December 5, 2011

Algae Biofuel business develops a new production facility on the Eyre Peninsula

5 December 2011 -- Algarythm Pty Ltd is the operating company of the Darke Peak Algae Biofuel Commercialisation project. South Australian based Fishace Pty Ltd; trading as Fishace Ecological Engineering, has developed an innovative method to produce algal biomass in commercial quantities. The pilot plant will develop more energy and water efficient ways of producing micro algal cultures in association with our academic partner, the Materials and BioEnergy Group of Flinders University, Adelaide.

Darke Peak is a regional township located in Central Eyre Peninsula, South Australia, some 550kms by road to the West of Adelaide. Fishace Pty Ltd owns a development approved 2.4 hectare land site adjacent to the railway track and grain silos where the production facility will be sited. The project utilises low cost, simple earth based pond systems with highly technological - Red LED Algae Photo-Bioreactors for increasing algal densities, Oloid pond mixing nanotechnology and simple biofuel processing techniques.

The demonstration project is designed to produce an estimated 165 tonnes of algal biomass, refining offsite to 100,000 litres of raw biodiesel per annum. We will use local grain waste as a nutrient feedstock, culturing local saline algae species from biologically degraded land and saline groundwater.

The process consists of using clay lined ponds connected by piping in gravity fed water circulative series that receives solar pumped saline groundwater not used by agriculture. Native food fish will be stocked with their wastes acting as nutrient stock for the algaculture system. The algal powder is comprised of high levels of lipids and will be sold as a dry biomass for processing to biodiesel and other by-products.

Our community based mission is to develop low cost integrated algaculture and ecological solutions for local businesses including agri-business and mineral extraction industries on land unsuitable for agricultural food production.

We would also like to assist in reinvigorating our local rural townships as a model for future sustainable living , with a third generation biofuel facility contributing to Small Medium Enterprise (SME) industrial clustering, producing high value cottage industry by-products such as boutique salts, glycerine, health products, food fish, carbon feedstock, to the regional economy. The decentralisation of bioenergy transport networks also greatly reduces the regional carbon footprint.

Original post available here.

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