OriginOil, a developer of a breakthrough energy
production process for harvesting algae and cleaning up oil and gas water,
announced its algae harvesting process reduces bacterial concentrations by as
much as 99 percent.
The results were achieved in lab tests under an
independent university research program.
This could extend the shelf life of liquid algae concentrate
from hours to days, addressing a key problem standing in the way of the
multi-billion dollar algae industry.
“When you harvest algae by any other means, it begins to
smell very quickly, like fish,” said Jose Sanchez, general manager of
OriginOil’s Algae Division. “Bacteria and other invaders feast on the biomass,
especially the valuable oils, dramatically reducing the value of the crop
within a matter of hours.”
Sanchez added, “Based on in-house incubation tests, we
can extend the life of freshly-harvested algae from the present 10-12 hours to
12 days or more. We believe that this has huge implications for our industry.”
Barry Cohen, executive director of the National Algae
Association, agreed, “Bacteria are a key issue in the algae production industry,
so I know it’s going to be a key problem to be resolved for our producers. It
can also affect feed, food, fuels, and other co-products made from algae –
quality is key to the end user.”
In the study, an independent university team harvested
algae from both open ponds and closed systems, using a well-known centrifugal
process on the one hand, and OriginOil’s Algae Appliance on the other.
The samples were then sent to an FDA-audited laboratory
for analysis. When compared with centrifuging, the Algae Appliance reduced
bacterial colonies by 98 percent in the case of open ponds, and 99 percent for
bioreactors. The full report can be viewed at a company link.
“The algae, which has thick cell walls, survives our
process, while simpler organisms are typically eliminated,” said Jose Sanchez.
“We believe it’s an elegant and economical way to sanitize cultures. We’ve
already seen how our Algae Screen process can keep algae free of invaders
in the growth phase. Now we know that there is concrete benefit at the harvesting
stage too.”
OriginOil’s “Solids Out of Solution” process uses the
company’s proven Single Step Extraction to dewater algae, then a second stage
to concentrate it. As shown in the recent test, the combined electrical
activity is responsible for killing up to 99 percent of the bacteria and other
organisms, while the algae cells survive in a nearly sterile environment.
Extending the shelf life and increasing the quality of
algal biomass may very favorably change the economics of algae production, potentially
generating new applications for algae.
Algae are a multi-billion dollar, fast-growing market.
The global market value of microalgal products was estimated to exceed $6
billion in 2004 (Pulz, Gross) and has grown greatly over the past decade. And
algae biofuels technologies, valued at only $271 million in 2010, are
forecasted to grow to $1.6 billion in 2015.