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OriginOil Plans Patents Algae to Oil Technology


OriginOil, a company out of Los Angeles, has just filed a patent for some technology it says will put its own spin on turning algae into oil.

Quantum Fracturing, as OriginOil calls it, works at the microscopic level for its algae oil cultivation. Nutrients are "fractured" and put into growing microalgae during the growth stage to get maximum benefits without impacting the algae cells. When extraction time comes more fracturing is done to create an "ultrasound effect" which breaks the outer layer of the algae in an energy-efficient manner, allowing for quicker harvesting of oils.

What this means for oil producers, according to OriginOil, is a "cost effective, high speed manufacturing process" which produces a new source of renewable oil. If this company can truly deliver a product which producers embrace, we could be looking at a much greener (and also slimier) future.

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Algae vs Solar Cells??
written by Mark, September 11, 2007
If it works, and can be made to work on a large enough scale then this looks like a great way to turn the sun's energy into a form that can be used with today's infrastructure.

Would be interesting to know, however, if this process is more efficient per sq. meter at turning light into energy than existing solar cells??
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Hmm...
written by John Fill, September 12, 2007
...surely burning any kind of oil will generate greenhouse gases? This strikes me as being more of a solution to "where-we-gonna-get-the-oil?" than "how-do-we-kick-the-oil-habit?", which is the bigger question, I feel.
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oil out of thin air
written by Thomas Meixner, September 24, 2007
Of course the alkgae would be getting their CO2 from the atmosphere to which it will return so net effect of production of this kind of oil would be carbon neutral. Infrastructure required of course may or may not be.
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...
written by Vicki O'Brien, December 11, 2007
Are there any large producers of algae for algae oil yet? Who?
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...
written by Eddie, January 10, 2008
After looking at OriginOil's webpage, it looks like they plan to use huge tanks with LED lights placed inside to stimulate the growth of the algae strain once they feed them with their Quantum Fracturing method.
I have been looking for pictures or drawings of OriginOil's algae growing method to verify their claims and sincerely hope they are on the right track.
Also missing from the web-site is the amount of land, gallons of water per day or size of "incubator" tanks a facility needs to be to be able to produce a million gallons of algae oil.
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...
written by Martin K., July 09, 2008
I like the approach Valcent has taken. It's easy to understand so it's hard to screw up. Replacing all fossil fuel usage seems far fetched (though they claim it's possible) but replacing all our petroleum diesel with biodiesel seems very possible. The CO2 consumed by the algae will also mitigate and maybe eliminate the CO2 from burning biodiesel.
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OriginOil Missing Info?
written by Ashton Sanders, June 18, 2009
@Eddie: Check out their multimedia section. They've got a couple videos discussing their current size tanks and where they're going. They also discuss amount of land requirements.

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