Green Star Announces Algae Progress

Surely biodiesel from algae is one of the major solutions to the problem of emissions from all kinds of transport, land sea and air. Why is it getting so little attention?

Because it's not yet economical. Algae might have a economical chance someday, but until then..... research & development

I have grown algae in a glass in my kitchen window facing north in Oregon in the winter. It adheres a little to the glass, but some is free floating. Some plants encourage it, but mint-family plants discourage it. I recently saw a picture of a plant working to scale up with algae, but I can't remember exactly where I saw it.

Pond-owners in this area actually do major battle with algae. One contractor asserted privately, as he installed a pond for a wealthy home-owner, that he would be taking it back out soon because of algae. He didn't figure on the high-tech exec's scientific determination to beat the algae. Still, they did have to "harvest" it from time to time, to keep the pond from looking disgusting. I think they just composted it, sort of.

Googling algae production fuel should bring up some sites doing experimentation on this.

I imagine the main problem will be that the algae stick to the surface and eventually block the light from reaching into the tubes. Perhaps a useful area of research would be into how alga adhere to surfaces and is there a way to coat or nano-engineer the surface to prevent adhesion?
As they will be grown in hot sunny areas usually with little spare water it is not possible to grow in open tanks due to evaporative loss.

In the 1950's Carnegie Institute published a small book about Spirulina and a farm using a maze of transparent plastic piping to concentrate the productivity of the algae mass by an enormous increase of surface area exposed to the sun's rays.

I have not been able to locate a copy and teh Carnegie Institue has not answered a request for referenceing from here in Peru.

The idea seems to be sound and desert areas could be a producer of algae in large quantities for conversion to green fertilizer or fish food etc.

Anyone know where I could get a fotocopy of the book?

HAmilton Mencher
Iquitos, Peru
askham@terra.com.pe

In response to some of the above comments:
> Tony Williams
"Why is it getting so little attention?"
: Good question, there's actually quite a lot going on but it doesn't seem to make the general press.
> Pat O'Dell
"Because it's not yet economical"
: Probably is, certainly AlgaeLink & BioKing think it is.
> Hamilton Mencher
"Spirulina and a farm using a maze of transparent tubes"
: This is basis of one of the commercial systems made by AlgaeLink - see below. The growth rates they give for their systems equate to in excess of 100 times higher (in terms of energy yield per unit area) than open field crops (e.g. rapeseed), about 3 tonnes, or more, per hectare per day (> 1 ton/acre/day) dry biomass.
>Jonathan Heatley
"Problem will be that the algae stick to the surface"
: This is a problem with commercial fishing nets and coatings to reduce algae fouling (on Dyneema nets) have been developed, also AlgaeLink system has automated cleaning mechanism.

To answer the questions above you might find a visit to the AlgaeLink site @ "http://www.algaelink.com" and/or BioKing @ http://www.bioking.nl, enlightening

Just for the record, I am not employed by or an agent of AlgaeLink or BioKing