algae steps? how to?

[Gallium]

Originally Posted by Biofuld

Here's what I've heard:

The best strains of algae for producing biodiesel are rich in oil which is relatively easy to extract. The problem is that these strains are genetically weak and are easily contaminated by stronger strains. Thus they have to be grown in a bioreactor, not a pond.

Large scale bioreactors are insanely expensive. On a budget you'd have to seal off a pond really really well and still supply it with oxygen if it's Aerobic. If your really creative It could be pulled off.

[Biofuld]

Originally Posted by Gallium

Large scale bioreactors are insanely expensive. On a budget you'd have to seal off a pond really really well and still supply it with oxygen if it's Aerobic. If your really creative It could be pulled off.

Or if you are making your own power with a generator, you could pump your exhaust into it to create a C02-rich environment, which the algae would love.

[thetonka]

Originally Posted by Gallium

Large scale bioreactors are insanely expensive. On a budget you'd have to seal off a pond really really well and still supply it with oxygen if it's Aerobic. If your really creative It could be pulled off.

From what I have read all you really need to do is creat a controlled environment that will let in sun and controlled amounts of water, O2, CO2, and other minerals and chemicals. A smart person could do this with some clear tubing. Not exactly cheap, but there are always cheaper ways to do things. Typically when ideas are young people go overboard in their designs. Simplify things, and cut corners where you can on things that won't cause problems and try again.

[Mieser]

Algae feed on CO2 and produce O2. If the O2 is not vented out of a closed system they will poison themselves.

As far as extraction, look into supercritical fluids. Basically you can use CO2 at a high pressure and temperature to rupture all the cell walls of the algae. The water, oil, and waste ( carbohydrates ) will naturally seperate by density after you let them settle.

The low tech way is to separate the algae from as much water as you can (filter bag), dry them in the sun, then press the oil out of the algae (you can use something like a seed press) The oil will need to be filtered and cleaned but this process can recover over 75% of the oil from the algae.