OriginOil Milking Algae for Oil
Quick: what do cows and algae have in common? You can milk them both–sort of. L.A.-based OriginOil has developed a technique called LiveExtraction that uses electrical pulses to extract oil from inside of algae without actually killing the algae itself–in other words, OriginOil milks the algae for its oil.
Chip in a few dollars a month to help support independent cleantech coverage that helps to accelerate the cleantech revolution!
In comparison, other algae fuel companies harvest genetically-engineered algae (and kill it), extract oil, and wait for more algae to grow. But OriginOil’s method allows a single algae cell to produce oil for much longer. saving both time and money.
OriginOil hasn’t completely ditched genetically-engineered algae, though–the company says that it “expects the new Live Extraction process to coexist with our daily ‘destructive’ process to create an even more efficient combined cycle” by removing a small portion of the algae culture daily, refreshing it and in turn removing toxins and leaving space for more algae to grow.
Live Extraction has been proven in the laboratory, and now OriginOil is scaling it up to a 200-gallon tank. In other words, milked algae may be in your gas tank very soon.
Have a tip for CleanTechnica? Want to advertise? Want to suggest a guest for our CleanTech Talk podcast? Contact us here.
Latest CleanTechnica.TV Video
CleanTechnica uses affiliate links. See our policy here.
