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AssigneeTransAlgae Ltd
InventorsAmi Schlesinger, Doron Eisenstadt, Shai Einbinder, Jonathan Gressel
Estimating the term…
The high-speed centrifugation heretofore required for harvesting micro algae and cyanobacteria cultured for biofuels and other co-products is a major cost constraint. Mixing algae/cyanobacteria at high-density culture with far less alkali than previously assumed is sufficient to flocculate the cells. The amount of flocculant required is a function of the logarithm of cell density, and is not a linear function of cell density as had been thought. The least expensive alkali treatments are with slaked limestone or dolomite (calcium hydroxide and magnesium hydroxides). Further water can be removed from the floc by sedimentation, low speed centrifugation, dissolved air flotation or filtration, prior to further processing to separate oil from valuable co-products.
A method to harvest cyanobacteria or microalgae cells, said method comprising the steps of:
A method to increase efficiency of harvesting algae or cyanobacteria by low speed centrifugation, filtration, dissolved air flotation, or by hydrodynamic separation in spiral separators, said method comprising the steps of:
The method of claim 15, wherein suspension remaining after harvesting is recycled back to the culture bioreactor.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.