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Here's an opinion on AlgoDyne's idea of harvesting algae in the wild.
"AlgoDyne's concept of harvesting algae from the wild is not exactly new. Many similar ideas have been proposed in the past, most notably those of harvesting sea-weeds such as kelp on a large scale to utilize the biomass for energy. Several small companies have also been harvesting wild algae from lakes, with specially designed harvesting machines, for years. The process is energy intensive and cumbersome. It remains to be seen whether AlgoDyne's idea to actually collect phytoplankton from the open oceans is practicable. It basically remains an activity that can not be planned, scaled or rationalised, as algae blooms have the tendency to grow and disappear suddenly."
Source: Biopact
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Hi,
ReplyDeleteI have wondered why it would not be possible to build a large floating wind powered centrifuge to collect the algae. If you had two counter rotating floating centrifuges contained in a semi-submerged barge, then you could harvest algae anywhere it was concentrated. RCF (in g forces) = 1.119x10^-5 x rpm^2 x radius (in cm)If you have a very large centrifuge, you only need a modest rotation speed to have an adiquate force to concentrate the algae. Ordinary pond water has at least 2% algae so it should be possible to seperate the wild algae from a body of water very quickly with this method.