Greetings all,

What a great site – dedicated to teaching/learning/sharing about the production of algae...

There doesn’t seem to be a lot out there that is readily available for the newbie, so this site is definitely nice... There are a few ebooks but they are very expensive! I was hoping to get some more information on the whole process and what is actually involved in producing biodiesel. This way I could determine if it is even something I could effectively do with reasonable resources before making that investment.

Does anyone know what kind of investment (in terms of time, money and space) would be needed to produce a usable amount of biodiesel (2-3 gallons per day / 10-15 gallons per week)?

Am I correct in assuming it is these basic steps:

- Create reactor
- Cultivate algae (how long does this take – days or weeks?)
- Extract algae
- Extract oil from Algae
- Convert oil to biodiesel

Anyways, thanks again to the creators/members for this site...

Also, I am from Dallas TX, is anyone from the area or know of any local resources to help set up a rig?

Thanks all!

Welcome Scott! I know Austin is far from you however the University of Texas has the largest collection of algal species. They are also doing biotech work with algae. You may want to check with them to see if they have any information for you.

You are correct to assume those are the steps of creation of algal biomass which can be used for biodiesel as well as pharmaceutical and plastic production.
Most algae create lipids called triglycerides which can be transformed into biodiesel through a process called transesterfication. Do a search for these words to get some good information on biodiesel creation.
http://www.oilgae.com and http://www.algaelab.org are other good forums to check out for algae use and DIY homemade reactor designs.

$$$ is the only thing holding us back now which probably will change by 2014.

Good luck in your endeavors and please share what you find.