BC Bio Agg wrote:I have a property in northern Australia of (tropical/sub tropical climate ) with most the infrastructure to commence Algae cultavation, for both fresh and salt water varietys and combos of both (if this is possible).
I will set up for bio diesel production with intent to produce enough product to fund ongoing reserch into this fuel of the future.
I have researched for some time and are still unsure of the types of Algae suited to this climate and weather salt and fresh cand be combined or even interbred.
Could anyone assist in suggesting,. suitable Algae strains available, contacts to purchase, up to date equipment for procesing and for oil extraction and testing equipment/chemicals ( I heard that Nile red dye )for the presents of oil content in different strains of algae
Is this the only method and can it be done wet?
Thanks for your help
Cheers
While there are some species that grow in both marine and freshwater transferring a culture from (say) fresh to marine will most like be unsuccessful unless the strain is acclimated first.
In Aus you can get starter cultures from CSIRO in Hobart. They have an extensive collection and there is a lot of information on their site regarding media, strains, techniques etc.
http://www.marine.csiro.au/microalgae/The Holy Grail at the moment is searching for the strain which grows quickly, produces a high percentage of oil of the correct type. As someone mentioned earlier, serious players don't give out this info.
There are other possibilities than algae for biodiesel. Many strains are excellent food or feed additives and don't require all the expensive extraction equipment. There are many methods to extract the oil. Cold pressing, hexane, supercritical CO2, combinations. Depending on the strain grown, harvesting can be problematic.
One thing to keep in mind is that if you are going to grow algae in ponds (extensive) the culture will become contaminated with bacteria and other algae. This may or may not present a problem depending on the final use of the algae. There are means of getting around this problem although it depends on the species being grown.
Have you had your fresh water analyzed?
I have my doubts that you will be making enough money from the production of biodiesel to fund your further research any time soon. Best of luck with your venture.