In this instructable, we describe how to build a photo-bioreactor that uses algae to convert carbon dioxide and sunlight into energy. The energy that is produced is in the form of algae biomass. The photo-bioreactor is built from plastic recycled water bottles. By designing the apparatus to be compartmentalized, we are able to do many experiments in parallel.
Michael Fischer
mfischer @t stanford.edu
By using algae as a biofuel, we can increase the world's supply of oil while at the same time we decrease the amount of atmospheric carbon dioxide used during its production. The resulting product is a sustainable biofuel whose carbon footprint is neutral inasmuch as the CO2 produced on consumption is essentially balanced by the CO2 used in its production. In this instructable, we first make the carbon dioxide delivery system, then mount the water bottles on a rack, and then inoculate the bottles with algae. After letting the algae grow for a week, we extract the biomass.
Michael Fischer
mfischer @t stanford.edu
By using algae as a biofuel, we can increase the world's supply of oil while at the same time we decrease the amount of atmospheric carbon dioxide used during its production. The resulting product is a sustainable biofuel whose carbon footprint is neutral inasmuch as the CO2 produced on consumption is essentially balanced by the CO2 used in its production. In this instructable, we first make the carbon dioxide delivery system, then mount the water bottles on a rack, and then inoculate the bottles with algae. After letting the algae grow for a week, we extract the biomass.
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Signing UpStep 1: Make Carbon Dioxide Delivery System
To make the carbon dioxide delivery system, connect an eight port sprinkler system manifold to a one inch long PVC pipe. To get good seals, use Teflon tape to tape the threads before attaching the pieces together. Next, attach the one inch pipe to a T-connector. Block off one end of the T-connector and attach the other end to a foot long PVC pipe.
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A good description for most alternative fuels. I've been hearing that for 35 years.
I believe this is the fuel of the future.
- However, my question is: how much net energy is actually gained by the time you run a compresses/pump to circulate the water, press out the oil and other processes needed to gain a usable product.
- How extensive is the processing needed to turn the algae into a user-friendly product.
- How interchangeable is the end product with existing fuel consuming machines/engines.
i understand how this retains carbon dioxide, but how does it increase the world's supply of oil? it only reduces the speed at which we use said oil.
excuse me for being a grammar Nazi (although as you see mine is far from perfect).
I loved the instructable.
Although it is a particular type of energy source, I personally believe it's incorrect to refer to them in the same manner. Starch is the solid condensed energy source that, with correct technology can be used to replace petroleum, but those systems are far more complex, and the output for mass for pure starch in terms of burning engines is lower.
Thats why fuels higher in ethanol, although much cleaner for the environment, also have a higher consumption per 100km driven. The initial cost of producing a fuel from plant sources is a very large sum of money compared to the petroleum based sources, that is why the world has not shifted across to alternative sources like biofuel. Eventually we will have to, else we will not be able to live anymore.
I defiantly love the "Algae Pellets", but biodiesel would be much more useful in my position.
(My apologies if I missed an answer/reply to this question somewhere in the 200+ comments)
Cheers!
Can any one help me out in some calculation work its really very urgent , please help me out ..... i need to consume 1932.3kg/hr of CO2 with the help of Algae in a pond (water) for example Raceway pond , so i need to know the specific area to construct that pond and its sizing and dimension (length,etc) and the quantity of water needed and amount of algae used so that it easily consumes the mentioned amount of CO2 rate per hour..... please help me out soon you can also drop your suggestion and questions if any my email id is : sudhirmalik2011@gmail.com ....i will be waiting for your reply soon and i'll be highly thankful to you, if someone can help please do tell me its very urgent....
Thank you
the co2 scrubber gets the co2 in the air...then it is feed to the algae......and more i saw some article about specific algae that can be cultured so it can be used as a fuel or something when it is processed...
but there are still questions about the process on how to transform algae to a fuel.....and how to extract co2 of caustic soda....
can some on please help me???
is there some one who know more about caustic soda and algae???
Plants are carbon-neutral, as all the CO2 that gets released when you burn it, gets absorbed when a new plant grows.
'carbon neutrality' doesn't apply to specific fuels, it applies to a process of removing the same amount of carbon from the atmosphere as you put in; for whatever good or damage that will do.
Thats the big problem.
as for that being the big problem, it's just the popular opinion at this time. popular opinions aren't always right.
CO2 is the primary plant fertilizer. i wouldn't be keen on removing too much of it. i would rather be worried about increasing the O2 supply as that is becoming dangerously low.
I can see this becoming a problem as well. I would imagine that if done at an industrial level, companies only trying to make a buck will pump more and more fertilizers into their algae farms. These are the same chemicals that cause algae growths in streams and lakes when they run off from farms, lawns, etc.. Eutrophication is an environmental catastrophe which is destroying aquatic life and resources. The dead zone off the coast of New Orleans is a result of this process and others.
Judging on the fuel industry's track record, I am positive that it will end badly. It is a shame too. This seems like a great biofuel.
Lets not forget, it would be energy companies (BP, Exxon, Shell, etc.) doing the energy production. They seem to find a ways to screw up every last detail, and then fight tooth and nail to deny responsibility. Did it make sense for BP to construct a crappy well that failed, killed 10 people, lost millions of gallons of valuable crude oil, and lost them over 20 billion dollars? ...Somehow yes.
On the positive side, I think it would be a great Idea to use algae in this way. What about using algae farms as pretreatment for sewage? I wonder what other pollutants could be processed by algae into less harmful chemicals.
Check out this site. The only problem with this is the algae use the CO2 produced by the bacteria, not by the later burning of the algae as fuel. Similar symbiotic relationships are found in eutrophication. Do the algae farms discussed in this instructable account for this? We are dealing with a more controlled environment, but how easily could the bacteria that eat dead algae contaminate the operation? If they did they would be the primary contributors of CO2 to the algae, and possibly decrease biomass yields. This might defeat the purpose.
Thank you, you have highlighted another of the destructive effects that we have as we boost the CO2 levels in the atmosphere and in the sea and fresh water bodies.
yes. the percentage of oxygen was much higher as well.
there is a downward oxygen trend and if it goes below 15%, we could have a mass extinction event.
http://www.pnas.org/content/vol96/issue20/images/medium/pq1991262002.gif
fortunately, it doesn't work that way. there are many other environmental factors that determine the success or failure of a particular species. you even mentioned one of those factors... availability of water!
Dry up the algae then use biomass to make some pellets and finally use algae-pellets into a simple gasifier.
See for example this 'open-fire' gasifier: Luciastove at www.worldstove.com
It is possible to put aside most of the woodgas produced while the stove is burning only 5% of it.
Luciastove byproduct is biochar that is very good to enrich the soil.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsH_Gh-n2Mg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iy4XXD2N_nY
1. Dry it and burn it.
2. Extract oil and burn that, you would still have biomass that could be either burnt or used as fertiliser. I suspect that to get a viable yield of oil will require particular varieties of algae and possibly careful balancing of the nutrients. To use the oil as a fuel it would need processing from a triglyceride to a methyl ester.
Craig Venter of Synthetic Genomics is working on bioengineered algae for this:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/jul/14/green-algae-exxon-mobil
3. Use the algal biomass in an anaerobic digester to produce methane, you would still have biomass left which could be used as fertiliser or dried and burnt as fuel.
All are possible but economic and technological factors will decide which are most viable, the algae oil has the most potential but also requires the most development to become viable.
Another interesting idea, is i recently discovered that a fairly sigifigant amount of algae can be grown only using the co2 and chemicles that leach from heated plastic bottles, perhaps it would be possible to wholly get rid of the fertilizer, and grow them only on heated, recycled plastic bottles