SBIR Phase I: Cost Effective Microalgae Harvesting in Phytobioreactors

This SBIR Phase I project will develop and evaluate the feasibility of a proprietary centrifugal froth flotation process for continuous harvest of algae. A test prototype will be built and evaluated in Phase I. Both technical and economic feasibility will be investigated for this low-cost microalgae continuous harvesting and dewatering system, which will be critical for third-generation alternative biofuel processing. The broader/commercial impact of the proposed project will be the development of a prototype algae separation device. This could lead to successful equipment development that has uses beyond algae separation.