Observation for 9/30/13

The Green Algae mixture has been growing at a noticeably faster rate then Ankistrodesmus. The water of the Green Algae Mixture turned slightly green and had a lot of growth around the bubbler. Ankistrodesmus did not turn green but stayed the same color blue as the Miracle-Gro solution. The
Ankistrodesmus may not have turned green, but it did have a lot of growth around the bubbler much like the Green Algae Mixture. 

 

Both Algae cultures stayed at roughly 20-21ºC throughout the beginnings of the experiment.
I believe I will need a grow mat to help improve the Ankistrodesmus's growing rate by slightly warming the PBR.

Setting up PBRs to grow my algae culutres for my experiment

Friday 9/27/13

I added 2000 mL of solution to each PBR.

I added 10 mL of  Ankistrodesmus to the PBR with the orange cap.

I added 10 mL of Green Algae Mixture to the PBR with the white cap.

My Laboratory

My Laboratory

My Laboratory aka (Diagon Algae) contains many components such as:

• A photobioreactor (PBR) and thermometer,
  
  
   

• My algae specimen,
  
   

• An awesome Kapu sign (from Lilo and Stitch) means off-limits.
  

Meet My Algae

I have two possible candidates for my experiment:

Meet Ms. Ankistrodesmus

Meet the Greens (a.k.a Chlorella, Scenedesmus, Ulothrix, and Volvox)

Getting Started

The Sun

• To mimic the sun I will use a overhead, 48 inch grow light.

 Waste Water

•  To simulate waste water I used a solution of approx. 0.06% Miracle-Gro fertilizer to 99.94% distilled water.

 What's in Miracle-Gro (24-8-16)

• 24% Nitrogen
• 8% Phosphate
• 16% Soluble

• Other Micro-nutrients
• Boron
• Copper
• Iron
• Manganese
•  Molybdenum
• Zinc.

 

 To make the solution:

1. I took roughly a gallon (3785 mL) of distilled water .
2. Then I added about half a teaspoon (2.5mL) of Miracle-Gro to the distilled water.
3. Finally, I set the mixture aside for my expierement 

 

Carbon Dioxide

• I used an air pump to circulate air through the PBR.  This will help remove built-up oxygen from the system and add carbon dioxide from the surrounding environment.

Land

• This is my variable and will be coming soon.  

The Challenge I Chose for my Experiment

Land Ahoy!

In the TED Talks, Mr. Trent talked about growing algae taking up a lot of land and the design of the photobioreactors (PBR).  I want to create a more efficient PBR that will create more algae with less space.

Example of the Floating PBR Pods in the San Francisco Bay

The PBR system pictured above would theoretically produce 2 million gallons of bio-fuel per year, which is 20% of the diesel used in San Francisco.

Notes from Jonathan Trent's TED Talk

Why is algae important?

• We need multiple sources of energy; especially, renewable sources.
• Algae can be used to make:
• Fuel;
• Fertilizer;
• Cosmetics;
• Food; and
• Animal Feed.
• Algae produces more per acre than other bio-fuel sources.

What makes algae happy?

• Sun
• Carbon Dioxide
• Water
• Nutrients

What challenges of producing algae for bio-fuel?

The main challenge is competing with fossil fuel without competing with agriculture.

Specifically, challenges include:

• Water Source
• Fertilizer
• Land
• Energy Yield

Jonathan Trent: Energy from floating algae pods