Biodiesel from Diatoms

This is a photo of a pond in which a good bloom of Diatoms has been caused by using Nualgi. The oil from the diatoms can be seen floating on the surface.

No other input was used.
Diatoms present naturally in the water were allowed to bloom.

Harvesting of algae and extraction of oil are considered very difficult.
If oil from diatoms exits the diatoms on its own and floats up, then these two problems are solved.

Chesapeake Algae Project

ChAP: Biofuel from aquatic algae
by Joseph McClain for Ideation magazine | November 11, 2009

Even if the wild, abundant—yet bony—diatoms aren’t ideal little bags of oil, they do offer some benefits: “They pay you back by growing very rapidly. So a low shell-to-lipid ratio is often made up for by the rate of growth,” Manos said. “If I can grow three grams of something that’s half as efficient in the time it takes you to grow one gram of something that’s perfectly efficient, I still win.”

http://www.wm.edu/news/ideation/current/algae-biofuel-two-007.php



StatoilHydro has seeded the enterprise with an initial $3 million investment. Other key partners are the Williamsburg energy advisory firm Blackrock Energy, the University of Maryland, the Smithsonian Institution, the University of Arkansas and HydroMentia, a Florida company that works with water-treatment technologies.


http://smartregion.org/2009/11/norwegian-company-seeds-chesapeake-algae-project/

OMEGA - offshore membrane enclosures for growing algae

http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2009/05/12/12greenwire-nasa-bags-algae-wastewater-in-bid-for-aviation-12208.html

NASA bags algae, wastewater in bid for aviation fuel
By KATIE HOWELL, Greenwire
Published: May 12, 2009

NASA is applying space technology to a decidedly down-to-earth effort that links the production of algae-based fuel with an inexpensive method of sewage treatment.

The space agency is growing algae for biofuel in plastic bags of sewage floating in the ocean.

Jonathan Trent, the lead researcher on the project at NASA's Ames Research Center in California, said the effort has three goals: Produce biofuels with few resources in a confined area, help cleanse municipal wastewater, and sequester emissions of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide that are produced along the way.

"Algae are the best source of biofuels on the planet that we know about," Trent said in an interview. "If we can also clean [wastewater] at the same time we create biofuels, that would great."

The process is amazingly simple. It starts with algae being placed in sewage-filled plastic bags, which in true NASA style have a nifty acronym, OMEGA, for "offshore membrane enclosures for growing algae."

The OMEGA bags are semipermeable membranes that NASA developed to recycle astronauts' wastewater on long space missions. In this case, the membranes let freshwater exit but prevent saltwater from moving in.

Then the algae in the bag feast on nutrients in the sewage. The plants clean up the water and produce lipids -- fat-soluble molecules -- that will be used later as fuel.

Just as in algae biofuel production on land, the floating OMEGA bags use water, solar energy and carbon dioxide -- which in this case is absorbed through the plastic membrane -- to produce sugar that algae metabolize into lipids.

Oxygen and fresh, cleansed water are then released through the membrane to the ocean.

"It's energy-free," Trent said. "It doesn't cost us anything. Osmosis works by itself."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
If Nualgi is used Diatoms can be grown in any Bay like area of the ocean without much investment in infrastructure.

Green Algae in an Aquarium Tank

The dissolved oxygen level is 41.5 mg / litre at 2 pm in the afternoon.
This is supersaturation of over 460 % of the saturation limit of 9 mg / litre.

Hawaii May Take Lead in Algae Energy Research

Hawaii May Take Lead in Algae Energy Research

It seems Hawaii may be the next algae “hot spot” in the United States. According to an article in Sunday's Honolulu Advertiser, “Hawaii has a longstanding tradition of agricultural research. In plantation days, we were clever enough to get 25 percent to 50 percent of our power from bagasse, or sugarcane fiber, and we have a history of generating power from plants. Growing algae now is back to the future.”

What they have been able to achieve is quite impressive but the technology is still in its infancy there, even with some of the world's top research teams. Hawaii currently has no field sites and no processing plants capable of turning algae into biodiesel. Because of this, they have no commercial algae biodiesel, and this does not look as though it will change soon.

It should be mentioned that Hawaii is not without its share of projects that did not come to fruition or were utter failures. For instance, “last summer, Blue Earth planned to build a processing plant to make biodiesel from algae grown on nearby A&B land. MECO was going to burn that fuel in its Ma'alaea generating plant and pass CO2waste back to A&B as fertilizer to grow more algae. But Blue Earth and MECO are in a contract dispute and nothing is happening.”

There is nothing to say this plant will not someday be generating fuel. However, it does not currently do so. It would seem, though, that Hawaii has a vested interest in using algae for more complex operations such as high-protein fish and cattle feed. The state is confident algae will play a huge role in its under-construction energy ecosystem.

They seem more dedicated to finding new answers to old problems than the rest of the United States and it would seem they are on a great path to doing so very soon.
However, it would seem there needs to be greater public acceptance of algae and its many uses in our world and less bureaucratic involvement keeping it from being used to its full potential. The possibilities are limitless once that happens.

By-line:
This post was contributed by Holly McCarthy, who writes on the subject of the best online school [http://www.bestuniversities.com/]. She invites your feedback at hollymccarthy12 at gmail dot com.

Where does Algae stand today?

http://www.futureenergyevents.com/algae/survey/

“Where Does Algae Stand Today? Critical Industry Survey Reveals Startling Findings.”

In an exclusive survey conducted at Algae World 2008 in Singapore, we asked all 150 participants to answer 10 Questions on their understanding of the Algae Value Chain.

The Brains behind the Algae Industry Survey
— Algae Evangelist Dr. Mark Edwards

Get your FREE download!

To your Success with Algae,

Ummu Hani
General Manager - Promotions
Centre for Management Technology

OriginOil and DoE Cooperative Agreement

News release by Origin Oil

OriginOil Signs Cooperative Agreement With Department Of Energy

- Multi-Phase Program Will Focus on Validation and Commercial Scaling of OriginOil’s Algae-to-Oil Technology -



Los Angeles, CA February 17, 2009 – OriginOil, Inc. (OOIL), the developer of a breakthrough technology to transform algae, the most promising source of renewable oil, into a true competitor to petroleum, announced that it has signed a Cooperative Agreement with The United States Department of Energy's Idaho National Laboratory (INL).



The multi-phase research program will focus on validation and commercial scaling of the company’s technology in the production of algae-based fuels by utilizing the state-of-the-art equipment, capabilities, scientists and engineers of the INL. The initial phase, which starts immediately, will focus on the collaborative development of an energy balance model for photobioreactor-based algae systems. OriginOil expects to use this model in the optimization of its algae-to-oil technology as early as the 1st Quarter of 2009. Subsequent phases will center on validation of the OriginOil processes and piloting specific commercial applications.



Thomas H. Ulrich, PhD, Advisory Scientist for INL’s Biofuels and Renewable Energy department, said: “INL has been tasked with the key National Security mandate of developing advanced renewable energy technology. Our primary challenge is cost-effective and scalable industrial processes and our partnership with OriginOil will help us find solutions to this challenge in the promising area of algae-to-oil technology. Partnerships with innovators like OriginOil will accelerate our pursuit of national energy independence initiatives.”



Vikram M. Pattarkine, PhD, OriginOil’s chief technology officer, said, “Because algae represents such promise, we have been presented with numerous opportunities for partnerships in the public and private sector in the US and abroad. We decided to begin with INL because it would be very productive across all of our initiatives.”



In operation since 1949, the Idaho National Laboratory (www.inl.gov) is a science-based, applied engineering national laboratory dedicated to supporting the Department of Energy (DOE) on energy research and national defense. Its mission is to ensure the nation's energy security with safe, competitive and sustainable energy systems and unique national and homeland security capabilities.



About Idaho National Laboratory

With more than 300 scientists and engineers, INL's Energy, Environment Science & Technology Directorate integrates nuclear energy research and its unconventional application with other bio and fossil energy systems, advances renewable energy technologies and develops alternative energy sources and transportation fuels. With science and engineering capabilities in key areas, the Directorate provides talent to support research efforts in all energy systems and the support research and development needed for national and homeland security technologies. More information is available at www.inl.gov.



About OriginOil, Inc.

OriginOil, Inc. is developing a breakthrough technology that will transform algae, the most promising source of renewable oil, into a true competitor to petroleum. Much of the world's oil and gas is made up of ancient algae deposits. Today, our technology will produce "new oil" from algae, through a cost-effective, high-speed manufacturing process. This endless supply of new oil can be used for many products such as diesel, gasoline, jet fuel, plastics and solvents without the global warming effects of petroleum. Other oil producing feedstock such as corn and sugarcane often destroy vital farmlands and rainforests, disrupt global food supplies and create new environmental problems. Our unique technology, based on algae, is targeted at fundamentally changing our source of oil without disrupting the environment or food supplies. To learn more about OriginOil™, please visit our website at www.OriginOil.com.



Safe Harbor Statement:

Matters discussed in this press release contain statements that look forward within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. When used in this press release, the words "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "may," "intend," "expect" and similar expressions identify such statements that look forward. Actual results, performance or achievements could differ materially from those contemplated, expressed or implied by the statements that look forward contained herein, and while expected, there is no guarantee that we will attain the aforementioned anticipated developmental milestones. These statements that look forward are based largely on the expectations of the Company and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. These include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties associated with: the impact of economic, competitive and other factors affecting the Company and its operations, markets, product, and distributor performance, the impact on the national and local economies resulting from terrorist actions, and U.S. actions subsequently; and other factors detailed in reports filed by the Company.

# # #

We have sent a small sample of Nualgi to OriginOil a few days ago and are awaiting their test results.

Australian initiatives in biofuels.

Australian initiatives in biofuels.
http://www.atse.org.au/index.php?sectionid=128
http://www.atse.org.au/uploads/biofuels.pdf

BIOFUELS FOR TRANSPORT: A ROADMAP FOR DEVELOPMENT IN AUSTRALIA
Publisher:
The Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (ATSE)
Chief Investigators:
Mr Martin Thomas and Dr John Wright

Universities working on Oil from Algae

US Universities working on Oil from Algae

University of Montana - http://www.physorg.com/news145801168.html

University of Virginia - http://www.virginia.edu/uvatoday/newsRelease.php?id=5985

Specie of algae

A very interesting post on 'Oil from algae' message board.

http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/oil_from_algae/message/9479

Posted by: "Tony Rusi"

Re: [oil_from_algae] A pond cleaning bussiness?
Dr. Kertz says 65,000 species have been identified, and a million are left to be identified. That is an estimate of over 60%. My friend Randy Smith told me that you need a 400x microscope to look at these things. Does anyone know of an online database of algae species?

But this begs the question, what species has that lofty 70% oil composition? And what group of species is Dr. Kertz using, and in what percentages? And what is his water to algae ratio? The recent photos look like they have a much lower algae density than the pictures from two years ago. Every vision is a joke until the first man accomplishes it; once realized, it becomes commonplace. ~Robert Hutchings GoddardThe greatest obstacle to progress in science is the illusion of knowledge, the illusion that we know what's going on when we really don't. ~Prof. Mike Disney

Nualgi - Green Algae for Biodiesel Day 5

Day 5 both tanks are now equally green with algae.

Nualgi - Green Algae for Biodiesel Day 4

Yesterday I added 5 ml of Nualgi in the tank on the left and today its also as green as the tank on the right.
Pl see yesterday's photo in the post below.

Nualgi - Green Algae for Biodiesel Day 3

I have used Nualgi to grow Green Algae in a small tank.
The difference in growth rates is quite remarkable. Please see the photo.
I did not use Nualgi in the tank on the left and there is no growth visible after 3 days. The brown colour is due to the dung used as nutrient source.
The tank on right is very green. Just 10 ml of Nualgi has been used in it.

Nualgi - Schematic diagram

Nualgi is a sustainable solution because it sets off a series of sustainable cycles.
CO2 - O2 cycle in water - Anthropogenic CO2, Aquatic Animal CO2 to O2 from Diatoms.
Food - Sewage - Nutrients in water - Fish - Food Cycle.
Biodiesel - CO2 - Diatoms - Biodiesel cycle.
Diatoms to Aerobic Bacteria - CO2 and Nutrients to O2 Cycle

Algae Biodiesel

A few days ago we received confirmation that Nualgi boosts growth of Green Algae too.
We had been using Nualgi for Diatom algae only in the past.

However the new development opens up more vistas for Nualgi - since green algae is a source of biodiesel.

In natural ponds where both Diatoms and Green Algae are present we found that Nualgi causes a bloom of diatoms and not of green algae. But if used in ponds in which only Green Algae are present then even these would bloom.