Elk River Sophomore is an Algae Alchemist, page 1

Disregarding the article's title..

This young student was seeking a way to remove CO2 from the atmosphere using algae but switched to creating biodiesel after he heard of efforts to do the same..

Last year he was able to produce 2 Gallons of biodiesel per day from a 700 gallon tank, and the key difference is the algae is not wasted in the process.. it lives..

Not being a scientist, I don't know how efficient this would be... on the surface, it looks promising.. take a look and let me know what you think..

Breakthrough? or Hogwash?

This article is from May and I did a search to see if this has popped up here to no avail, if it is already posted, please point me to the existing thread so I can close and redirect there.

www.startribune.com

Elk River sophomore Josh Wolf has a lofty goal -- helping to solve the world's fuel crisis -- using a humble tool: algae.

In the portable garage that serves as a back-yard laboratory, he has discovered that the application of a very low-level electrical jolt causes algae to release oil. After a couple of days, he skims it out, adds a formula of plumbing cleaner and antifreeze, and presto, it's biodiesel fuel. The fruits of his labors could be traveling around Elk River on any given day in the diesel tanks of friends' pickup trucks.

www.algenolbiofuels.com...

here's a company doing it with grants not real profits yet but just maybe.

reply to post by donlashway

---

I guess the difference is in the method?

Looks like the student's is to use a small electrical input to get the algae to release the oils, and the efforts of the company you linked is to use the sun to do the same?

reply to post by JacKatMtn

---

The main thing when looking at algae as a food supply at home is the bioreactor. I can be grown in any type of container, but is important that it isn’t contaminated. An all enclosed home bioreactor needs to be able to deliver CO2 to the algae enclosed in the system. The system also needs periodic maintenance and cleaning. There are a number of different thoughts on light sources; obviously, sun light is the cheapest. However, some algae show major increases in production when flashed with LED for three-second intervals. It does not look as appetizing as a juicy steak, but it can also be used to feed livestock. There is little doubt that algae could be used to help relieve famine in the world

I thought this was interesting as well. It seems a little far-fetched, but how do you keep one million people alive in the desert for forty years? The possible explanation offered is testimony to the potential of algae as a food supply.

Pokemon discovered in Venezuela
  Posted 14 days ago with 47 member flags

89-Year-Old Man Develops Bladeless Bird-Friendly Wind Turbine
  Posted 11 days ago with 45 member flags

Amazing snowflake images that you have never seen before.
  Posted 14 days ago with 44 member flags

Energy Solutions THEY don\'t want you to know about
  Posted 14 days ago with 35 member flags

High speed video reveals the bizarre physics of an ordinary water droplet
  Posted 4 days ago with 32 member flags

Does this video show a working self propelled magnetic engine?
  Posted 7 days ago with 31 member flags

Viruses: alive or not?
  Posted 11 days ago with 30 member flags

NASA reveals secrets it has hidden on the Curiosity rover.
  Posted 17 days ago with 29 member flags

Newest topics, updated in real-time:

Newest topics getting flags, in real-time:

Newest topics getting replies, in real-time: