Biofuel is emerging as a viable alternative to increasingly expensive fossil fuels. Certain types of algae provide a high percentage of oil and can be inexpensive to cultivate. However, the least cost-effective segment of the processing is in dewatering the algae prior to oil extraction. Conventional methods have included surface skimming, centrifugation and membrane filtration, all of which are labor intensive and/or power hungry.
Algae may be grown in a variety of settings. One setting where algae are typically found is in lakes and ponds. Harvesting algae from lakes and other natural settings is challenging, in part because of the low concentrations that are found in uncontrolled growing conditions.
Another source of algae is specially constructed outdoor ponds.
Two distinct methods of aquaculture for such ponds are known as intensive mode and extensive mode. Both aquacultural techniques require the addition of fertilizers to the medium (e.g., water) to supply the necessary inorganic nutrients, phosphorous, nitrogen, iron, and trace metals, that are necessary for biomass production through photosynthesis.
The primary difference between the two modes of production is mixing of the growth medium. Intensive ponds employ mechanical mixing devices while extensive ponds rely on mixing by the wind. Therefore, factors that affect algae growth can be more accurately controlled in intensive aquaculture.
Outdoor ponds for intensive aquaculture typically are expensive and are frequently constructed of concrete and lined with plastic. A number of configurations of the ponds have been proposed for intensive aquaculture. However, the open air raceway ponds are typically the most important commercially. Raceway ponds employ paddle wheels to provide mixing. Chemical and biological parameters are carefully controlled.
Outdoor ponds for extensive aquaculture generally are larger than those for intensive aquaculture and normally are constructed in lake beds. The open air ponds are typically bounded by earthen dikes. No mixing devices are employed. Mixing in the pond is generated by the wind.
Another option for extensive ponds is the co-use with fish farming (e.g. catfish ponds). In this case waste products from the fish can be used at least in part as nutrients for the algae, and additional mixing is achieved through the aerators needed to supply the fish with sufficient oxygen.
The algal biomass is less concentrated in the extensive ponds than in the intensive ponds.
It has been observed that algae tend to concentrate in windrows at the edges of extensive ponds. The algae are often blown across the surface of the lake or pond where they collect and concentrate in windrows at the lee side. It has been recognized that the ability to harvest the windrows could significantly improve the process economics because of the higher concentration of algae.
It is not usually possible to consistently harvest windrows from a fixed harvesting plant site. Wind direction normally is somewhat unpredictable and may change frequently. The windrows may form at different locations along the side of the pond. When the windrow does not form at a fixed harvesting plant site, then a dilute suspension that is depleted in the algae is processed, which results in a reduced production rate. Harvesting costs are higher due to the processing costs associated with more dilute cultures.
Nevertheless, higher harvesting costs may be offset by the capital costs associated with constructing concrete and plastic lined ponds for intensive aquaculture. Pond construction costs per unit volume for the earthen extensive ponds are significantly lower than those for the lined concrete ponds of intensive aquaculture.
Dilute cultures of algae are generally uneconomical to process in part because of the problems and difficulties encountered in separating the algae from the water in which they grow (i.e., dewatering). The algae have a similar density as water (i.e. they are neutrally buoyant), are approximately 5 to 15 microns in size and have an elliptical shape, all of which makes them difficult to harvest.
Presently, algae is separated from the water within which it is found by using a chemical flocculating and/or coagulating agent in combination with a settler, centrifuge, filter or adsorbent, i.e. methods which either require large amounts of chemicals and/or power.
It would be desirable to more economically and efficiently harvest algae with minimal or no undesirable additives.
An alternative process for producing algae is by the use of a bioreactor, also called a photobioreactor when the system is exposed to sunlight. A bioreactor is a vessel in which is carried out a chemical process which involves organisms or biochemically active substances derived from such organisms. Bioreactors are commonly cylindrical, ranging in size from a few to hundreds of meters and are often made of stainless steel. In operation, water containing algae is fed into the bioreactor at a constant rate, and the bioreactor environment accelerates algae growth. Fouling can harm the overall sterility and efficiency of a bioreactor. To avoid such fouling, the bioreactor must be easily cleanable and must be as smooth as possible (i.e., a round shape is preferred).
It would be desirable to have an algae dewatering device which is useful in environments with low as well as high concentrations of algae and which would be configured to be located at the source of algae for efficient algae collection and dewatering.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2008-0128331-A1, published Jun. 5, 2008, entitled, “Particle Separation And Concentration System”; U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2009-0114607A1, published on May 7, 2009, entitled, “Fluidic Device And Method For Separation Of Neutrally Buoyant Particles”; U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 09-0114601-A1, published May 7, 2009, entitled, “Device And Method For Dynamic Processing And Water Purification”; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/120,093, filed May 13, 2008 (Publication no. 2009-0283455, published Nov. 19, 2009), entitled, “Fluidic Structures For Membraneless Particle Separation”; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/120,153, filed May 13, 2008, entitled, “Method And Apparatus For Splitting Fluid Flow In A Membraneless Particle Separator System; and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/234,373, filed Sep. 19, 2008 (Publication No. 2010-0072142, published Mar. 25, 2010), entitled, “Method And System For Seeding With Mature Floc To Accelerate Aggregation In A Water Treatment Process”; U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010-0314263, published Dec. 16, 2010, entitled, “Stand-Alone Integrated Water Treatment System For Distributed Water Supply To Small Communities”; U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010-0314323, published Dec. 16, 2010, entitled, “Method And Apparatus For Continuous Flow Membrane-Less Algae Dewatering”; U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010-0314325, published Dec. 16, 2010, entitled, “Spiral Mixer For Floc Conditioning”; U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010-0314327, published Dec. 16, 2010, entitled, “Platform Technology For Industrial Separations”, all naming Lean et al. as inventors; and U.S. Pat. No. 7,160,025, issued Jan. 9, 2007, and entitled Micromixer Apparatus And Method Of Using Same”, to Ji et al.; are each hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.
In one aspect of the presently described embodiments, the system comprises an inlet to receive at least a portion of the fluid containing the neutrally buoyant algae, a curved or spiral channel within which the fluid containing algae flows in a manner such that the neutrally buoyant algae concentrate in a band offset from a center of the channel, a first outlet for the fluid with algae within which the band flows, and, a second outlet for the remaining fluid.
In another aspect of the presently described embodiments, the inlet is angled to facilitate earlier formation of the band along an inner wall of the spiral channel using a Coanda effect where wall friction helps to attach impinging flow.
In another aspect of the presently described embodiments, the method comprises receiving at least a portion of the fluid containing the neutrally buoyant particles at an inlet, establishing a flow of the fluid in a spiral channel wherein the neutrally buoyant particles concentrate in a band through the curved or spiral channel in an asymmetric manner, outputting the fluid within which the band flows through a first outlet of the channel, and, outputting the remaining fluid through a second outlet of the spiral channel.
Illustrated in
Harvesting algae generally involves three steps. The first step, concentration or removal, increases the solid concentration in the form of about 0.02 to 0.04 percent weight to about 1 to 4 percent. The second step is dewatering, which then brings the solids to 8 to 25 percent. Depending on the biofuel recovery process, a third step may be needed in which the algae mass is dried to 85 to 92 percent solids by weight.
With continuing attention to
It is noted with attention to
In another embodiment the dewatering devices are portable and allow their use at locations of the pond where the algae concentration is highest. The storage device 114 would be part of the portable setup to allow intermediate storage of concentrated algae before moving it on for further processing.
Turning to
The dewatering methods of the present application rely on the use of dewatering devices that employ spiral separation technology, where the dewatering devices have a small physical footprint. Because of the small footprint, the dewatering devices can be mounted on a flatbed truck, trailer, raft or other easily maneuverable transport device that is readily moved to or near the site of the algae.
The amount of algae that is obtained from the stream of water fed into the dewatering device can vary over a wide range of concentrations, from dilute suspensions to more concentrated suspensions. The present concepts are capable of dewatering dilute suspensions found in naturally occurring lakes and ponds, as well as diluting high concentrations such as in bioreactors.
As mentioned above, dewatering device 106, employs a spiral separation technology designed to concentrate neutrally buoyant materials, such as algae.
Turning now more particularly to the spiral separation concepts of the dewatering devices,
With continuing reference to
It should also be appreciated that the inlet in some embodiments provides an angled or inclined entry of fluid to the system to facilitate quicker formation of the tubular band along an inner wall of the spiral channel as shown in
In operation, fluid containing neutrally buoyant particles is received in the system and first filtered through the screen 602. Coagulant can be added to the filtered water in the flash-mixer 604 if needed, before being introduced into the spiral device 606 through inlet 612. As the fluid flows in the spiral device 606, the band of neutrally buoyant particles is maintained to flow in an asymmetric manner, relative to the center of the channel. This asymmetry allows for convenient separation of the band (which is output through outlet 618). The clear effluent stream disposed of at output 616 or optionally re-circulated back to resupply input water source 620 with algae.
Turning to
Turning to
Alternatively, if the input water source contains a large amount of buoyant particles, as shown in
This embodiment also emphasizes that in some environments the need for coagulation and flocculation is not required, and the device shown in
Turning to
Dewatering device 1000 includes solar (PV) power supply system 1002 which converts sunlight into electricity which is in turn stored in battery storage 1004. The solar power supply system 1002 is configured of multiple individual solar panels, such as 1002a-1002n, arranged in an appropriate configuration such as parallel and/or serial arrangements to provide the amount of energy needed to run device 1000. In an alternative embodiment, a manually operable generator or dynamo 1006 is included to generate power when sunlight is not available for conversion. An electrical power controller 1008 is provided in operative connection to battery storage 1004 to control the energy provided to components of dewatering device 1000 of
In operation device 1000 receives source water 1010 via use of an optional input pump system 1011 supplied with power from controller 1008 at a suitable inlet (shown representatively) from an input water source that is, in one form, flowed through mesh filter 1012. It should be appreciated that mesh filter 1012 is designed to filter out relatively large particles from the input water. In this regard, the filter 1012 may be formed of a 2 mm-5 mm mesh material, although other sized filters may be used.
Water 1010 which has passed through filter 1012 is provided to an electrocoagulation system 1014. As illustrated in this drawing, electrocoagulation system 1014 is supplied with power, again by controller 1008. Water output from electrocoagulation system 1014 is then passed to the maturation buffer tank 1016.
The output from buffer tank 1016 is passed to spiral separator 1018 which has an output line 1020 within which is the concentrated algae, which is provided to a storage area 1022.
Spiral separator 1018 has a second output line 1024 which feeds an at least partially algae depleted stream of water to a feedback line 1026 to supply the input source water with algae of a certain size, not concentrated by spiral separator 1018.
Turning to
With reference now to
It will be appreciated that various of the above-disclosed and other features and functions, or alternatives thereof, may be desirably combined into many other different systems or applications. Also that various presently unforeseen or unanticipated alternatives, modifications, variations or improvements therein may be subsequently made by those skilled in the art which are also intended to be encompassed by the following claims.
This application claims the priority, as a divisional, of U.S. application Ser. No. 12/484,071, filed Jun. 12, 2009 (U.S. Patent Publication No. 2010-0314323, published Dec. 16, 2010), the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Cross Reference is hereby made to related patent applications, U.S. Patent Publication No. 2010-0314327, published Dec. 16, 2010, by Lean et al., entitled, “Platform Technology For Industrial Separations”; U.S. Patent Publication No. 2010-0314325-US-NP, published Dec. 16, 2010, by Lean et al., entitled, “Spiral Mixer for Floc Conditioning”; and U.S. Patent Publication No. 2010-0314263, published Dec. 16, 2010, by Lean et al., entitled, “Stand-Alone Integrated Water Treatment System for Distributed Water Supply to Small Communities”, the specifications of which are each incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 12484071 | Jun 2009 | US |
Child | 13443231 | US |