have a wide selection of growth media,conical tanks,etc.I found them very reliable,they have been in algaculture for years.BEWARE OF FRAUD,I got algae from a company that was less than advertised,a lot of different species,probably got it from a local pond!!Good Luck,it is amazing how fast it grows,oil floats to the surface,and the maturing algae sinks to the bottom.If you need anything specific,this forum will give you any information available.oilgae is the best source,I would like to hear about startups,scale ups,etc.Good Luck,Dan

[sagem]

I certainly like the idea of using Algae as fuel and see this as a great investment. I am based in the UK, does anybody know of a company that you can invest in i.e buy shares who are researching or producing fuel at the present time. I note that the Mail on Sunday dated June 22nd a UK National Paper have run a small article on page 54 and they say that Royal Dutch Shell is investigating in a new plant in Hawaii to grow marine algae. This couuld be the big one to replace OIL EVENTUALLY

[alg1]

Petrosun-psud.pk
Green grow-ggrn.ob
Livefuels,Solazyme,Vertigro a division of Valcent something
There is a green chip newsletter.I'm just listing the few I know,no recommendations,in my previous post,BEWARE OF FRAUD,people try to cash in on new tech.
Good Luck,is anyone interested ln a coop,pooling resources for production,marketing,biorefinery,etc?I really think thr research points to production.
Thanks,Dan

[Cleo1]

There are several companies (all relatively small) doing research/developement in Algae based biofuel however many, if not most, are privately held companies. I am not a "promoter" of any stock in any fashion but I too had difficulty finding a publically traded Algae based co I could invest in at first and would of appreciated someone pointing me in the right direction to at least begin my own process of due diligence (DD)...which I highly recommend you doing as well.
I went with Green Star Products Inc. [ticker symbol GSPI ] . It closed friday at .04+ cents a share. All of the publically traded co's I've come across so far (there may be others I'm not aware of) are small so your DD could be a little difficult to gather on any of these co's but the 'race' to be able to mass produce (Key words MASS PRODUCE because no one to my knowledge has done it yet) bio-diesel from Algae is definitely on!
Best of Luck.
MK