An outdoor test facility for the large-scale production of microalgae

Conference · Tue Mar 01 00:00:00 EST 1988

OSTI ID:5068121

Johnson, D A; Weissman, J; Goebel, R

The goal of the US Department of EnergySolar Energy Research Institute's Aquatic Species Program is to develop the technology base to produce liquid fuels from microalgae. This technology is being initially developed for the desert Southwest. As part of this program an outdoor test facility has been designed and constructed in Roswell, New Mexico. The site has a large existing infrastructure, a suitable climate, and abundant saline groundwater. This facility will be used to evaluate productivity of microalgae strains and conduct large-scale experiments to increase biomass productivity while decreasing production costs. Six 3-m/sup 2/ fiberglass raceways were constructed. Several microalgae strains were screened for growth, one of which had a short-term productivity rate of greater than 50 g dry wt m/sup /minus/2/ d/sup /minus/1/. Two large-scale, 0.1-ha raceways have also been built. These are being used to evaluate the performance trade-offs between low-cost earthen liners and higher cost plastic liners. A series of hydraulic measurements is also being carried out to evaluate future improved pond designs. Future plans include a 0.5-ha pond, which will be built in approximately 2 years to test a scaled-up system. This unique facility will be available to other researchers and industry for studies on microalgae productivity. 6 refs., 9 figs., 1 tab.

• Research Organization: Solar Energy Research Inst., Golden, CO (USA); Microbial Products, Inc., Fairfield, CA (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC02-83CH10093
• OSTI ID: 5068121
• Report Number(s): SERI/TP-231-3325; CONF-880215-4; ON: DE88001146
• Conference Information: Energy from biomass and wastes, New Orleans, LA, USA, 15 Feb 1988
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

09 BIOMASS FUELS
140504* -- Solar Energy Conversion-- Biomass Production & Conversion-- (-1989)
ALGAE
AQUACULTURE
AQUATIC SPECIES PROGRAM
BIOMASS
CULTIVATION TECHNIQUES
DIESEL
ENERGY SOURCES
FEDERAL REGION VI
FUELS
FUNCTIONAL MODELS
GASOLINE
LIPIDS
LIQUID FUELS
MICROALGAE
MICROORGANISMS
NEW MEXICO
NORTH AMERICA
PILOT PLANTS
PLANTS
PONDS
PRODUCTION
RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES
SALINITY
SURFACE WATERS
SYNTHETIC FUELS
TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT
UNICELLULAR ALGAE
USA