Burning waste cooking oil

[president]

I have thought about it, and I would like to, but just haven't gotten that far yet.

[Michael Fisher]

Stupid porphyra umbilicalis.? This is wasting my time.? I need to go buy a hydrometer tonight unless I can find a freshwater species.
Didn't somebody tell me the name of a freshwater species available in pill form as a supplement?
Hmmm...

Some problems at this point:
-rapid evaporation of water
-need cheap source of carbon dioxide
-a recurring need to recalculate fertilizer and salt portions when adding more water
-unknown fertilizer schedule and quantity
-unknown growth periods and timeline (need a well-researched species)
-wasting electricity on slow-growing species
-unknown effects of "natural light" growing bulb
-manual lighting leads to inconsistent 4 to 12-hour daily light exposure

[Michael Fisher]

Somewhere in my research, I stumbled upon the fact that some species of blue-green algae have not changed at all in the last 3.5 BILLION years because they are naturally perfect.? No other organism on Earth is as efficient as algae at converting sunlight into energy.

Algae is an extremely simple life form, absorbing only nitrogen and carbon dioxide from the air, hydrogen from water, and sunlight to create lipids, carbohydrates, proteins, and enzymes with unmatched efficiency.

The bottom of the food chain is the most efficient organism on Earth!

[Kat Kanning]

Why are you having trouble growing them then?   

Spirolina?

[Lloyd Danforth]

Spirolina?  Isn't that some kind of  pasta?

[Michael Fisher]

Spirulina! ?Yes! ?Thank you, Kat!

There seems to be a mountain of research behind spirulina.

-Cultured Spirulina grows so fast, it is harvested every 3 days. ?
-Spirulina grows rapidly in the hot desert sun.
-Spirulina grows naturally in lakes with extremely high pH levels, but it is also harvested from large-scale commercial ponds.

Evaluation of three Spirulina species grown under similar conditions for their growth and biochemicals
http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/abstract/109752093/ABSTRACT

[Kat Kanning]

You're welcome.  I eat the stuff, just can't spell it 

[Michael Fisher]

Environmental Factors for Optimisation of Spirulina Biomass in Laboratory Culture
http://www.ansinet.org/biotech/2005/19-22.pdf

[AlanM]

So what kind of oil content is there with Spirulina? Can it produce sufficient oil AND leave behind nutritious pulp?

[Michael Fisher]

Doh, spirulina normally has 4-7% lipids. ? ?Perhaps the nitrogen-starvation phase could radically change this.

Yes, it is extremely nutritious.

[Michael Fisher]

MIT research on ALRs (air-lift reactors) shows the maximum diameter of growth medium (water) should be preferably 6 inches or less, and methods of randomizing partical flow, such as through a constantly flowing medium and the introduction of gas bubbles, aids in maximizing light exposure throughout the water.

This research is in response to NASA's search for efficient algae production methods for use as a life support system in space.

Air-Lift Bioreactors for Algal Growth on Flue Gas: Mathematical Modeling and Pilot-Plant Studies
http://www.greenfuelonline.com/news/IECR.pdf

[AlanM]

Interesting, general information site about the processes of growing, harvesting, and drying spirulina

http://www.spirulina.com/SPFarm.html

[Michael Fisher]

I wonder whether or not the pill-form spirulina species I'm going to buy will be freshwater or saltwater.  It seems one spirulina manufacturing plant in Hawaii uses washed spirulina grown in saltwater while others are using fresh water.

We'll find out.

[Michael Fisher]

What is Spirulina?
Enormous power in small algae
http://www.sp100.com/spirulina_idx.html

Each individual alga is 300-500 microns in length...


Wow, at 0.3 to 0.5mm per organism, I'll need to buy a powerful microscope to see it.?

It might not be the most efficient species, but if it proves simple enough to find (in supplement pills) and grow (in 6" or less of fresh water with daily stirring and fertilizer), then this may be the solution we're looking for.

Hopefully, someday, we'll get to the point of actually harvesting some oil.? LOL

[AlanM]

"On the other hand, because spirulina is multi-celled, the cell membranes are soft and very easy to digest and therefore require no processing. Because of this, bowel movements do not turn green."

I was worried about that.