Comments on: Man Creates Homemade Biodiesel from Algae

By: Mothers "no" best about DIY energy projects [cartoon] | Eco-Snobbery Sucks

Thu, 24 Feb 2011 16:32:30 +0000

[...] Treehugger: DIY Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (Video) From Cleantechnica: Man Creates Homemade Biodiesel from Algae From Mother Earth News: Do-It-Yourself Solar Heat From Greenwala: Turn Steel Into Solar Panels with [...]

By: Hank D and the Bee: Mothers “no” best

Hank D and the Bee: Mothers “no” best — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 14:16:02 +0000

[...] projects, not ESP) From Treehugger: DIY Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (Video) From Cleantechnica: Man Creates Homemade Biodiesel from Algae From Mother Earth News: Do-It-Yourself Solar Heat From Treehugger again: Ingenuity + Wind + Text [...]

By: Hank D and the Bee: Mothers “no” best – Ecoscraps

Hank D and the Bee: Mothers “no” best – Ecoscraps — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 14:13:51 +0000

By: Hank D and the Bee: Mothers “no” best | Joe Mohr's Cartoon Archive

Thu, 24 Feb 2011 12:15:35 +0000

By: Amir

Amir — Wed, 06 May 2009 02:50:16 +0000

Dear Garret, could I get in touch with you?, if so, my email acdcookies@gmail.com

By: Amir

Amir — Wed, 06 May 2009 02:50:00 +0000

Dear Garret, could I get in touch with you?, if so, my email acdcookies@gmail.com

By: Rogier Noort

Rogier Noort — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 15:08:54 +0000

It would seem to me that learning “the art” is more difficult than you might think. After searching the web there is suprisingly little information on creating biodiesel form algae. The above story gets repeated over and over and Charlie Trafford has a “secret’ recipe.

The other “reference” I keep coming across is the video of the Stanford Univiersity guy who build his own reactor. Other than that, it’s thin, very thin (just maybe algaegeek.com might cut it).

It is very possible, and I agree with Garret, this needs to be out in the open, quickly. If, or rather when, I get around to it, I will defenitely make the knowledge open source.

I can’t help feeling that some folks do not want this to be public knowledge, it’s just to easy to make at home.

By: Rogier Noort

Rogier Noort — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 15:08:00 +0000

The other “reference” I keep coming across is the video of the Stanford Univiersity guy who build his own reactor. Other than that, it’s thin, very thin (just maybe algaegeek.com might cut it).

It is very possible, and I agree with Garret, this needs to be out in the open, quickly. If, or rather when, I get around to it, I will defenitely make the knowledge open source.

I can’t help feeling that some folks do not want this to be public knowledge, it’s just to easy to make at home.

By: hotel riccione

hotel riccione — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 20:44:26 +0000

Whow! Very nice news. I would try to produce biodiesel, for fun: is there a way to be introduced in this art?

By: hotel riccione

hotel riccione — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 20:44:00 +0000

Whow! Very nice news. I would try to produce biodiesel, for fun: is there a way to be introduced in this art?

By: Tony Rusi

Tony Rusi — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 06:14:02 +0000

Ariel,

Can you verify this story by contacting Charlie Trafford directly please. So many of my friends think it is a scam. Could you also interview Dr. Glen Kertz of Valcent and get his actual production numbers to date. You should also do a review of Josh Tickell’s movie titled “Fuel”.

By: Tony Rusi

Tony Rusi — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 06:14:00 +0000

Ariel,

By: Garrett

Garrett — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 05:13:20 +0000

Growing algae for bio diesel is cool, but the technical expertise necessary to make it commercially is daunting. Ethanol is a much simpler fuel that can be made using technology that anyone can put together in their backyard. The argument that ethanol production somehow competes with other food production may be accurate in some cases, specifically where large agro-chemical corporations have tried to grow corn for ethanol factories. However, very practical production of ethanol can happen using more energy dense and yield efficient crops. One such crop is cattail reeds. Grown in household wastewater an acre of cattail can yield over 100,000 gallons of ethanol per year, and does not conflict with food crop farm production. As an added benefit, the cattail assist in remediating sewage. Such operations can be as small as a backyard greywater pond coupled with a methane digester fitted as a septic tank. The waste pulp left from fermentation and stillage is actually protein enriched livestock feed due to yeast and microbial activity. Higher yields can be achieved by adding cellulosic conversion of stalks and stems in the ethanol stillage. High cost enzymatic cellulose conversion is unnecessary with the use of sulfuric acid for cellulose decomposition.

Algae cultivation (for bio-diesel and/or as food for aquaculture) has a place in such a system, as an air scrubber to absorb CO2 from fermentation and methane production. Such systems can be scaled as small as a single household on a little land, to aggregated waste/energy for metro condos and apts.

I “get” the bio-deisel urge, and applaud it as an alternative to an oil derrick, but at the time of the model-T car there were more stills in the US than gasoline stands, and my grandfathers model-T still gets 31mpg running entirely on ethanol that he’s always made in the back 40 under cover of night “an hidden from the revenue-ers”. It always makes me wonder whose idea prohibition was?

Someone needs to design and release a blueprint for energy which households can install with basic plumbing and a little electrical wiring skill; and that plan needs to be free and open to anyone with the will to build it.

By: bob the mob

bob the mob — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 00:00:03 +0000

@Durwood

I think the benefits of making the US energy self-reliant outweigh the costs.

By: bob the mob

bob the mob — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 00:00:00 +0000

@Durwood

I think the benefits of making the US energy self-reliant outweigh the costs.