Algae Cleans Water, is Used for Biodiesel at RIT

A "doubly green" project from the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) gives new hope for the adoption of algae biodiesels, while also providing clean wastewater. By using algae to absorb nitrates and phosphates and reduce bacteria and toxins in wastewater, the result is clean wastewater and a usable biodiesel stock.

Newly-cleaned wastewater is channeled back into the receiving bodies of water at a water treatment plant, and the algae stock can be used to power buses, construction vehicles, and farm equipment. The research team suggests that replacing diesel fuel with algae would reduce emissions of sulfur and other particulates found in fossil fuels.

Although many see the benefits of using algae biodiesel, there are still some drawbacks such as cold weather issues. Like other diesel fuels, the algae gels in cold weather and needs to be blended with other biodiesel to get a useable pour point. To remedy this issue, Eric Lannan, graduate student at RIT, and Emily Young, a chemistry major at the university, isolated and extracted algae-produced lipids to yield small amounts of biodiesel. They are currently growing the single-celled algae strain Scenedesmus using wastewater from a nearby water treatment plant.

Jeff Lodge, associate professor of biological science at RIT, and Lannan have increased their algae production from 30 gallons of wastewater in a lab, to 100 gallons in a tank. They plan to build a mobile greenhouse at the Irondequoit water treatment plant in spring, which will allow them to increase production to about 1,000 gallons of wastewater.

Source: Renewable Energy World