Algae FArm
Algae FArm
I read something on this forum somewhere - and I think it was from the one who calls himself 'Gunk' - about an algae farm in Seafield that would somehow negate our Porty carbon emissions. How does that work then? Of course I could have dreamt this as I can't find it anywhere but sounds good though - can you expand Mr/Mrs Gunk? or whoever it was?
Hamlet had Yorick's skull.
I have a Lava Lamp.
I have a Lava Lamp.
When Rudolf Diesel first showed off his diesel engine (Paris Fair 1898) it was running on Peanut oil. Rudolf Diesel wanted to use bio-fuels instead of having the energy industry monopolised by the Oil giants.
That bit of history is only included just to show that Bio-diesel is not a new concept.
Anyhow, back tot he algae...
Algae is Photoautotrophic, which means that uses energy from sunlight to convert carbon from the atmosphere into bio-mass. Bio-mass which can be converted into fuel.
The sea is big, 7/10 of the earths surface, and it isn't used to grow crops (a lot of agricultural land is now being used to grow crops for bio-fuels, one of the reasons that food prices, bread in particular are going up).
So all you need to do is fence off a bit of the sea (I picked Seafield as it's already smelly, due to sewage treatment, so people probably don't want to go there and swim/boat/hike). Get some smart cookie at a marine technology lab to invent a fish scarer to keep what little fish there are in the forth away, and there you go, algae for all.
It's quite a simple concept, but would obviously need some research from real scientists (i.e. not the daily mail) to make it happen.
You could also overgenerate algae and pump it back down oil wells to permanently reduce the carbon in the atmosphere. There are certainly some power stations which pump their emissions through algae juice to cut some of the carbon in it (not sure what they do with it after though).
That bit of history is only included just to show that Bio-diesel is not a new concept.
Anyhow, back tot he algae...
Algae is Photoautotrophic, which means that uses energy from sunlight to convert carbon from the atmosphere into bio-mass. Bio-mass which can be converted into fuel.
The sea is big, 7/10 of the earths surface, and it isn't used to grow crops (a lot of agricultural land is now being used to grow crops for bio-fuels, one of the reasons that food prices, bread in particular are going up).
So all you need to do is fence off a bit of the sea (I picked Seafield as it's already smelly, due to sewage treatment, so people probably don't want to go there and swim/boat/hike). Get some smart cookie at a marine technology lab to invent a fish scarer to keep what little fish there are in the forth away, and there you go, algae for all.
It's quite a simple concept, but would obviously need some research from real scientists (i.e. not the daily mail) to make it happen.
You could also overgenerate algae and pump it back down oil wells to permanently reduce the carbon in the atmosphere. There are certainly some power stations which pump their emissions through algae juice to cut some of the carbon in it (not sure what they do with it after though).
Sounds pretty good Gunk - I'll leave it in your capable hands to see this project through.
When we're talking about biomass, I'm guessing that its just a matter of growing enough green burnable stuff to create some electricity. I'm wondering about how much algae stuff we'd need.
When we're talking about biomass, I'm guessing that its just a matter of growing enough green burnable stuff to create some electricity. I'm wondering about how much algae stuff we'd need.
Hamlet had Yorick's skull.
I have a Lava Lamp.
I have a Lava Lamp.
<a href="http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/scotlan ... 4803583.jp"> Article in the Scotsman</a>
Strange it has take people so long to realise the potential of algae. I've been going on about it in pubs around the country for the last two years.
I also think you could crack the algae oil to produce polymers, which could then be recycled to produce C02 for the algae farms, after they have been used by us.
Strange it has take people so long to realise the potential of algae. I've been going on about it in pubs around the country for the last two years.
I also think you could crack the algae oil to produce polymers, which could then be recycled to produce C02 for the algae farms, after they have been used by us.
<a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7817849.stm"> Even More Algae News </a>