Talk:Algaculture

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Contents

[edit] Algal Biodiesel

Willnotburn (talk) 19:31, 7 January 2008 (UTC) Decided not to edit before getting some feedback. The last two lines in the Biofuels section

"'In Europe, refiners are producing 1.4 billion gallons a year from rapeseed, soy, and other plants. In all, the world consumed $1.7 billion worth of biodiesel last year. That should grow to $26 billion by 2020, says market researcher Global Insight.'" [22] These figures project an average growth of over 20% per year.

Information does not fit in to the context and is irrelevant to algae. Algae are not plants. Even for a non-specialist, a discussion of "Rapeseed, soy and other plants" would touch a much broader, if not different topic than biofuels from algae.


For the efficient cultivation of algae for the production of biodiesel, this is a list of specific questions that need to be answered.

what algal species are proving most successful for producing the largest amounts of oil, including the whole process, cultivation, harvesting, and extraction of oil.(much of the information i've found will cite a species that only performs well in one aspect, ie. it will grow well, but is expensive to harvest, or it's easy to harvest, but has a lower oil content.)

Bobkeyes 19:50, 8 November 2006 (UTC) None, so far. There have been no large-scale algal-oil-for-fuel operations to date

what temperature range do they do best in

Bobkeyes 19:50, 8 November 2006 (UTC) most of the algae I have researched are most comfortable with temperatures similar to what humans like, i.e. around 23C. It is worth noting that there is a LOT of variation in terms of 'peak performance'

is there an optimum depth for a tank or pond(ie- 4 inches of water, 5 feet, etc), in which the algae grow best, or is it more a matter of light penetration

do freshwater, or saltwater species seem to be more promising

if saltwater, does the salt you put into the water get consumed, needing to be replaced often, or is it a one-time thing

where can you inexpensively obtain specific species of algae,(i know of the university of Hawaii, i was looking for cheaper sources, perhaps someone doing research themselves within the connected U.S.)

what are the most cost-efficient means that are being used to harvest high-oil content algae, (i know of microscreens, flocculation, and centrifugation.)

how do you extract oil from algae(the only method i've seen is to dry it and then press it out)

what is the most efficient means of growing algae, open-pond, photobioreactor, green-house pond, polyethylene sleeves, tanks.

where do you get the nutrients for the algae, aside from expensive "fresh" fertilizer used for food crops,(i know about waste water, and fertilizer runoff, but i'm looking for efficient sources for if you don't live by a stream, or a sewage plant)

i've read that algae need only 1/10 the amount of light they recieve to grow, and was wondering whether it can be grow successfully using florecents, i don't know what spectrum light algae need to grow

how do you get CO2 into the water of an algae system,(do you have to compress it and pump it in, or some type of permeable membrane?)

how do you collect or seperate CO2, from the air, or from smoke, like in a coal plant

could a modification of a septic tank be used as an algae pond, the human waste being used as nutrient for the algae

what scientific equipment are nessecary to start an oil-producing algae pond, for a basic, home system(microscopes, ph-meter, etc)

could the exhaust from a wood stove be used to supply a pond with CO2

what -university, corporation, individual-, is currently doing research on biodiesel production from algae, espescially actual working systems.

Bobkeyes 19:50, 8 November 2006 (UTC) rather than answering questions here, or in the page (because much of what I'd be listing is opinion, hunches, personal experience, etc and not suitable for Wikipedia), I think that your best source of information may be the various forums on the web. I believe that all of the relevant ones are linked from the page, but I will check. I warn you that this field, while not exactly new, is experiencing a boom of interest as of late and there are more people asking questions than there are experts with definitive answers. Another problem is that much of the work being done is commercial and is therefore trade secret or patented. In my opinion, governments around the world need to sponsor scientific research in this field and release the results to the public. Oh, will the author of these comments please identify themselves in the future? Also, for those interested, this isn't strictly biodiesel per se, but of interest in that it regards fuels from algae, see the new Article on Botryococcus braunii

[edit] clean up

Gonna try to fix up this article, it's a mess. · XP · 21:06, 28 August 2006 (UTC)

It has a million sources--if you go in and work on it please don't remove the various links. This article has a ton of potential, if you need to move links, move them to the bottom, or leave as is. I will be happy to work on this to bring it up to snuff. Interesting stuff. · XP · 21:19, 28 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] History and uses of algae section

the paragraph break here is confusing, i don't know enough without following links to see where it should break - i think "Porphyra" discussion continues over para 1 - para 2 break, and then para 2 goes on to discuss Chondrus crispus

also, should "Oriental" be replaced with "Asian" or "Eastern Asian" or something? a bit archaic? David Woodward 04:27, 30 August 2006 (UTC)

If you're going to keep the Orwell quote that was snagged from the Algae entry, please reference it in some way. I'm not even sure it's relevant here because the quote discusses uses of algae and not the actual growing of algae. And, yes, the section heading includes "uses" but it's all dupes from the algae article. The section might better be titled "History of Algal Culturing" or some such. The first article in the book "Algal Culturing Techniques" published by the Phycological Society is an excellent reference to help flesh this section out. Gramby (talk) 07:33, 16 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] massive links

These are all the links sections that were scattered across the article; moving here to go back and build prose from these. · XP · 15:29, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] removal of stuff with algae/removal OF algae

  • www.lapes.ufrgs.br Overview of flotation as a wastewater treatment technique (pdf)
  • www.ajol.info dissolved air flotation for algae removal (pdf)
  • www.dep.state.fl.us Large-Scale Algal Turf Scrubber® Pollutant Recovery System (pdf)
  • www.bom.hik.se Removal of Prymnesium parvum (Haptophyceae) cells under different nutrient conditions by clay (pdf)
  • [1] patent for microalgae separator apparatus and method

[edit] biodiesel

[edit] hydrogen production

[2] Chlamydomonas moewusii is also a good strain for the production of hydrogen. [3]

[edit] leftovers from nutritional section

Astaxanthin

Overexposing the algal-species Haematococcus pluvialis to direct sunlight will cause it to produce astaxanthin in defense. Astaxanthin is a carotenoid that has the ability to pass between the blood and the brain, carotenoids such as lycopene and beta-carotene can not. There are companies setting up large scale bioreactors for producing Astaxanthin.

"Astaxanthin is an antioxidant pigment found in microalgae such as Haematococcus algae. Its strong antioxidant action is linked to anti-inflammatory activity, and may have a role in strengthening immunity, slowing the aging of skin (age spots and wrinkles) and alleviating muscle fatigue. It is attracting a great deal of attention, not only in the health food market, but in the sports and beauty markets as well. "

Beta-carotene

Dunaliella, (Dunaliella salina)

Cantaxanthin

Chlorella

Algal-oil

Algal-oil is very high in unsaturated fatty acids. Some UFA's found in different algal-species include:

___________________________________________________________________________________________


[edit] Algal cultures available for purchase


[edit] Industrial Uses

[edit] Dyes and Colorants

www.dunaliella.org Xanthophylls in Microalgae: From Biosynthesis to Biotechnological Mass Production and Application (pdf)

[edit] Feedstock

Algae can be dried and used as a feed for livestock, or fresh as food for fish and crustaceans.

[edit] Medicinal

  • www.ansinet.org Chemoprevention of Penzo[a]pyrene-induced Carcinogen and Lipid Peroxidation in Mice by Lipophilic Algae Extracts (pdf)
  • [9] Antioxidant Activity of Algal Extracts on Lipid Peroxidation (pdf)
  • www.nutraingredients.com DHA may suppress colon cancer growth

[edit] Plastics production from algae

Rowell et al. "Emerging Technologies for Materials and Chemicals from Biomass" American Chemical Society Symposium Series, vol. 476, Chapters 3, 12, 13 and 18, Aug. 1990.

[edit] pollution control

  • pepei.pennnet.com Beta Test Set for Emission-Fighting Algae Bioreactor
  • www.usatoday.com Algae — like a breath mint for smokestacks
  • web.mit.edu Algae system transforms greenhouse emissions into green fuel
  • www.unh.edu The Controlled Eutrophication Process: Using Microalgae for CO2 Utilization and Agricultural Fertilizer Recycling. (pdf)
  • www.idrc.ca Piggery Waste Treatment (Singapore)

www.irccm.de Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Project at the International University Bremen


[edit] Suggestions for the article

Hi XP

Since yours is the first major revision to the article since it was created (and i assume you plan to continue to develop it), the comments below are largely addressed to you.

I had posted the links within the headings because it made more sense for them to be directly below the paragraph that they were relevant to, though i knew it was only a matter of time before someone changed it, as the style of Wikipedia is different.


the article does need a picture, but we need to find a better one


for the History section-

-the earliest intentional cultivation of microalgae that i know of was by the Aztecs, as far as i know they only cultivated spirulina. I had looked up their word for algae awhile ago but i've forgotten it. i don't know whether the nahuatl word was for spirulina only, or algae in general.


the commercial and industrial uses section needs to be expanded, i had started some headings and posted some links for them, but they were never developed

i'm not going to repost the titles until i can write at least a brief paragraph for them, but leave the index of the headings so that they can be developed.


The cultivation of seaweed, or macroalgae is entirely different from the cultivation of microalgae, i started this page because i was interested in the production of biodiesel from algae, and kept coming across alot of good information about microalgae cultivation in general and wanted a place to put it.

I believe the difference is great enough, and there is probably enough information, to justify a seperate article specifically for the culture of macroalgae(phycoculture maybe?). If you lump the two together i think it will be confusing. The techniques for cultivation are different, i believe that macroalgae is most often cultivated and harvested from the ocean, or very large tanks. Much of the photobioreactor information only applies to microalgae, but often those articles don't mention "microalgae" specifically, but "algae" which could mean either macro or micro. Knowing very little about algae to start with it took me longer to develop a basic understanding because an article about "algae" could be about 1 of 2-4 different subjects. 2 if you make the break between macro and micro algae, 4 if you also distinguish between cyanobacteria and the diatoms,(which can be classified as microalgae, and are applicable to information about microalgae). Harvesting methods are also different.


This environment-related article is part of a WikiProject to improve Wikipedia's coverage of the environment. The aim is to write neutral and well-referenced articles on environment-related topics, as well as to ensure that environment articles are properly categorized.

those interested in this goal might want to focus on developing "Algae as an energy source", specifically biodiesel production from algae, and Pollution control.


User_talk:Daemion

[edit] of interest

I think it would be interesting to find some good information on the work that Nasa has done in studying algae, i'm sure they've experimented with it for use in the space station, pollution control, oxygen production, etc, but they may even have some old papers from the 60's for its use in creating an atmosphere on mars, was it "Red Planet", the movie with Val Kilmer that was about that?. I don't know whether those ideas were developed more in the realm of science, or science fiction.

Daemion

[edit] good Idea, but wikipedia is not a crystal ball

Though it is a use for algae, I dont believe it is relevant to algaculture. If there is a compelling argument for adding a terraforming section to this article, by all means, cram it in

Tiny.ian 18:31, 11 September 2006 (UTC)Ian

Wikipedia:What_Wikipedia_is_not#Wikipedia_is_not_a_crystal_ball

I will be bold and totally remove the section with proper names in it. BrewJay (talk) 05:19, 19 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] History and uses of algae

The history and uses of algae section was just copied from the "algae" article. I think the heading is good, but the content is all about macroalgae, and i don't believe that any of the strains listed in that section are actually cultivated, but harvested, similar to the way a fishing boat would harvest fish from the ocean, as opposed to breeding them in a fishery.

Also, more focus might be put into the history of algae cultivation, as the commercial and industrial uses section will be much more developed later on.

a simplistic outline might be:

  • aztecs
  • beginnings of a scientific research in the 40's

(Note: if you plan to use this as an outline, scientific research began as early as the 1840's - I'm assuming "40's" here references the 1940's Gramby (talk) 07:26, 16 January 2008 (UTC))

  • nasa
  • current commercial/industrial uses
  • future of algaculture

Daemion

[edit] Algaculture for more than biofuel

1st, I copy-edited the bulk of the article and corrected many of the obvious errors. There is likely to be more that I missed, but what the heck- Spelling, grammer, punctuation corrected, Main photo changed.

Now, it seems that this article should be called algaculture for biofuel, being most of the information is on that... There are far more uses for it. Nutrition, hunger, employment- to name a few. Someone with some information and sources needs to get in and add a little more info.

All I know is what I can read in the few short hours (hour?) i have to my self.

Tiny.ian 01:44, 9 September 2006 (UTC)Ian

[edit] Not all CO2 can be Sequestered

I am changing everything that refers to CO2 to CO2 Sequestering to CO2, and changing all the CO2 to CO2. If anyone has an issue with this, please discuss.Tiny.ian 21:19, 29 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] "very scientific?"

Can someone explain the caption "A very scientific Chlorella farm?" At first glance it looked like some smart aleck comment introduced by some random vandal (my first thought was "A Very Brady Christmas"!), but it appears to have been around for a while. Presumably there is something to it. --Bletch 04:58, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

Algae growth along a stone wall.
Algae growth along a stone wall.
I always thought that image looked fake, but then I'm biased and think all chlorella stuff to be marketing pseudoscience :) so I thought the caption was kind of a joke on that, the image itself is unreferenced and so should be marked for deletion from wiki maybe, that said the image is better than the one before, which was a picture of a wall! (included here for your viewing pleasure). Ever hear of 'project rho'? [10] they use the picture too, regards sbandrews 13:50, 4 February 2007 (UTC)
If the veracity of the image is in doubt, it should be removed. Besides, there is a better image here: [11] --Bletch 14:01, 10 February 2007 (UTC)
yup, it's much better, but 'Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.' it says at the bottom of the article - the US government had an algae project, the aquatic species program - but I can't find any pictures of their open algae ponds - we could use those pics if we could find 'em sbandrews 14:08, 10 February 2007 (UTC)
Touche. Either way, I put the other image up on Images for Deletion. [12]. Imagine the consequences for wiki if we found out that image came from an episode of Star Trek or something (yeah its very unlikely, but it can't be disproven) --Bletch 04:07, 11 February 2007 (UTC)
ha! removed the offending image from here and chlorella, good work bletch, ok, beam me up scotty sbandrews 11:38, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Did some fix-up

Changed some of the more glaring grammar mistakes in the "History and Uses" section and added a little bit more about the microalgae. I have left their citations for another day as I don't have my materials with me, although rest assured that these claims are indeed supported by valid research and are not merely pseudoscience... Cheers Peaceupnorth 07:17, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] External Links

I think there's way too many. Needs to condense it. OhanaUnited 06:44, 21 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Reversion of 192955811

Please take a look at that which was recently reverted by vincecate. This was what I had added (unfortunately I was not logged in). I still believe I am correct, and not Vince. I'd appreciate it if some others who were knowledgeable in the field of refining plant oils could help clear up this matter, and perhaps expound on it. See my reference in the reverted text, and others which I reference at the Botryococcus braunii article. Bobkeyes (talk) 03:45, 23 February 2008 (UTC)

The way you had it implied that only Botryococcus braunii could be refined. This is wrong. You talk about it under vegetable oil refining that it is refined differently. That vegetable oil can be refined should be in Algaculture, talking about that type being refined differently I think should not be here, but in the vegetable oil refining article if anywhere. Regular vegetable oil is refined in commercial quantities right now. I don't think there is anyone doing that type in commercial quantities. So implying that that was the only one that could be refined is wrong. Look at vegetable oil refining to see how regular vegetable oil is refined. Vincecate (talk) 09:59, 24 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Moving Oil Extraction to Biofuel from algae

I think that the section "Oil Extraction" should be moved to the article "Biofuel from algae". Anyone for or against this idea? Vincecate (talk) 20:18, 25 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Biodiversity, Philippines

I added this landmark current research of Philippines due to its bio-diversity: Ateneo de Manila University's Department of Environmental Science, isolated Philippines species, on algal mass production to source out oil as alternative source of fuel. "Carbon dioxide as a product of aerobic decomposition can be utilized to enhance the growth of the algal species. Since the alga is also a rich source of proteins and carbohydrates, upon extraction of oil, the algae can still be utilized as food for livestock or fish; 1,000 to 10,000 gallons of algae are needed to produce a liter of biodiesel."abs-cbnnews.com, Ateneo scientists working on algae as biodiesel source --Florentino floro (talk) 06:38, 9 May 2008 (UTC)

I wonder about the figure 1000 - 10,000 gallons of algae are needed to produce a liter of biodiesel. First, is gallons an appropriate unit to use for algae? does it refer to wet or dry algae? Plus, the numbers seem unbelievably high. Compare: about 10 pounds of olives (1-2 gallons) makes a liter of olive oil [13]. Further, this link [14] says algae can yield up 10,000 gallons of oil per acre, perhaps that's where the 10,000 gallons number comes from? Or are there 10,000 x 10,000 = 100 million gallons of algae per acre? maxsch (talk) 19:44, 9 May 2008 (UTC)