Zobi® Based Processes for Ultra-low Energy Algal Harvesting and Dewatering

A successful algal industry would be transformative in the US. The very high productivity of algae relative to land plants will drive massive job creation in rural areas, provide biofuel and biopolymers to reduce dependence on foreign sources of oil, reduce fertilizer run-off with its corresponding water quality impairment, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and enable use of currently underutilized land and saline water resources for food and fuel production. Overall, the forty-fold increase in agricultural productivity will result in an economic boon for the US and a sustainable way to meet the world’s growing protein and energy needs. A more efficient, lower cost harvesting technology will contribute directly to the US Department of Energy’s goals as laid out the 2016 BioEnergy Technologies Office Multi-Year Program Plan, which recognizes “Optimizing harvesting operations is critical to maximizing algal biomass yields while ensuring sustainability of the production system.” and identifies “Sustainable Harvesting” as a key technical barrier because “Current algal biomass harvesting and dewatering technologies are costly and energy- and resource- intensive.” In phase 1, we will evaluate the potential for operation and integration of a Zobi system with several other unit operations to attain an integrated harvest system that: (1) is universally applicable to any microalgae; (2) is scalable to harvest rates of 100’s of MGD; (3) does not require addition of expensive flocculants or other chemicals; (4) attains greater than 99% capture of algae in the harvest stream; (5) achieves a 90% or greater reduction in energy demand relative to DAF/centrifuges; (6) attains a 30% reduction in capital costs relative to DAF/centrifuges; and (7) concentrates algae from pond concentration to 20-30% solids content. By facilitating a commercial algal biofuel and commercial algal protein industry this project will directly benefit rural communities by creating many high-quality jobs in rural areas through the higher productivity per area and per amount of water used, and through the use of currently underutilized land and water resources. The entire US public will benefit from the economic boon created by much high productivity from land and water resources. The public will also benefit from the environmental benefits of reducing agricultural chemical run-off, reducing water requirements for food and biofuel production, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and reducing pressure to convert forests or other valuable land resources to food and fuel production.