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Anonymous
Solar Thermal Algae Biofuel Generator 2016-12-21 01:20:28 Post No. 8553084
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Solar Thermal Algae Biofuel Generator 2016-12-21 01:20:28 Post No. 8553084
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I just had an idea for a more efficient way to generate electricity and I wanted to run it by a few more people to gauge its viability.
The basic concept is a solar thermal system that concentrates heat to convert algae into biofuel. During the day the heated water would create steam to run a tesla turbine and at night the collected biofuel would keep the generator running. The CO2 generated by the biofuel burn at night would be collected and reintegrated into the algae tanks to promote algae growth.
The solar thermal system would consist of a concave mirror which follows the sun during the course of the day. Running across the mirror is a pipe through which the algae rich water runs through. This pipe would be heated to 500 degree celsius and the algea rich water would take about a minute to run through the pipe. Steam would be siphoned off to the turbine, which would generate electricity during the day. After the steam runs through the system it is collected in a separate tank until it cools and condenses back into a liquid form, which is then fed back into the algae tanks.
The resultant biofuel from the reaction would be collected and stored in a separate tank. As night falls, and the pipe cools to below 500c, the system would switch over to a combustion engine that runs on the biofuel. The engine would continue to run the turbine and generate electricity during the night.
The algae would be stored in two or more tanks, which alternate per day giving the algae a chance to grow. The CO2 generated by the combustion engine is collected and reinfused into the algae tanks. The tanks themselves are closed systems, keeping the CO2 from escaping into the atmosphere.
Initially, I am thinking of small scale generators able to generate around 20kWh per day, with any excess power stored in batteries.
The only inputs this system needs is a little bit of water and nutrients for the algae.
Question is how viable is this idea? Are there any glaring flaws in my concept?
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>>8553084
Well, glue is science, but so is tape.
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>>8553084
>The only inputs this system needs is a little bit of water and nutrients for the algae.
Account for the efficiency of feeding it nutrients.
Algae are photosynthetic
Algae would probably die at 500C
Since you're doing so well heating water to 500C with the sun alone why do you need a wasteful algae process running alongside?
Reinjected CO2 becomes carbonic acid.
Plus, introduced CO2 I'm pretty sure is adsorbed. You can't force feed CO2 to anything AFAIK so there will be a limit, after which you are just venting CO2 to the atmosphere (and we will tax it)
Describe your operation for the removal and disposal of vast amounts of dead algae sludge
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>>8553087
It's not glue, it's physics.
I was thinking some more about my generator and realised that not all algae will turn into biofuel, so there needs to be a third tank that takes the water with algae that didn't complete the chemical reaction in the pipe.
Ideally I would like to build the reactive parts of generator with titanium (pipe and turbine), though I don't know how cost effective that would be. I can imagine with the algae and water and constant heating there will be significant chance of corrosion and damage.
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>>8553147
>Account for the efficiency of feeding it nutrients.
Algae nutrients will require phosphorous, nitrogen, carbon and silica. The majority of these nutrients can be derived from plant matter.
>Algae are photosynthetic
Although the tanks are enclosed, the top of the tank will have a transparent covering to allow sunlight to feed the algae.
>Algae would probably die at 500C
Yes it will. The algae will be converted to steam, biofuel and protein.
>Since you're doing so well heating water to 500C with the sun alone why do you need a wasteful algae process running alongside?
To have a system running 24 hours a day, you need an alternate source of power to keep it going.
>Reinjected CO2 becomes carbonic acid.
Carbonic acid is unstable and quickly reverts back to H2O and CO2. Any carbonic acid created from the infusion process will be negligible to algae growth (may even be beneficial).
>Plus, introduced CO2 I'm pretty sure is adsorbed. You can't force feed CO2 to anything AFAIK so there will be a limit, after which you are just venting CO2 to the atmosphere (and we will tax it)
The CO2 will be absorbed by the algae and any additional CO2 will be vented. It will have a much lower carbon footprint that the majority of power generation systems however.
>Describe your operation for the removal and disposal of vast amounts of dead algae sludge
Once the algae has run through the process it turns into valuable protein and nutrients which can be utilised in aquaculture, food or fertilizer. These by-products can be used in personal vegetable gardens/greenhouses or exported to farms at a profit.
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>>8553084
It's just so inefficient. You would be losing a lot of energy/materials(potential energy) at every step of the process.
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>>8553177
>Although the tanks are enclosed, the top of the tank will have a transparent covering to allow sunlight to feed the algae.
The problem in existing systems is the fact that algae absorb light. Therefore you need a very large surface area for a thin layer of algae
>>Algae would probably die at 500C
>Yes it will. The algae will be converted to steam, biofuel and protein.
Assuming a process where you take a homogenate and seperate it into those three components - factor that into energy budget.
The market already fulfills both aspects of the system- solar and natural gas. How does putting it all together make it more efficient?
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>>8553084
What type of biofuel is it? Biomethane?
It'd be better to simply skip this and convert biomass into biomethane (via anaerobic microbes) which can be used as fuel. The leftovers are pasteurized and used as high nitrogen fertilizer which can feed crops. The inputs only need to be biomass which is grown from the fertilizer (it can come from crops, animals, & humans), sunlight which grows the crops, and water. The efficiency of the system is great due to the actions of the anaerobic microbes. The crops could be algae I suppose. The system itself outputs more usable energy than you put into it because of the microbes doing the most energetically difficult part for you. Only a small percentage of the biomethane is reused for the pasteurization and heating the biogas generator tanks.
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>>8553289
There is energy loss, but without more advanced technologies and materials these are unavoidable.
>>8553322
>The problem in existing systems is the fact that algae absorb light. Therefore you need a very large surface area for a thin layer of algae
This is one concern. How much surface area would you need to be efficient enough to generate so much algae. I was thinking of creating large water panels with a cell like structure to hold smaller units of algae, but they would have a greater exposure to sunlight.
>Assuming a process where you take a homogenate and separate it into those three components - factor that into energy budget.
I agree this may be an issue. I'm not sure how much steam would be required to keep a tesla turbine running at peak efficiency.
>The market already fulfills both aspects of the system- solar and natural gas. How does putting it all together make it more efficient?
Solar panel systems at best only work at 40% efficiency per day. Things like cloud cover and night hours greatly reduce its efficiency and power generation. Most private home solar panel systems can only generate around 5kWh a day.
Natural gas is a good solution, but costs like transport and storage factor into efficiency.
By creating a self-sustaining system and scaling it down to provide multiple benefits allows these systems to be placed in residential homes. This reduces transport, storage and other costs, and has added macro benefits like reduction in traffic and large vehicles, which further reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Overall the goal of the system is to create small scale power generation that has the added benefit of providing protein and nutrients that could be used in small scale food production.
>>8553385
It's first turned into Biocrude oil, which is fed into another tank for further refining. This process draws additional oxygen and nitrogen from the biocrude and makes it combustible in a traditional combustion engine.
cont'd
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>>8553385
Cont'd
The Biomass conversion method requires a lot more time and can't be scaled down. My idea is to create power generation at a micro scale. The pressure cooking method takes a minute and can generate a much greater mass of algae.
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Any other thoughts or comments.
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>>8553084
That picture is classic, and fairly deep.
The science side is elegant, balanced, and very intricate.
The engineering side is crude, basic, and hilarious.
But heres something that you may not have considered.
The science side will fall off at the drop of a hat.
The engineering side will stay on until you break the glass.
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