Algae - natures answer to fossil fuels and plastics!!
Рет қаралды 136,138
Algae has been used by humans for thousands of years, but the idea of using algae as a secret weapon to combat climate change is definitely a modern day concept. The more scientists delve into the biology of algae, the more species they find and the more they discover just how incredibly versatile this primordial organism really is.
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Spark Network interview with Just Have a Think's Dave Borlace
kzfaq.info/get/bejne/qdSDmclyq7KZmmg.html
Spark Network podcast link
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/just-have-a-think-viral-youtube-host-dave-borlace/id1595476719?i=1000549595355
Spark Network Web page
sparknetwork.com/
iClima Webpage
www.iclima.earth/
Video Transcripts available at our website
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Interested in mastering and remembering the concepts that I present in my videos? Check out the FREE Dive Deeper mini-courses offered by the Center for Behavior and Climate. These mini-courses teach the main concepts in select JHAT videos and go beyond to help you learn additional scientific or conservation concepts. The courses are great for teachers to use or for individual learning.climatechange.behaviordevelopmentsolutions.com/just-have-a-think-jhat
Research Links
Symbrosia - Methane supression with algae
symbrosia.co/projects-all
iwi - algae supplements
iwilife.com/
Science Direct Paper on Algae carbon sequestration
www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982219308863
Articles about SuSeWi Algae Food company
www.thetimes.co.uk/article/why-algae-is-the-food-of-the-future-6wr3fnj9g
www.thetimes.co.uk/article/can-algae-help-in-the-fight-against-climate-change-8kfbrrgn3
Exxon and Viridos
news.mongabay.com/2021/07/playing-the-long-game-exxonmobil-gambles-on-algae-biofuel/
corporate.exxonmobil.com/News/Newsroom/News-releases/2018/0306_ExxonMobil-and-Synthetic-Genomics-algae-biofuels-program-targets-10000-barrels-per-day-by-2025
www.viridos.com/about-us/
Maple forest carbon sequestration
medcraveonline.com/FREIJ/carbon-sequestration-how-much-can-forestry-sequester-co2.html
Algae factoids
www.forbes.com/sites/jenniferhicks/2018/06/15/see-how-algae-could-change-our-world/
Florida Red Tides
myfwc.com/research/redtide/general/about/#:~:text=Red%20tides%2C%20also%20called%20harmful,concentrations%2C%20often%20discoloring%20the%20water.&text=In%20Florida%20waters%2C%20K.,range%20of%20salinities%20and%20temperatures.
US DOE Funding
www.energy.gov/articles/doe-announces-614-million-biofuels-research-reduce-transportation-emissions
PHB, PLA, PHA and PHV - Bioplastics
en.cryptonomist.ch/blog/earthbi/pla-and-pha-phb-phv-family-the-sustainable-bioplastics/
microbialcellfactories.biomedcentral.com/track/pdf/10.1186/s12934-020-01491-1.pdf
Methane emissions from livestock
time.com/6125014/cows-agricultural-emissions/
@KlaudiusL 2 жыл бұрын
Algae has 2 main pros against normals crops for biofuel: - you can make a farm almost everywhere, no need fertile soil, just sun and water - they do not need freshwater, recirculating sea salt water, produces best result.
@TimeSurfer206 10 ай бұрын
I would love to make an Algae farm using 3' diameter, 15' tall tubes. Valves and tubing throughout to simplify harvesting. Bubblers for aeration, etc...
@Burnamanism 2 жыл бұрын
Also worth mentioning it’s potential for ‘bioremediation’ of wastewater effluents from industry and agriculture, especially removal of fertilizer runoff-likely the culprit for those Florida red tides you mentioned.
@JustHaveaThink 2 жыл бұрын
Very good point
@janami-dharmam 2 жыл бұрын
to be really effective, the waste water must be diluted 10 times (or so) before these microbes can act on them. Otherwise they will simply kill these microbes --- so you need lots of water to start with
@jimurrata6785 2 жыл бұрын
The vast majority of toxic costal algae blooms in Florida are due to phosphate mining. Fertilizers are definitely toxic to the greater environment but a necessity of the intensive farming favored by agra-giants that feed so many of us. You are absolutely on point about remediating farm runoff. It would be far better to contain it to the fields and reduce the need for using more and more. How do you think the chemical companies feel about this prospect? 🤔
@SuperJLTube 2 жыл бұрын
I think there's a strain that eats plastic too. Maybe set up an algae farm in the Pacific garbage patch
@clivestainlesssteelwomble7665 2 жыл бұрын
@@jimurrata6785 They are used in fertilizers Detergents and Sewage animal and human .. Some of thee oil companies biggest customers are the makers of fertilizers pesticides and soap and detergent manufacturers.. Sometimes they are off shoots of the oil industry itself. First task is to minimise the losses from the terrestrial systems where its useful to the water where along with nitrates it causes so much trouble. It needs a strategy to minimise the run off and then when it does get into the surface water reduction... fresh water is a scares resource in many places so what might be required is a system of interception and concentration with recovery of the fresh water from passive distillation.. then treat the concentrated run off with marine algae... by dilution with relatively plentiful salt water. Though it would have to be done far enough away from existing coastline sea levels to avoid untreated runoff contaminating the marine environments.🤞🏼🤔🌐
@alantupper4106 2 жыл бұрын
There's a local company here in Maine that is doing the algae grow-sink process . They just expanded their operation to include a facility in my hometown. Exciting stuff!
@JustHaveaThink 2 жыл бұрын
Excellent news Alan :-)
@thethegreenmachine 2 жыл бұрын
Who pays them?
@DavidPaulNewtonScott 2 жыл бұрын
If you want to really turbo charge the oceans all you have to do is switch the whale pump BACK ON. We switched the whale pump off the oceans WERE turbocharged.
@alantupper4106 2 жыл бұрын
@@thethegreenmachine Right now they've been selling the service as a carbon offset, mostly to tech companies. They're called Running Tide if you want to dig into them deeper.
@rklauco 2 жыл бұрын
@@alantupper4106 This looks amazing. For me - a bit too simple, to be honest :) I can't believe that we already have such simple and relatively straight-forward solution. Perhaps it would be worth doing deep-dive into this.
@callyman 2 жыл бұрын
Mate your ability to catch new ideas and start ups then bring the information to us truely astounds me! Thanks for all yr hard work🌞
@JustHaveaThink 2 жыл бұрын
Cheers. I'm glad you like the videos :-)
@Campbellteaching 2 жыл бұрын
This is so the way to go, you can double the biomass in about 5 days
@JustHaveaThink 2 жыл бұрын
Absolutely
@realeyesrealizereallies6828 2 жыл бұрын
Lots of respect for you Dr. Campbell as I follow your channel, but, the damage is done when it comes to our climate, biosphere and environment..We are merely waiting for the consequences to catch up..These feel good techno fixes are just that, a way to distract ourselves from the obvious, and feel good, as the planet continues to fall apart around us..we can't stop any of these positive feedbacks..The amount of CO2 and methane alone that is released from the permafrost and shallow sea shelves, will dwarf any progress that is made..Plus the hundreds of other feedbacks...But, you can't educate someone in a KZfaq comment, you can only plant seeds..It's harder for someone highly educated, which means highly indoctrinated, to see these issues from the proper perspective, I include myself, which is why I know...Every human civilization to ever exist has self destructed, ours is no different, except the scale of the damage, which is thousands of times more severe.."The earth is littered with the ruins of civilizations and empires that thought they were eternal" "All of our exalted technological progress, civilization for that matter, is comparable to an axe in the hand of a pathological criminal"---ALBERT EINSTEIN
@dac545j 2 жыл бұрын
Hello Dr Campbell. I very much appreciate the advice on your channel.
@dac545j 2 жыл бұрын
@@realeyesrealizereallies6828 Nice name, shame about the human race. Apologies to The Monks (UK).
@vjross2480 2 жыл бұрын
@@realeyesrealizereallies6828 Here is a simple explanation by a dedicated scientist. I agree with you. kzfaq.info/sun/WL
@SaveMoneySavethePlanet 2 жыл бұрын
I’ve been trying to eat more seaweed ever since reading about how quickly it grows and how nutritious it is. I really think it’s going to become a staple of many of our diets in the future in order to reduce the emissions of our food.
@JustHaveaThink 2 жыл бұрын
I agree
@artboymoy 2 жыл бұрын
I don't get why it's so expensive for a small pack of thin sheets.
@peterdollins3610 2 жыл бұрын
@@artboymoy I guess if it is from China the travel & processing?
@janami-dharmam 2 жыл бұрын
Eating too much algae may not be good for your body.
@TheKlink 2 жыл бұрын
plenty of e numbers made from algea and seaweed, its in your food already.
@jeffersonselikemnyame9516 2 жыл бұрын
Just what I was waiting for, I look forward to your videos on my Sundays
@JustHaveaThink 2 жыл бұрын
Thank you! I'm glad you enjoy them :-)
@diversitylove5460 2 жыл бұрын
@@JustHaveaThink green fuel works if decentralized small scale individual basis. However this would put big business out of control. I have calculated a series of Microsystems of energy which produce more than house needs
@williamarmstrong7199 2 жыл бұрын
It is great to hear about a Carbon Capture system that for once does not create more CO2 than they can recover from the atmosphere, or result in more oil extration.
@jthadcast 2 жыл бұрын
... here on big rock candy mountain.
@anthonygelbert3818 2 жыл бұрын
Agreed. I've thought about the Carbon Dioxide issue for several years. I have always questioned the motives behind the hydrocarbon industry cheerleading CO2 capture and sequestration. IMHO, after looking at this from several reality based angles (unlike the unreality based happy talk pushing MO of the 🦕😈🦖 fossil fuelers), the fact that the best present day technology to keep the CO2 concentration down (which is used in Nuclear Submarines, which are forced to surface every six months because they cannot keep CO2 below 8,000 PPM after that time period) cannot get CO2 levels anywhere near 5,000 PPM, never mind the 350 PPM we desperately need to get back to in order to avoid the worse effects of the Sixth Mass Extinction now in progress from excessive GHG emissions, evidences that the proposed CO2 reduction technology, euphemistically called "capture and sequestration" technology, is a fraud. 👎 IOW, all the technofixes out their refuse to admit that the GOAL here is NOT to keep the Hydrocarbon Industry profitable. The GOAL is 350 PPM, period. Anything else is simply wishful thinking. the only reality based way to solve this problem lies with Biological solutions involving rapid photosynthesis. I think Duckweed is better choice than algea. 🧐 Duckweed, the plant that may save mankind by enabling our species to live symbiotically, instead of parasitically, with the biosphere. "renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/renewables/ethanol/msg217/#msg217
@michaelpatrick6950 2 жыл бұрын
In 2010-11 I worked on the process engineering design of an algae biofuel project. Producing fuel at that time was a non-starter as the ability to get enough sunlight into a mass that would produce any significant amount of algal oil was near impossible. The people who had worked on an algal strain for a decade tried open circulating channels, plastic tubes and a number of other ways to get light into dense slurries of their specially selected algae. We finally convinced them to look at using the algae to produce edible oil and a high protein flour substitute from the spent algae. Both had excellent properties for high value food use. The problem is that even after genetic modification they just aren't productive enough.
@FrankSustainAMustly 2 жыл бұрын
By what baseline metric are they not productive enough? Do you mean to be able to compete economically with current fossil fuels? Any links much appreciated.
@PhilipSmithLawrence 2 жыл бұрын
Another great video Dave. 👍 We are still working on our modular system to cultivate algae using the emissions from biomass boilers and waste water, with nutrients, from a milk processing plant. The algae can then be dried using the heat from the 1.5 MW of biomass boiler or heat from the 1MW GSHP already installed on site. The info re Asparagopsis taxiformis is excellent information which we will now explore further. When we get the process right then modular system could be deployed onto farms with livestock and biomass boilers so farmers could cultivate their own algae feed additive for their livestock.
@JustHaveaThink 2 жыл бұрын
Excellent stuff Philip. You guys are doing great work :-)
@GrooveTasticThang 2 жыл бұрын
So pleased you have rested this. I’ve been optimistic about Algae and Kelp for 15years plus. I feel nature / biology has great strength to be harnessed. Looking forward to seeing commercial solutions
@VrataVenet 2 жыл бұрын
Really enjoyed listening to your interview on spark podcast 🙏🏾
@brucec954 2 жыл бұрын
Biofuels for aviation seem one of the best uses as Jet Turbines are not picky about what they burn (unlike gas and diesel engines) as long as they don't freeze at very cold temperatures. However as long as they cost more than fossil jet fuel, won't get used unless forced to.
@CarFreeSegnitz 2 жыл бұрын
Or fossil fuel subsidies disappear that fossil jet fuel would finally cost what it was meant to. And if people still insist on utilizing the least energy efficient way to get around and spread diseases as they do so then government should levy a biocide tax on fossil jet fuel.
@andrewradford3953 2 жыл бұрын
Small gas turbines can be 60% efficient and as you said not fussy on fuel. These would be great for electrifying trucks and other heavy equipment until large batteries become cheaper.
@peterrichards1058 Жыл бұрын
Why bother with electric cars and heavy transport changes if Alge can replace current bio fuels and become a CO2 capture rather than triple the mining industry footprint and recycled batteries won’t be able to do it on their own.
@codniggh1139 2 жыл бұрын
Also it's the best source for omega 3 DHA and EPA, the ones that we need desperetaly, fish oils gets oxidized quickly, and feeding animals with this would give them omega 3. And also this can be used for recycling water, there are low technology ponds that can do this now with aquatic plants, but if we add algae it could make it faster.
@marcob.7801 2 жыл бұрын
Ca - hone - es, Senior Dave! Great piece, as always. A pleasure to be one of your patreons, BTW!
@ayushnath54 2 жыл бұрын
The information presented on this video is truly awesome and so was it's presentation!! Amazing content
@JustHaveaThink 2 жыл бұрын
Thank you. I appreciate that :-)
@JohnSmith-kf1fc 2 жыл бұрын
You made me sea algae in a new way. Great job and i love how they comes out on sundays like that its always great to hear you!
@JustHaveaThink 2 жыл бұрын
Thanks John. Much appreciated
@Impackon 2 жыл бұрын
Very good video, as always. My compliments. Keep up the good work 👍
@JustHaveaThink 2 жыл бұрын
Thanks Jan, will do!
@pcproffy 2 жыл бұрын
This is what I've been dreaming about for 20 years. I'm certain that biofuel from algae should be a major success towards a green energy future. If We put as much effort into this as fusion then it would be solved already.
@incognitotorpedo42 2 жыл бұрын
Fusion will never be economically competitive against conventional renewable electricity sources, so fusion research is a waste of money. Algae at least sounds plausible. I wonder how it stacks up economically against other clean sources of liquid fuels?
@dac545j 2 жыл бұрын
@@incognitotorpedo42 Well, you say never, but that is an opinion isn't it? No-one can say for sure. I would encourage you to use a phrase like "it seems highly likely xxx", "all evidence points to xxx", or something similar to that, in future statements about scientific experiments. Otherwise no-one will take you seriously.
@Bee_Healthier 2 жыл бұрын
You are ahead of the game then, kuddos
@jthadcast 2 жыл бұрын
$5 says we'll need to eat the algae before it is a viable fuel replacement. we tried this with ethanol and EROI is always in the red.
@pcproffy 2 жыл бұрын
@@jthadcast corn ethanol is totally different beast, and I don't support it. Algae just needs a tank of water. It's much different than traditional farming. And it's a simpler life form that's easier to genetically engineer to maximize production.
@aresjack2810 2 жыл бұрын
OMG was going to listen the the podcast but could not work out how to play it at 2x speed - as i consume almost all youtube at 2x and would use faster if it was available. Love you channel and its now a regular part of my monday mornings
@rickstoner9099 2 жыл бұрын
I really enjoy your videos across different technologies etc. Keep on thinking 🤔 😃👋👍 best regards from 🇩🇪
@JustHaveaThink 2 жыл бұрын
Thanks, will do!
@londubh2007 2 жыл бұрын
I was thinking about algae biofuel the other day and wonder if any progress had been made since I first heard about it. Thanks for making this video.
@dragonskunkstudio7582 2 жыл бұрын
This is a welcomed change, I watched this video ending with a feeling of hope instead of dredd.
@JustHaveaThink 2 жыл бұрын
I'm delighted to hear that! :-)
@tombuckman9278 2 жыл бұрын
FYI Sciencedirect is a database of research articles from scientific journals, not a journal themselves. The paper you link to was published in the journal "Current Biology", and aggregated by sciencedirect.
@JustHaveaThink 2 жыл бұрын
Thanks Tom
@paulmcewen7384 2 жыл бұрын
Fascinating as always, and more importantly, inspiring hope and optimism. Cheers.
@TadeuszCantwell 2 жыл бұрын
Seaweed has been harvested in the west of Ireland as a feed supplement for generations, but modern farming has also caused algae blooms in rivers from nitrogen run off, so it's not all good news.
@Kevin_Street 2 жыл бұрын
Thanks for another great video! The potential of algae seems limitless, because it grows on its own. Unlike machinery, your algae facility will upgrade itself if given enough sunlight, water and nutrients. That's why the idea of growing algae for carbon sequestration actually sounds plausible. If there's any method of removing carbon from the atmosphere that might actually make a dent in the enormous amount we emit, surely it's this one. You said that it would require "extremely careful stewardship" to ensure it didn't get out of control, but surely this could be done by careful placement of the algae farms (putting them in the "desert" of open ocean, nowhere near coastlines or reefs) and using species that don't normally cause blooms in the wild. We can figure this out. As for the other uses of algae... There are so many of them. It's wonderful. I remember debating people on the Internet about using algae for biofuel back in 2001. It's been over twenty-one years and it seems the researchers are finally just about there, thanks to Exxon.(!) I don't know if algae biofuels will be energy intense enough to use in aviation, but algae is pretty much the only feedstock that might make sense as a biofuel. It has more potential than dead ends like ethanol, anyway. The other uses of algae you talked about are all wonderful in different ways. Bioplastic is pretty new, but it might be big in the future. Then there's more immediate applications, like growing algae on an industrial scale for use as a protein feedstock. I bet there's a huge potential market for that. And the industry it creates will develop technology and experience that'll help in growing algae for other uses. And who knew that Asparagopsis Taxiformis could nearly eliminate cow farts? Apparently some scientists did. What a great discovery. If they can farm it on a big enough scale, this stuff should be added to cattle feed all around the world. It'll help the cows feel better _and_ reduce methane emissions. Win win!
@Soothsayer210 2 жыл бұрын
I am surprised you did not connect 'Precision Fermentation' in this Algae talk. Tony Seba sees 'Precision Fermentation' as the next revolution in technology in the manufacture of Protein, Artificial Meat products etc. Imagine meat that can be tailored/flavoured to your needs, totally sterile, which does not emit any green house gases, uses very limited water and can be scaled up.
@JustHaveaThink 2 жыл бұрын
Hi Kon Tiki. We looked at Precision Fermentation in this video kzfaq.info/get/bejne/i7uphruLm9-Wlp8.html
@SaveMoneySavethePlanet 2 жыл бұрын
Sounds interesting! I’ll have to check out his other video on it
@stuart_oneill 2 жыл бұрын
The concept of meat produced from any plant source is a non-startsr to me. I imagine most segments of the economy would agree. Perhaps it will change in a generation or two but if doesn't grow above ground and not have roots it will never be beef. Market it as a heath food or a non-meat hamburger with protein and you'll have a market segment today.
@andreizavarin6604 2 жыл бұрын
Thank you very much for making this video, we are researching and preparing to start seaweed farms in the Philippines.
@JustHaveaThink 2 жыл бұрын
Best of luck :-)
@richardwells1804 2 жыл бұрын
Love this program keep up the good work.
@mitchelleva 2 жыл бұрын
So glad to see a great KZfaqr covering this incredibly powerful climate solution! More attention on this!
@lumberjack7923 2 жыл бұрын
THESE VIDEOS ARE ALWAYS TOP SHELF AND SO WELL DONE WITH INCREDIBLE INFORMATION. .......... SURE WISH THIS TECHNOLOGY WAS AROUND WHEN I WAS IN SCHOOL IN THE 60'S & 70'S
@JustHaveaThink 2 жыл бұрын
Thanks Lumberjack. I really appreciate that :-)
@kofManKan 2 жыл бұрын
Fantastic stuff. Hopefully we can progress these very promising fields, rapidly.
@Yanquetino 2 жыл бұрын
Here for the "thumbs up," Dave. Patreon already has my "heart." 👍
@jentjeb2370 2 жыл бұрын
Algae don't just grow from sunlight (and love or good intentions), they also need a tremendous amount of N en P: so if you really want to grow them on a large scale it needs a lot of fertilizer. Albeit it will be probably more N efficient than animal production but less financial efficient.
@ariaden 2 жыл бұрын
That depends on what (and how) is extracted from the algae. If it is "biofuel" (H and C; without N, P, S, ...), then you are left with the "rest" (algae minus biofuel) which you can probably just dissolve in water and call it a fertilizer.
@DavidPaulNewtonScott 2 жыл бұрын
The oil does not contain the minerals they would be conserved.
@incognitotorpedo42 2 жыл бұрын
@@DavidPaulNewtonScott So does that work? Or are the N and P supplemented from other sources?
@simonrobson9579 2 жыл бұрын
The idea of ocean furtilization can be cost affective if one could get a long term floating source on nutriants. I was thinking that woodchips might stay afloat long enough to provide the missing minerals.
@Bo-tt8cy Жыл бұрын
Here in the sea between Sweden and Finland we have a problem with algae blooming/ booming every year due to much fertilizer making its way into the sea via groundwater and river streams. These algae show up as a natural response to human action on the land creating unbalanced contents in the water. As nature will always do. I assume algae farms near the coast could "fix" this problem, benefit from the fertilizer problem and making it a solution. I don't see it happening any time soon tho. Some oil fields that have been closed for decades are able to produce again, scientists claimed for many decades already that crude oil is being produced by the planet on a quicker scale as we are told. If humanity learns to use this energy respectively we wouldn't even run out of it. The reason they want crude oil to be called a rare mineral is merely a genius move from a business perspective. Having said that, if the day comes we can make algae fuels/ plastics efficiently i will be very happy.
@thenorahstore 2 жыл бұрын
The best researched and most optimistic site on the net.
@georgeno5300 2 жыл бұрын
Great video! Sounds like a promising piece of the solution. I like the carbon capture and potential use for aviation. Here's to the hope it can live up to even some of what you mentioned in your video!
@rockman531 2 жыл бұрын
Thank You! GREAT program!
@pauloquesado1439 2 жыл бұрын
Great video 💪 As retired rower I always wondered if nothing could be done with f*cking algae that was always being removed but still disturbing heavily our sculls... A Rowing Olympic course has about 2,2km x 150m x 3m (that's a gigantic pool I know) maybe we have been wasting a precious resource all this time (but it's fresh water so maybe different type of algae here) Continue with the great work
@thinktoomuchb4028 2 жыл бұрын
Thank you! This was very interesting. Do you have a video on Exergyn's shape memory alloy technology?
@JustHaveaThink 2 жыл бұрын
Not yet!
@mylesquigley4294 2 жыл бұрын
Another excellent video, this gives me a glimmer of hope! If we can do this at scale in combination with an intervention such as marine cloud brightening then just maybe we’ll escape the worst effects. Have you ever done a video on cloud brightening?
@JustHaveaThink 2 жыл бұрын
Thanks Myles. I did look at cloud brightening a long time ago.
@malcolmanon4762 2 жыл бұрын
There have been a few companies messing around with the various metabolic pathways to optimise carbon allocation in the algae (replication versus lipid / direct manufacture of petrol / diesel / other alkanes) - one such was Joule Unlimited who seemed to offer quite a promising approach - even managed to scale up to a demo plant - but ultimately went bust as they couldn't raise funding.
@neillaldegheri9259 2 жыл бұрын
Greatly inspiring and encouraging news!
@MatyasLemberTutorials 2 жыл бұрын
As always, very thoroughly and well researched video. Thank you! I remember seeing a lot of movement in this topic a few years ago, so it was nice to see where things are at the moment.
@JustHaveaThink 2 жыл бұрын
Thanks. Much appreciated
@mickwilson127 2 жыл бұрын
Great info as always Dave.
@JustHaveaThink 2 жыл бұрын
Cheers Mick. Glad you enjoyed it
@BESHYSBEES 2 жыл бұрын
I’m always impressed with your presentations and look forward to new uploads. cheers mate And G’day from Australia 🇦🇺
@JustHaveaThink 2 жыл бұрын
Glad you like them! I hope all is well down under :-)
@awesium4077 8 ай бұрын
Right now I'm in college and when I grow up I want to work on algal bioplastics/fuels. To my knowledge, the main problems are harvesting/dewatering and oil extraction, and maybe fertilizer.
@JeremiahTownsend 2 жыл бұрын
There’s this old book I read decades ago called “The Millennial Project: Colonizing the Galaxy in Eight Easy Steps” (yes, crazy title) and growing, then sinking algae, was one of the ways discussed to fight climate change and hunger.
@JustHaveaThink 2 жыл бұрын
Well well. Sounds like it was ahead of it's time :-)
@JeremiahTownsend 2 жыл бұрын
@@JustHaveaThink Yes, it was. It was a very Hydro-Society focused book, with none other than Arthur C. Clarke giving the proposed science in it a big thumbs up.
@suzannehartmann946 Жыл бұрын
Why sink the algae instead of using it to feed people or animals or use it to better farmland??
@JeremiahTownsend Жыл бұрын
@@suzannehartmann946 This method is used if you really need to permanently remove carbon from the environment due to climate change. Consumption will rerelease the carbon.
@AmigaCammy 2 жыл бұрын
I try to live on locally farmed produce as much as possible, but one of the few products I consume that's imported to my country are algae (Chlorella and Spirulina). I would love it if we had more local production of these superfoods, and more acceptance of them in fellow consumers.
@aarushchhatri3885 2 жыл бұрын
So much Information ....Thank you
@drivin69 2 жыл бұрын
i seen this video bravo sir its intelligence and creativity that makes us all human sounds like a very impressive theory ... well done i have herd of algae chimney scrubbers for giant smoke stacks and things.. so amazing the contraptions even the magnetic rings in chimeny pass magnetic current through the smoke in a positive charge and collect it with the neg charge hoops that line the inner chimney structure.... well done sir..
@GS-uy4xo 2 жыл бұрын
Thoroughly agree - those yielding power need to “grow a pair” for the planet, thank you for all the amazing information, it’s very helpful.
@simonrobson9579 2 жыл бұрын
The algee/ pytoplacton solution for carbon capture makes a lot of sense. The problem is that much of the ocean is a desert. There is plenty of oxigen but not enough minerals to promote algee growth. Several companies have been experimenting with ocean furtilization to try and produce results. I would be very interested to hear more about this. If you could research the idea.
@josephqhanh2413 2 жыл бұрын
Always doing great work.
@JustHaveaThink 2 жыл бұрын
Cheers Joseph
@anders21karlsson 2 жыл бұрын
Great video as always...
@Coddiwomple4x4 2 жыл бұрын
Great solutions from a simple organism 👍🏻 Indeed investments need to be made.
@JustHaveaThink 2 жыл бұрын
Yes indeed!
@algeternaltechnologiesllc7631 2 жыл бұрын
Algae are the founders of the feast on planet Earth. We need to be able to produce at scale, which is the rate determining step for the algae industry to move forward as a regenerative alternative. Thanks for highlighting the need to scale and for investment! Focus on biofuels for decades has tainted the algae prospect; but algae are so much more than just biofuels! AlgEternal is one of those companies with a solution to grow microalgae at commodity scale, with two non-fuel products already on the market, that needs investment to scale production and for marketing. Great video! Hope it gets the right folks thinking!
@bammeldammel 2 жыл бұрын
I hope we do not repeat the same mistakes with monocultures while ignoring the surroundings that we did on land.
@martincotterill823 2 жыл бұрын
Great video, thanks, Dave!
@JustHaveaThink 2 жыл бұрын
Cheers Martin.
@JohnnyWednesday 2 жыл бұрын
I just watched Johnathan Pie's COP26 piece and then you posted this - captain planet hasn't got a patch on you Dave!
@JustHaveaThink 2 жыл бұрын
Cheers Johnny :-)
@feyaia 2 жыл бұрын
I have always wondered why all those, Captian Planet cartoons haven't come roaring back what with today's climate change crusaders. They really weren't half-bad and a lot more informative. But alas... we live in a Spoung Bob universe. 😞
@danjatau4379 2 жыл бұрын
Lovely subject today on algae...I do believe a combination of passive methods such as large algae farming (no matter the species) and using white/light reflective materials on roofs and un arable areas should do the trick of capturing carbon and cooling the atmosphere effectively over extensive periods of time...Have you covered replacing and thickening the ozone layer yet or plan to soon?
@JustHaveaThink 2 жыл бұрын
Thanks Dan. I haven't done a dedicated Ozone Layer video but I have referred to it a couple of times in the past. Might be something for 2022.
@danjatau4379 2 жыл бұрын
Cool. Can't wait. Keep up the good work.
@stefanweilhartner4415 2 жыл бұрын
trying out making bread but adding 50% algea comes into my mind now. would be interesting to try. that could bump up the protein level significantly and add nice flavor.
@DrinkingStar 2 жыл бұрын
Back in 1965 I wrote a paper for a botany class I was taking about using Chlorella, a single cell green alga, as source of food and oxygen. Chorella would recycle carbon dioxide and human wastes for its growth and reproduction. Chlorella could be grown on roof tops on city building that had flat roofs. There was also the potential for use in space travel for recycling carbon dioxide and human wasted to produce food and oxygen.
@jthadcast 2 жыл бұрын
now imagine giving up the food and oxygen so that a f35 has pleanty of fuel to make bombing runs and co2 out the wazoo, because that is what they imagine more jet fuel.
@c.g.silver8782 2 жыл бұрын
Kudos for the Soylent Green reference!
@jameswoodley9708 Жыл бұрын
its great to see such video
@williambunting803 2 жыл бұрын
One very important Algal Oil study was NASA’s Omega project driven by Dr Jonathan Trent, now founding director of UpCycle Systems. What the Omega project demonstrated was that the primary limitation to algal production is fuel, specifically CO2. For starters the fuel is in the atmosphere in very small quantities, and secondly when you do have it in sufficient quantity to promote explosive algal growth, the next problem is feeding that CO2 to the algae with out killing them through water acidity. Thinking about it there may be a solution by creating high CO2 content microgranules that the algae can attach to to absorb the CO2 directly rather than from the water.The Omega project explored growing the algae in plastic bags that float on the surface water in a water farm environment. The project looked at the ideal location was adjacent to coastal sewerage farms drawing on released CO2 and nutrients. Send Jonathan a text, I’m sure he would happily contribute.
@smegscreations 2 жыл бұрын
Enlightening, thank you
@vstuhlen 2 жыл бұрын
I love your channel
@JustHaveaThink 2 жыл бұрын
Cheers Vincent :-)
@stuart_oneill 2 жыл бұрын
As an old cowboy whose first 4-H project was a.black Angus steer grown as a beef producer, I can say irrefutably that if dairy farmers can feed their stock with the 2% supplement with, perhaps, some tax incentives (maybe not) they would do it. If the supplement could replace some element of the existing feed used and not impact milk production and not appreciably increasing the price of the feed it could be rapidly accepted in the dairy industry. I can see how to do that reasonably quickly. Two element of quick acceptance to be clear: not increasing the price per ton and not impacting milk production. As to ranches cattle are grown for beef. The price factor remains the same and second factor becomes weight production. Price per pound on the hoof is critical to a ranch or feedlot success. As a beef segment a feedlot vertical would have rapid acceptance segment after several independent simultaneous demonstrations in different areas and climates. Range beef is an different business than feedlots. Methane reduction from feedlot and dairy operations should be substantial based on the data in this video. Can you or others comment? I grew up around lots of dairies and worked several ranches as a younger man. Hell older man in 2005/6 as a respite from my profession. Hard but fun being horseback fulltime again. The concept of feed as an element of climate change mitigation is fascinating and attractive especially to a lifelong entrepreneur. Comments?
@scotttaylor4991 2 жыл бұрын
Greetings from Downunder Stuart. I have been doing some of my own research on this topic recently. Australia has been researching this subject and recently I found a research paper regarding AT. It showed that there was a yield GAIN of up to 14% along with over 90% drop in emissions.. This was achieved using about 1% by weight of feed. If an economical way of producing the feed can be found, it has fabulous potential
@stuart_oneill 2 жыл бұрын
@@scotttaylor4991 the key is the cost factor. If the ingredient were produced at possible.moderate scale, do they have a project of the finished cost at the facility? (Pre-shipping cost? )
@bige8549 2 жыл бұрын
Very interesting. Thank you
@panupongprasert4316 Жыл бұрын
Glad and surprising that you and many people in this channel which usually pro battery,solar&wind appreciate potential of some non-direct electrification tech as well. There are always technology that worked really well in some areas but in another areas make existing problems even worse.
@sibaz 2 жыл бұрын
This video remindedme of some technology i heard about in the iet magazine 10-15 years ago called thermaldepolymerisation (TDP). From memory the case study was a chicken farm in pennsylvania. The point being TDP is old tech, it was used by Apartheid South Afria to produce synthetic oil in the 70s/80s, its just generally expensive and inefficient. The PA case study found if you assume the waste organic matter being fed into the process from a chicken farm, was just that, waste, then it was something like 80% efficient. Combining TDP offshore, with an algae or kelp farm producing organic matter, and last weeks video producing power, presumably you could manufacture green oil/gas.
@matthewgarrison156 Жыл бұрын
A research group in the Tri-Cities here in Washington state, found they could fossilize algae in about 15min. Oversimplifying here, but basically they run a slurry of algae and water through a fancy pressure cooker and end up with crude oil. The upside is the process is not picky about which species, or combination of species are used. The downside is it's incredibly energy intensive. Was trying to find more information on this and if any head way had been made to make this more economically viable. Was hoping you covered it here
@punditgi 2 жыл бұрын
Excellent video!
@79chgoh 2 жыл бұрын
Algae will be the future feedstock for livestock, increase the health of livestock and people
@JustHaveaThink 2 жыл бұрын
Let's hope so
@stevenirby5576 2 жыл бұрын
Hey, finally something I can talk about with authority! That DOE project, my startup is going to use technology that came out of that program. The problem with biofuels is the same as many of these green alternatives-they simply can't compete in costs. We could ramp up algae production to make biofuel, and replace many fuels we use. But why would we when it's like 5-10x more expensive? News flash, we're not going to. It won't come into widespread use until there's some kind of regulatory change such as massive carbon tax. Or the technology improves so radically that it is 5-10x _cheaper_ than regular oil.
@Tasmantor 2 жыл бұрын
A decent carbon tax that made a carbon sequestering fuel more cost effective than oil fuels would be amazing.
@incognitotorpedo42 2 жыл бұрын
I wish Dave would pay more attention to the economics of these schemes.
@ericliu5491 2 жыл бұрын
Biocrude from made from kelp could be cheaper.
@kenleach2516 2 жыл бұрын
Love your knowledge to the independent truth, interesting too
@JustHaveaThink 2 жыл бұрын
I appreciate that Ken. Thank you:-)
@oddzc 2 жыл бұрын
I suspect soon we will see some open source algae at home carbon capture systems. It seems relatively simple and can use hardware store grade components.
@Robbedem Жыл бұрын
Growing algae is indeed easy. The harvesting part is difficult though. I don't see that happening at home in an environmental friendly way.
@peters972 2 жыл бұрын
Maybe a conveyer machine could bring it slowly onto land where it would simply dry. Maybe such a machine could be adapted to lift the algae onto a floating island of itself! The carbon density is impressive!
@sowoke1557 2 жыл бұрын
My senior project in college was a feasibility study of colocation of geothermal water and algae growth. I also toured an actively producing algae site in Arizona, colocated with a cattle farm for the nutrients. Unfortunately there is no funding for it and the useful strains are secret and patented and restricted from being in an open environment, generally. I was hired to run an algae farm straight out of college but the project was scrapped and a whole lab of equipment left in a storage, including a controlled growth chamber, bioreactors etc. Hoping they were donated to the University there where they are still researching it. Luckily green energy is cool again, since that's the field I ended up in...
@sowoke1557 2 жыл бұрын
There have been strains created which could be used directly in your diesel tank, but once again, costs or regulations restrict things.
@danburnes722 2 жыл бұрын
You hit the nose on this one. There is interesting directive evolution work being done to improve chlorophyll and lipid production with different algal strains. There may be a wonderful symbiotic relationship of carbon capture and fuel production, harvesting algal oil and meal from growth optimized by capturing CO2 concentrated flue gas… some day. Capturing CO2 from a power system’s exhaust and producing algae on a continuous basis could provide about half the fuel needed to run that power plant. Algae based biofuels would be great for aviation considering the carbon accounting.
@nolan4339 2 жыл бұрын
I'm pretty sure that open algae runways are not suitable when rigorously targeting a specific algae strain due to inevitable contamination. Especially with a gmo as the chance of it escaping to the greater environment would be very high. Which means you need an expensive enclosed system.
@AliHSyed 2 жыл бұрын
Feeding cows CO₂ absorbing algae to reduce methane by 90%. That's the kind of big idea which will get us out of this mess.
@jgr7487 7 ай бұрын
The problem with aiming on cows is that they expel the carbon of the food they eat, which is reabsorbed by the fields that produce their feed. Meanwhile, humans go out of their way to pump into the atmosphere carbon that had been sealed off for millions of years. That's why algae fuel & plastic are the best alternatives.
@ridethetalk 2 жыл бұрын
Growing algae and, not processing it but simply pumping it down into depleted oil wells could be a good way to draw down CO2 out of the atmosphere. We have to get back to 325-350ppm somehow and using algae for this may be the quickest and cheapest way to do it...
@JustHaveaThink 2 жыл бұрын
Absolutely. I agree
@SaveMoneySavethePlanet 2 жыл бұрын
Interesting. This is the first I’ve heard of this idea. Would love to look into it more!
@jimurrata6785 2 жыл бұрын
One has to wonder if this wouldn't be the best long term solution to unrecyclable plastic waste as well. You would be sequestering billions of tonnes of carbon and removing the threat it places on the surface of the planet. While I'd argue that recycling has the benefit of displacing the need for extracting more petrochemicals, it generally is far more energy intensive than pushing something into a hole. Atomically it all came from deep underground anyway. We broke the molecules apart and rejoined them into long polymers. Heat and pressure are the solution whether humans do it at the surface today or the planet does it over eons.
@darked89 Жыл бұрын
I guess you will not have 100% sterile algae slurry. Which means the organic compounds will be decomposed by anoxic bacteria producing methane. This hopefully can be captured and used. Still, having a hot, wet bioreactor full of dead algae +1km below the surface imho is not optimal.
@ariaden 2 жыл бұрын
Re searching for algae with high oil content: If there is a "zooplankton" with high oil content, it can be fed using the "phytoplankton" with low oil content. This two-step process is less efficient than having oil-rich algae (zooplankton turns some part of its food back to CO2), but maybe still better than the currently used biofuel producing methods?
@Gilespargiter 2 жыл бұрын
Another very interesting video as ever, thankyou. Only thing; how big is a football field in acres? or hectares if you must, and are you including a running track round the outside, which would almost double it's area or not?
@JustHaveaThink 2 жыл бұрын
Bless you Giles. You have a sparkling career in stand up comedy ahead of you :-)
@Fantic156 2 жыл бұрын
PHB sounds good. I'd guess it needs to be massively scaleable if plastics companies can use it ...
@Forge17 2 жыл бұрын
The potential for kelp farms along the coast is enormous; from what I’ve read, massive projected growth in seaweed farming here in the US is due to its profitability and versatility across industries. So far it’s grown for: Nutritional supplements, vegan protein, carrageenan content (for innumerable uses), green nitrogen rich agricultural fertilizer, and biofuels on an experimental basis. The potential for large scale industrial uses is growing with the economies of scale, and when a few of these billion dollar processing facilities are in operation, we may see a serious shift towards seaweed as a multifaceted, and profitable, solution for many separate environmental challenges.
@billhirst9646 2 жыл бұрын
About 30 years ago, in the 90s, I invested in both the algae oil and the bio plastics making a lot of money with both. So this,to me seems like old news.
@incognitotorpedo42 2 жыл бұрын
Well, you got lucky, Bill. Algal fuels and bioplastics are still not a significant technology.
@michaelfelder2640 2 жыл бұрын
I see 1 acre in my imagination being used like this... 1.Elevated run-of-thtube PV panels covering the entire acre. 2. Agrovoltaic regenerative farming of plants and animals underneath. 3. Bio-Algae tubes used to cool PV panels. 4. Thermal Electric Generator (TEG) tech converts the thermal variances into electricity. 5. Vortex micro-hydro power plant at the bottom end of the Algae production, closed-loop system as it meanders thru the solar farm. 6. More vortex power plants.. Place the PV panels on contours, divert a portion of creek flow into controlled ditches back and forth across the field until it dumps back into the same creek. Turbulent vortex generators placed at each drop of only 6 feet. The amount of water retention in the soils equates to aquifers re-filling, springs start coming back which then feeds the sustainable supply of water that grows the Algae. 7. Fresh, purified water is a byproduct of the system that can be harvested or fed directly to animals below the PV panels or cycled thru Algae tubes.. I could rant for hours about what a modern-back-to-the-future farm would look like.
@aarononeal9830 2 жыл бұрын
Just have a think needs to to about Ecosia they are a search engine that plants tress...
@ravenfeeder1892 2 жыл бұрын
What's really good about some algae types is that they grow in salt water unlike most plants that need fresh water which is in short supply in many places.
@em945 2 жыл бұрын
This is possibly AMAZING!
@davidleahy6141 2 жыл бұрын
Doesn't burning biofuels also release CO2 into the atmosphere when you burn it, or am I missing something?
@JustHaveaThink 2 жыл бұрын
It does David, so it is certainly not the perfect solution. but because algae grows so quickly and captures carbon dioxide so effectively, it is carbon neutral, as opposed to using fossil fuels that have been in the ground for millions of years, and burning their carbon content which can never be recaptured. And because algae can be grown at sea or on otherwise non-productive patches of earth, it will not impact on current agriculture spaces
@jessenoell2154 2 жыл бұрын
The relevant question (in terms of our predicament) is not can biofuels replace fossil fuels; it is how best to drawdown carbon and use the most carbon neutral fuel. Instead, the U.S. spends $5 Billion or more per year on Industrial Carbon Removal (or ICR) that emits 3.7 times as much carbon as it draws down; while not funding forest fuel reductions using hand tools to convert fuel reduction materials to recalcitrant char via pyrolysis and sequester it safely in the soil, on site, for hundreds if not thousands of years---which would reduce the amount of CO2 emitted by 50%, while also increasing the longterm fertility of the soil by capturing nutrients, forest resilience to fire, and reducing wildfire intensity. Clearly, solar panels on rooftops generating electricity appear to have lower emissions than ICR biofuels, but we won't know if we don't "have a think about it"......and take action. (for ICR subsidies see J. Sekera "Assessing Carbon Capture: Public Policy, Science and Societal Need, 2020)
@danburnes722 2 жыл бұрын
@@JustHaveaThink good answer… it is important to do a thorough accounting to truly demonstrate carbon neutrality including any logistic or transport emissions that are involved to get to the end use of the product.
@wattyler6075 2 жыл бұрын
Boy am I glad I'm @ the backend of my life.
@giacomofrattini4456 Жыл бұрын
Found a Channel suggesting farming boats for fish. That would perfectly work for algae too. With labs etc. Built on It.
@thanoschermerhorn4864 Жыл бұрын
Thank You...
@zazugee 2 жыл бұрын
i did grow algae at home for a project to make biodiesel, but the problem was the extraction, not enough QTE to test chemical ones i tried to use a mechanical way but the pressure wasn't enough to overcome the cell's walls, i think i need to reach supercritical water phase for that to happen, not enough money to test that out so for now, i feed my chickens with duckweed and i will start farming fish using algae in a pond or a tank
@reeflab2221 2 жыл бұрын
I keep saltwater aquariums and aquaculture live corals, Have had a number of rudimentary experiments using the excess nutrients in the reef tank wastewater to grow algae for these purposes. Have attempted plastic with some species of micro and macro algaes. Hoping to find what the net carbon footprint would be with a certain amount of coral growth and algae growth of different species- as corals utilize the carbon cycle to calcify skeletons.
@ryanatkinson2978 2 жыл бұрын
My dad had a wedding ceremony near the beach in Seaside, FL... during a red tide. We were all coughing like crazy and found out later what was going on lol. We were like a couple hundred yards away too
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