NASA Develops Algae Bioreactor as a Sustainable Energy Source
Most people associate the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) with space exploration, but it turns out the agency develops innovate technologies in other areas, including biofuel development. Who knew? NASA has invented an algae photo-bioreactor that grows algae in municipal wastewater to produce biofuel and a variety of other products. The NASA bioreactor is called an Offshore Membrane Enclosure for Growing Algae (OMEGA), and has the advantage of not competing with agriculture for land, fertilizer, or fresh water.
NASA’s Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California, licensed the algae photo-bioreactor to Algae Systems, LLC, in Carson City, Nevada, which plans to develop the technology in Florida. The company will refine and integrate the NASA technology into biorefineries to produce renewable energy products, including diesel and jet fuel.
“NASA has a long history of developing very successful energy conversion devices and novel life support systems,” said Lisa Lockyer, deputy director of the New Ventures and Communication Directorate at NASA Ames. “NASA is excited to support the commercialization of an algae bioreactor with potential for providing renewable energy here on Earth.”
The OMEGA system consists of large plastic bags with inserts of forward-osmosis membranes that grow freshwater algae in processed wastewater. Using energy from the sun, the algae absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and nutrients from the wastewater to produce biomass and oxygen. As the algae grow, the nutrients are contained in the enclosures, while the cleansed freshwater is released into the surrounding ocean through the forward-osmosis membranes.
“The OMEGA technology has transformational powers. It can convert sewage and carbon dioxide into abundant and inexpensive fuels,” said Matthew Atwood, president and founder of Algae Systems. “The technology is simple and scalable enough to create an inexpensive, local energy supply that also creates jobs to sustain it.”
When deployed in contaminated and “dead zone” coastal areas, this system may help remediate the areas by removing and utilizing detrimental materials. The forward-osmosis membranes use relatively small amounts of external energy compared to the conventional methods of harvesting algae, which have an energy-intensive de-watering process.
Potential benefits include oil production from the harvested algae, and conversion of municipal wastewater into clean water before it is released into the ocean. After the oil is extracted from the algae, the algal remains can be used to make fertilizer, animal feed, cosmetics, or other valuable products.
Source: Energy Boom
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