M. Glen KERTZ
Algae BioFuel
"Vertigro" --- Closed vertical growth system produces
algae biofuel, 100,000 gallons / year / acre.
http://www.valcent.net/s/Home.asp
http://cc.pubco.net/www.valcent.net/i/PDF/CorporateProfile.pdfhttp://www.valcent.net/s/Ecotech.asp?ReportID=182039
HDVB
High Density Vertical BioReactor
The Holy Grail in the renewable energy sector has been to create a clean, green process which uses only light, water and air to create fuel. Valcent's HDVB algae-to-biofuel technology mass produces algae, vegetable oil which is suitable for refining into a cost-effective, non-polluting biodiesel. The algae derived fuel will be an energy efficient replacement for fossil fuels and can be used in any diesel powered vehicle or machinery. In addition, 90% by weight of the algae is captured carbon dioxide, which is "sequestered" by this process and so contributes significantly to the reduction of greenhouse gases. Valcent has commissioned the world's first commercial-scale bioreactor pilot project at its test facility in El Paso, Texas.
Current data projects high yields of algae biomass, which will be harvested and processed into algal oil for biofuel feedstock and ingredients in food, pharmaceutical, and health and beauty products at a significantly lower cost than comparable oil-producing crops such as palm and soyabean (soybean).
The HDVB technology was developed by Valcent in recognition and response to a huge unsatisfied demand for vegetable oil feedstock by Biodiesel refiners and marketers. Biodiesel, in 2000, was the only alternative fuel in the United States to have successfully completed the Environmental Protection Agency required Tier I and Tier II health effects testing under the Clean Air Act. These tests conclusively demonstrated Biodiesel's significant reduction of virtually all regulated emissions. A U.S. Department of Energy study has shown that the production and use of Biodiesel, compared to petroleum diesel, resulted in a 78.5% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions.
Algae, like all plants, require carbon dioxide, water with nutrients and sunlight for growth. The HDVB bioreactor technology is ideal for location adjacent to heavy producers of carbon dioxide such as coal fired power plants, refineries or manufacturing facilities, as the absorption of CO2 by the algae significantly reduces greenhouse gases. These reductions represent value in the form of Certified Emission Reduction credits, so-called carbon credits, in jurisdictions that are signatories to the Kyoto Protocol. Although the carbon credit market is still small, it is growing fast, valued in 2005 at $6.6 Billion in the European Union and projected to increase to $77 Billion if the United States accepts a similar national cap-and-trade program.
Valcent's HDVB bioreactor system can be deployed on non-arable land, requires very little water due to its closed circuit process, does not incur significant labor costs and does not employ fossil fuel burning equipment, unlike traditional food/biofuel crops, like soy and palm oil. They require large agricultural acreage, huge volumes of water and chemicals, and traditional farm equipment and labor. They are also much less productive than the HDVB process: soybean, palm oil and conventional pond-grown algae typically yield 48 gallons, 635 gallons and 10,000 gallons per acre per year respectively.
Vertigro :
... HDVG :
Videos
Vertigro :
http://cc.pubco.net/www.valcent.net/i/misc/Vertigro/index.html
High-Density Vertical Growth :
http://cc.pubco.net/www.valcent.net/i/misc/HDVG/index.html
Energy Policy TV - Transportation Channel: Algae to be Refined
...
Hawes, 2007/09/29, Toyota Europe. Algae to be Refined Into
Cost-Effective, Non-Polluting Biodiesel, Kertz, 2007/09/26,
Valcent Products ...
http://video.energypolicytv.com/displaypage.php?vkey=c4d7336496819a46a1b6&channel=Transportation
Vertical Algae biofuel Growing (see description and invest) on
...
Videos / Vertical Algae biofuel Growing (see description and
invest) ...
http://www.scribemedia.org/2007/11/15/glen-kertz-valcent-vertigro-algae-biofuel/
...
http://technorati.com/videos/youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D_ToojK_MJd0
Energy Policy TV - Biofuels Channel: Algae to be Refined Into
Cost ...
Currently playing... Algae to be Refined Into Cost-Effective,
Non-Polluting Biodiesel, Kertz, 2007-09-26, Valcent Products ...
http://video.energypolicytv.com/displaypage.php?channel=Biofuels&vkey=c4d7336496819a46a1b6
YouTube - Algae Biofuel Innovation Discussed on KTAB-TV
Glen Kertz, plant physiologist and President of Valcent ...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYURCN7o-Mk
YouTube Video Box | Glen Kertz Discusses Algae Biofuel on Happy
...
YouTube - Glen Kertz Discusses Algae Biofuel on Happy Hour
Glen Kertz, president of Valcent Products, www.valcent.net ...
http://youtube.com/watch?v=8hOR0RuD4DE
http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/science/04/01/algae.oil/index.html#cnnSTCVideo
Algae: 'The Ultimate in Renewable Energy'
Miles O'Brien
(1 April , 2008 ) ANTHONY, Texas (CNN) -- Texas may be best known for "Big Oil." But the oil that could some day make a dent in the country's use of fossil fuels is small. Microscopic, in fact: algae. Literally and figuratively, this is green fuel.
Plant physiologist Glen Kertz believes algae can some day be competitive as a source for biofuel.
"Algae is the ultimate in renewable energy," Glen Kertz, president and CEO of Valcent Products, told CNN while conducting a tour of his algae greenhouse on the outskirts of El Paso.
Kertz, a plant physiologist and entrepreneur, holds about 20 patents. And he is psyched about the potential algae holds, both as an energy source and as a way to deal with global warming.
"We are a giant solar collecting system. We get the bulk of our energy from the sunshine," said Kertz.
Algae are among the fastest growing plants in the world, and about 50 percent of their weight is oil. That lipid oil can be used to make biodiesel for cars, trucks, and airplanes. Watch how pond scum can be turned into fuel »
Most people know algae as "pond scum." And until recently, most energy research and development projects used ponds to grow it.
But instead of ponds, Valcent uses a closed, vertical system, growing the algae in long rows of moving plastic bags. The patented system is called Vertigro, a joint venture with Canadian alternative energy company Global Green Solutions. The companies have invested about $5 million in the Texas facility.
"A pond has a limited amount of surface area for solar absorption," said Kertz.
"By going vertical, you can get a lot more surface area to expose cells to the sunlight. It keeps the algae hanging in the sunlight just long enough to pick up the solar energy they need to produce, to go through photosynthesis," he said.
Kertz said he can produce about 100,000 gallons of algae oil a year per acre, compared to about 30 gallons per acre from corn; 50 gallons from soybeans.
Using algae as an alternative fuel is not a new idea. The U.S. Department of Energy studied it for about 18 years, from 1978 to 1996. But according to Al Darzins of the DOE's National Renewable Energy Lab, in 1996 the feds decided that algae oil could never compete economically with fossil fuels.
The price of a barrel of oil in 1996? About 20 bucks!
Government scientists experimented with algae in open ponds in California, Hawaii, and in Roswell, New Mexico.
But that involved a lot of land area, with inherent problems of evaporation and contamination from other plant species and various flying and swimming critters. Darzins said NREL switched from algae research to focus on cellulosic ethanol. That's ethanol made from plants like switchgrass and plant stover -- the leaves and stalks left after a harvest -- but not edible crops such as corn and soybeans.
Valcent research scientist Aga Pinowska said there are about 65,000 known algae species, with perhaps hundreds of thousands more still to be identified.
A big part of the research at the west Texas facility involves determining what type of algae produces what type of fuel. One species may be best suited for jet fuel, while the oil content of another may be more efficient for truck diesel.
In the Vertigro lab, Pinowska studies the care and feeding of algae for just such specifics. She said even small changes in the nutrients that certain algae get can help create a more efficient oil content.
And she said a knowledge of algae's virtues goes way back.
"Even the Aztecs knew it was beneficial; they used it as a high protein food," said Pinowska.
The other common commercial use of algae today is as a health food drink, usually sold as "Spirulina."
I'm too sexy for my pond
And who knew that single celled plants could be such "hotties" when it comes to sex? Kertz said it's a real "algae orgy" under the microscope.
Some algae reproduce sexually, some asexually, while many combine both modes. In some green algae the type of reproduction may be altered if there are changes in environmental conditions, such as lack of moisture or nutrients.
Intriguing details like that keep Kertz and other scientists searching for more and different algae. While dusty west Texas may not be the best hunting grounds, he said he is always on the lookout for samples in puddles, streams or ponds.
Locating algae processing plants intelligently can add to their efficiency. Locating algae facilities next to carbon producing power plants, or manufacturing plants, for instance, the plants could sequester the C02 they create and use those emissions to help grow the algae, which need the C02 for photosynthesis.
And after more than a decade hiatus, the U.S. government is back in the algae game. The 2007 Energy Security and Independence Act includes language promoting the use of algae for biofuels. From the Pentagon to Minnesota to New Zealand, both governments and private companies are exploring the use of algae to produce fuel.
But Al Darzins of the National Renewable Energy Lab said the world is still probably 5 to 10 years away from any substantial use of biofuels.
"There's not any one system that anyone has chosen yet. Whatever it is has to be dirt, dirt cheap," said Darzins.
Patents
[ HTML ]
European Patent Office
http://v3.espacenet.com
Plant Growing Room
US6173529
2001-01-16
The growing room includes a closed loop track suspended above
the floor and extending throughout the room. A plurality of
racks are movably supported on the track by a motorized mover
system. The racks include a frame for supporting a plurality of
growing sheets for supporting and growing the plants. The
growing sheets are made of a translucent material and include a
plurality of growing cells formed by affixing a plurality of
lengths of membrane material to the sheet at predetermined
locations. The growing cells are gas permeable, liquid
impermeable, and translucent.
Plant Growing Room
US6122861
2000-09-26
The growing room includes a closed loop track suspended above
the floor and extending throughout the room. A plurality of
racks are movably supported on the track by a motorized mover
system. The racks include a frame for supporting a plurality of
growing sheets for supporting and growing the plants. The
growing sheets are made of a translucent material and include a
plurality of growing cells formed by affixing a plurality of
lengths of membrane material to the sheet at predetermined
locations. The growing cells are gas permeable, liquid
impermeable, and translucent.
Plant Growing Room
US5664369
1997-09-09
The growing room includes a closed loop track suspended above
the floor and extending throughout the room. A plurality of
racks are movably supported on the track by a motorized mover
system. The racks include a frame for supporting a plurality of
growing sheets for supporting and growing the plants. The
growing sheets are made of a translucent material and include a
plurality of growing cells formed by affixing a plurality of
lengths of membrane material to the sheet at predetermined
locations. The growing cells are gas permeable, liquid
impermeable, and translucent.
ELECTRONIC STIMULATION OF PLANTS
US5464456
Also published as: WO9501090
1995-01-12
The invention relates to the electronic stimulation of plant
development. More particularly, it relates to the stimulation of
plant development through electrifying the environment around a
plant or part of a plant with an electrical field, preferably a
pulsed field. The present invention also relates to an
electronic method of stimulating the active membrane transport
systems of growing plants and harvested plant products in order
to promote growth and extend the shelf life of harvested
material. The invention is of particular interest as it relates
to shipment and marketing of cut flowers, greens and trees and
more particularly to methods and apparatus for handling,
shipping, and marketing of cut flowers.
Integument and Method for Micropropagation and Tissue
Culturing
US5171683
1992-12-15
An integument and related process for the micropropagation of
tissue and for the culturing of other organic matter is made of
a translucent and semipermeable membrane.
Automated System for Micropropagation and Culturing Organic
Material
US5088231
1992-02-18
An automated system for growing plant material includes an first
length of membrane material having a plurality of open growing
chambers and a second length of membrane material having a
plurality of growing chambers filled with the plant material. A
media preparation unit mixes measured amounts of individual
stock solutions for dispensing media into the open growing
chambers by a fill unit. A fill check scanner unit determines
that a sufficient amount of media has been dispensed within each
growing chamber. A sterilization unit sterilizes the media
filled open growing chambers which then pass to a cooling and
storage unit for cooling and storing the media-filled open
growing chambers until ready for planting with plant material.
The second length of plant-filled growing chambers are housed in
a plant culture room where the plant material is permitted to
grow. A growth detection scanner determines the extent of growth
of the plant material. Upon the plant material reaching a
predetermined growth, the plant-filled growing chambers pass to
a surface sterilization unit for surface sterilizing the
plant-filled growing chambers. A cutting opens the growing
chambers and the plant material is removed. The removed plant
material is passed through a cutting unit where the plant
material is cut into pieces. Each piece of plant material is
then planted into a media-filled open growing chamber from the
cooling and storing unit. A heat sealer closes the open end of
the newly plant-filled growing chambers. The newly plant-filled
growing chambers are then transported back to the culture room.
A tractor feed apparatus transports the lengths of growing
chambers throughout the automated system and a control system
synchronizes and controls the operation of each of the units and
tractor feed apparatus.
Automated System for Micropropagation and Culturing Organic
Material
US4978505
1990-12-18
An automated system for growing plant material includes an first
length of membrane material having a plurality of open growing
chambers and a second length of membrane material having a
plurality of growing chambers filled with the plant material. A
media preparation unit mixes stock solutions for dispensing into
the growing chambers by a fill unit. A scanner unit determines
that a sufficient amount of media has been dispensed within each
chamber. A sterilization unit sterilizes the chambers which then
pass to a cooling and storage unit until ready for planting with
plant material. The second length of plant-filled growing
chambers are housed in a plant culture room where the plant
material is permitted to grow. A scanner determines the extent
of growth of the plant material. Upon the material reaching a
predetermined growth, the growing chambers pass to a surface
sterilization unit. A cutting unit opens the chambers and the
plant material is removed. The material is passed through a
cutting unit where the material is cut into pieces. Each piece
of material is then planted into a media-filled chamber from the
cooling and storing unit. A heat sealer closes the open end of
the newly plant-filled growing chambers. The newly plant-filled
growing chambers are then transported back to the culture room.
A tractor feed apparatus transports the lengths of growing
chambers throughout the automated system and a control system
controls the operation of each of the units and tractor feed
apparatus.
INTEGUMENT WITH BREAKABLE INNER CONTAINERS
WO9015527
1990-12-27
Disclosed is an integument (10) having a gas-permeable outer
membrane (12) which is contaminant and liquid impermeable, and
which includes one or more internal containers (1). The internal
containers (1) can be opened from the outside of the integument
(10), to release their contents, without opening the integument
outer membrane (12) or breaching the integrity thereof. The
system is designed so that the outer membrane (12) houses a
biological product and the inner containers (1) house a bacteria
media, or other product which has an effect on the biological
product when the inner container (1) is opened. In an alternate
system, the biological product is housed in the inner container
(1) and the outer membrane (12) holds a product which affects
that biological product. The system can be advantageously
employed in micropropagation, seed growth or inoculation of
plant material, bacterial culturing, or crystal growth, as well
as in many other applications.
INTEGUMENT AND METHOD FOR CULTURING AND GROWING ORGANIC
MATERIAL
WO9015526
1990-12-27
An integument (10) and related process for the culturing and
growing of living organic material (38). The integument (10)
includes a cellule (30) made of a gas permeable, liquid and
contaminant impermeable membrane (12) for completely enclosing
and sealing the culture (42) from biological contaminants in the
ambient environment. The membrane (12) allows gas exchange
between the living organic material (38) and the ambient
environment to provide enhanced growth and the prevention of
contamination.
AUTOMATED SYSTEM FOR MICROPROPAGATION AND CULTURING ORGANIC
MATERIAL
WO9006058
1990-06-14
An automated system (10) for growing plant material (122)
includes a first length of membrane (24) having a plurality of
open growing chambers (30) which are subjected to a fill unit
(70) for dispensing growth medium (92), a fill check scanner
(90), a sterilization unit (100), and a cooling and storage unit
(110). A second length of plant-filled growing chambers (30) is
subjected to a growth detection scanner (140) contained in a
plant culture room (130), and is then transferred to a surface
sterilization unit (320) and a cutting unit (280). Plant
material (122) is removed, subjected to a cutting unit (371),
and inserted into the media-filled chambers (30) of the first
length of membrane (24), which is then sealed by a heat sealer
(310). A tractor feed apparatus (50) transports the lengths of
membrane (24) throughout the automated system (10).
INTEGUMENT AND METHOD FOR CULTURING AND GROWING ORGANIC
MATERIAL
WO8912385
1989-12-28
Also published as: EP0418323 (A1)
An integument (50) and related process for the culturing and
growing of living organic material (74). The integument (50)
includes a cellule (72) made of a gas permeable, liquid and
contaminant impermeable membrane (12) for completely enclosing
and sealing the culture (74) from biological contaminants in the
ambient environment. The membrane (12) allows gas exchange
between the living organic material (74) and the ambient
environment to provide enhanced growth and the prevention of
contamination.
HUELLE UND VERFAHREN ZUR ZUECHTUNG VON ORGANISCHEM MATERIAL.
AT92247T
1993-08-15
An automated system for growing plant material includes an first
length of membrane material having a plurality of open growing
chambers and a second length of membrane material having a
plurality of growing chambers filled with the plant material. A
media preparation unit mixes stock solutions for dispensing into
the growing chambers by a fill unit. A scanner unit determines
that a sufficient amount of media has been dispensed within each
chamber. A sterilization unit sterilizes the chambers which then
pass to a cooling and storage unit until ready for planting with
plant material. The second length of plant-filled growing
chambers are housed in a plant culture room where the plant
material is permitted to grow. A scanner determines the extent
of growth of the plant material. Upon the material reaching a
predetermined growth, the growing chambers pass to a surface
sterilization unit. A cutting unit opens the chambers and the
plant material is removed. The material is passed through a
cutting unit where the material is cut into pieces. Each piece
of material is then planted into a media-filled chamber from the
cooling and storing unit. A heat sealer closes the open end of
the newly plant-filled growing chambers. The newly plant-filled
growing chambers are then transported back to the culture room.
A tractor feed apparatus transports the lengths of growing
chambers throughout the automated system and a control system
controls the operation of each of the units and tractor feed
apparatus.
Integument for the Preservation of Organic Material
IN172364
1993-07-03
INTEGUMENTO,COMBINACAO CONDUTIVA AO CRESCIMENTO DE
CELULAS,EMBALAGEM DE INTEGUMENTO,PROCESSO DE CULTIVAR MATERIAL
ORGANICO,PROCESSO DE MICROPROPAGACAO E PROCESSO PARA A
PRODUCAO DE UM VEGETAL COM FOLHAS
BR8807398
1990-04-10
AUTOMATED SYSTEM FOR MICROPROPEGATION...
CA2004325
1990-06-01
GROWING STORAGE AND SHIPMENT CONTAINER
CN1048010
1990-12-26
Glen KERTZ & VertiG
