Algae oil grown in continous photobioreactor.

[212sparky]

 

[youngunbd]

Haha oh god. Well i can show you some of the 5 gallon containers but its cold outside so maybe tomorrow

 

[deuceaid]

are you thinking of using a centrifuge or utlrafuge to extract the oil? I have seen the other guys that dry and press it, just the same as pressing jatropha seeds, or any other plant seed.

 

[youngunbd]

nooo centrifuging doesnt get it all, neither does pressing.. All the presses that are available are for larger products, there really arent any proven presses that remove the oil from 100% of the algae. Yes people have had quite good results with presses and centrifuges but as long as mine is working well then I will continue on my cheap, easy route

edit: by larger products I mean peanuts, jatropha, rapeseed... algae is anywhere from a fraction of a micrometer to 5 micrometers. presses dont work that well on teeny tiny little algae

 

[deuceaid]

yeah, i was just looking at the ultrasonic cracking setup,looks muck better.

 

[youngunbd]

I have seen videos of ultrasonic cracking but I cant see any way to move it up to a full production scale. Let me just say, there are a few methods that I deem viable, and for someone as cheap as me, for me to think something is viable it must be real easy and cheap!!

Right now I'm reaching out to a few experts to help me get everything wired up and set up properly but Im told the costs to remove the oil from the algae could be as low as .02 cents a gallon. which would be quite awesome because there isnt any extra energy expended to add and later remove costly chemicals.

definitely gunna patent this do-hickey!!

 

[deuceaid]

This is what I ran across, foam separator . seems interesting.....really has me thinking now, because I dont even want to refine it into biodiesel, just burn it in the truck. I`m thinking a small set up with a few ibc totes, some pumps and ultrasonic cracker, foaming separator , more settling tanks and storage tanks.........

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQqlsk3cuWY[/media]

 

[youngunbd]

I have not seen that one yet. The only ultrasonic cracker I saw was just s areal small device that didnt work too well. There are 50,000 +/- types of algae that are almost all different.

some need direct sunlight, some need indirect, some need a perfect nutrient supplement, some dont. They are all different and produce different things. The lipid (oil) producing algae all put out different types of oil. Some oils put out hydrocarbon chains, others are similar to veggy oil

IBC totes are quite large yes, but keep in mind the light penetration, you will need to keep the algae moving a lot to get them to the light. There really is no market ready ultrasonic cracker, but I think I have an idea how they did theres. The foaming separator is just a basic protein skimmer which is easy to get.

Let me review their video again, but I think I know how they got theirs to work

 

[tsstout]

subscribed

 

[dc3coyote]

I dont see how growing algae is that difficult. Just put a pool in your back yard and take the day off from chlorinating it. solid algae. Your welcome to it. Also if you want you can scrape the algae from my boats. My houseboat has a good thick layer on it since its too cold to get in the water and scrape it clean.

 

[chevyCUCV]

18.. Did you go to college? I just stopped after a year and quit my job. I want to make my own money, whatever that means.

Im interested in your setup, ive only thought about it for personal use, never full scale high production. So is there any pictures you can show, or at least which strain you are using.
And have you eaten it yet? Curious about that part as well.

 

[youngunbd]

growing algae is super easy.... but growing a specific algae that has lipid in it for fuel requires a few special things.

 

[youngunbd]

And im currently in a JC right now doing gen ed, but if I get my algae fuel stuff going then I wont go to college. Being that today it finally decided to rain I havnt made it out to the algae grower, albeit I did make it to the sportsmans expo so i made go out and take a picture of the set up after dinner

Most people are interested in it solely for personal use but i see it as a way for me to start a business.... that and I hate school like most 18 years olds

 

[Vintage iron]

I wish I knew if this would work on a large scale. I know where to get a endless supply of nitrogen rich water!

 

[youngunbd]

people have done it on a large scale. its the doing it economically on a large scale that everyone is working towards. We have plenty of nitrogen rich water here too, thank you rice farmers!

 

[andytk5]

Glad to see you guys on this thread!

I would still like to have a system sized so that I can grow enough continously to not worry about getting 100% of the oil out. If enough oil is strained out and your reintroduce the pressed algae back into the PBR to absorb more Co2 and regrow.

Still need a good strain, source for the strain and a design for the system. I have many smaller scale PBR's but not enough to produce enough fuel for permanent generator or vehicle use. I'd like to figure out the detail all the way down to the size/material of piping, pump flow specs, straining system, etc..

No reason to be paying for fuel!

 

[youngunbd]

most definitely andy. My main goal is not only to not pay for fuel, but I just don't want a real job bad enough haha

So algae fuel sounds like a good idea and i have latched on to it as a sort of.... passion? Im working on it!

 

[andytk5]

Awesome. Definitely want to colaborate on this. I'd love to at least have the right strain and start a small system that I can just scale up.

 

[youngunbd]

there is a yahoo mailing list

oil_from_algae : oil from algae

that place is where i go to lurk and learn. Dont ever mention "algeponics" otherwise gail will be so far up your hiney hole that when she spits it comes out your mouth..... she feels her "trademark" (she hasnt proven it yet) of that name is infringed every few weeks. Its quite hilarious.

There is a lot to learn from that place!

 

[andytk5]

Ha, I'll check that out then.

I will have my full scale biodiesel processor constructed in a week or so, tracking down a used water heater now. Got the pumps, fittings, plans, etc.. Have a few 300gal totes and picking up some 55gal barrels tommorow. Def going to soak up as much WVO as i can where I live. Get that process down to a science, then work on refining any algae oil.

I have a platform built for my PBR and just purchased another pump. Working on what size pipe to use and it will be run back and forth either horizontal or vertical. Would love to know where they get those hanging bags from the promo vids..

Anyhow maybe you can chime in on the diff in processing veg oil and algae oil to full on biodiesel.