November 17^th marks a milestone for Florida algal technology

(Tampa, FL) – Tampa-based Culturing Solutions will host the Grand Opening of the first algae to Biodiesel demonstration plant in New Port Richey, Florida on November 17th.  Using algae to produce products including transportation fuel, energy, nutritional products, cosmetics, medicine and other household items is a concept that is being revolutionized by the innovative company, Culturing Solutions.  The initial trials of using technologies to harness the power of algae have been successful, but have been cost prohibitive to function in today’s marketplace.

Until Now.

What differentiates Culturing Solutions’ application is their ability to capture carbon dioxide from industrial gasses and reuse them before they are delivered to the atmosphere.   Culturing Solutions produces algae to create a variety of products by using waste gases emitted by industrial facilities to feed the algae.  Their revolutionary process takes the by-product emission that would normally contribute to air pollution and climate change and recycles the harmful greenhouse gas to dramatically increase the growth rate of the algae.

Cogeneration, or the process of locating the algae facilities near power facilities, benefits both Culturing Solutions and the energy provider.  These improved efficiencies can lead to the production of more power at a lower price for consumers with significantly less pollution — all while reducing the nation’s dependency on oil by producing clean, green transportation fuel and a myriad of other products available to the open market.

What could be more environmentally friendly than capturing environmental pollution and using it to create a product demanded by consumers?  According to founder and CEO of Culturing Solutions, Dean Tsoupeis, Nothing. “The use of a waste product in the form of carbon dioxide combined with Culturing Solutions’ algae process and our revolutionary pump technology increases algal growth a remarkable three hundred percent.  Our goal is to maximize the production of algae for use as an alternative fuel source so that America can be less dependent on fossil fuels — now and into the future.  It’s a big idea, and we’re up for the challenge.”

The grand opening for this groundbreaking demonstration process will be held on November 17^th, 2011 at 9831 Mendel Drive, Port Richey, Florida. Media are invited to attend this exciting event.

This is Culturing Solutions’ first demonstration plant in Florida.  Their technologies are being used successfully in Florida, Rhode Island, Australia, Romania, Hungary, and Russia.

ABOUT CULTURING SOLUTIONS:

Culturing Solutions is a company that designs and manufactures photobioreactors and other algae processing production tools. Continuous Algae Production with their Phyta-Platform Photobioreactor offers superior control over conventional algae growing platforms. For more information about Culturing Solutions, visit www.culturingsolutions.com.

INTERESTING FACTS:

• Culturing Solutions’ algae process presents a bona-fide solution to combat food scarcity, provides for the availability of a clean, renewable transportation fuel, and serves as a mechanism to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
• According to a 2011 Gallup survey, the availability and affordability of energy is the only issue about which Americans have grown significantly more worried since last year, up from 38% to 46%.
• As our world population expands by 74 million people per year, the planet’s natural resources are being depleted at an unsustainable rate.
• Global food scarcity has emerged as a humanitarian emergency. Current oil reserves may be exhausted in as little as 50 years.
• The reliance and expansion of traditional energy sources continues to pollute our nation’s air and contributes to global climate change.

Culturing Solutions Launches First Algae Demonstration Plant in Florida

Simple, smart integrated technologies increase algae growth up to 300 percent by dissolving CO2 from flue gases into a liquid growing media. An efficient Algae oil lipid extraction Module is also open for demonstration.

(Tampa, FL)  Putting together disparate and proprietary patent pending technologies and integrating them into an easy to operate platform for algae growth and harvesting are the hallmarks of Culturing Solutions new demonstration plant.  The process has a complete end-to-end lipid separation process that is fed by photobioreactors.  A digester that converts the algae into Ethanol will be onsite. This highly flexible design is both scalable and grows a variety of proprietary feedstocks that can be manipulated to produce green drop-in fuels like green diesel and biojet, biofuels, nutritional supplements, Nutraceutical, soap feedstock, Pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and aquaculture. This allows the plants to be more responsive to market conditions than conventional algae growth technologies. Grand opening is set for November 17^th, 2011.

What also distinguishes Culturing Solutions’ applications is their ability to dissolve carbon dioxide from industrial flue gasses directly into growing media for use in the Phyta-Platform or Phyta-Pond Photobioreactors for enhanced cultivation of algae.  The dissolved CO2 absorption into liquid growing media, together with their new pump technology, which increases biomass exchange and concomitant photon exposure, is increasing algae growth a remarkable 300 percent.

Although this is Culturing Solutions’ first demonstration plant in Florida, their technologies are proven and being used successfully in Florida, Rhode Island, Australia, Romania, Hungary, and Moscow, Russia.

FACTS:

The algae industry is quickly becoming the next big thing. As our world population expands by 74 million people per year, 3 out of the four major fisheries are over fished and depleted, and current oil reserves above and below ground will be all but gone in 50 years, our civilization will need a sustainable and reliable source of food, transportation fuels and energy. Algae will play a significant roll in meeting the demands of human kind.

Algae can grow on marginal non-agricultural land that is near the coast to utilize seawater. Algae are up to ten times more efficient at fixing photons and mitigating CO2 than terrestrial plants. For every 2 tons of CO2 that algae consume 1 ton of biomass will be produced. This could have up to the equivalent of 2 barrels of oil per ton of biomass. Theoretically algae can produce up to a maximum of 30,000 gallons per acre if the conditions were perfect all year around. A realistic goal for algae oil is 15,000 gallons per acre.

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING:

“The Phyta-Platform has been a positive addition to our R&D department, very manageable and controllable….” Lawrence Dressler President – Tomorrow BioFuels LLC

http://www.tomorrowbiofuels.com/Tomorrow_BioFuels/Welcome.html

“I have been working with Culturing Solutions for couple of years, and I am excited on how Phyta-Platform has improved and what a great research platform it provides, besides being able to meet industrial applications, it is possible to perform this.

Dr. Vadim Tarassov

Association for Advanced Technologies “ASPECT”

“Thanks for the great service, the algae is just growing, growing, growing….”

Norbert Hanti, President Spring Solar, Budapest, Hungary

“We have had our first harvest from the Phyta-System Demo site and it was a good one. We were able to harvest over 200 lbs  of biomass. This was a one month growth cycle starting from 0. Size of the pond water volume was 8,000 gallons. We fed the pond every day for two weeks from the Phyta-Platform with 45 gallons. We were able to achieve densities in the Phyta-Platform around 200 E+06 cell/ml, that is huge!!! Lowest Maintained cell density was 750 E+06 cell/ml. For the Phyta-Pond, the culture is good, relatively homogenous, but we had a little bacteria, very small amount 1 E+09 cell/ml. The concentration is around 75 E+06 cell/ml.”

Dean Tsoupeis

CEO, Culturing Solutions, Inc.

ABOUT CULTURING SOLUTIONS:

Culturing Solutions is a company that designs and manufactures photobioreactors and other algae processing production tools. Continuous Algae Production with the Phyta-Platform Photobioreactor offers superior control over the inputs of photosynthetic reactions in micro algae.

The Phyta-Platform tubular Photobioreactor has the most rigid frame available on today’s market. The frame itself is able to withstand a 130 M.P.H. wind load. All construction is made of high grade 316 Stainless Steel and heavy-duty aluminum. The phototubes can be made from food grade Polycarbonate, PVC that has a UV inhibitors (for outdoor applications) and Glass. All units come complete with automated Control Panel, Harvesting, Self Cleaning Mechanism, Tank, Pump, 5 sensors (pH, ORP, DO, Conductivity, and Temperature), Platform, and full version software.

The Phyta-Pond combines all of the monitoring and controlling benefits from the Phyta-Platform into a Closed Looped sealed “pond”. This combination reduces Capital Expense to build a commercial facility while still having all of the photosynthetic inputs optimized.

Features of the Phyta-Pond

• Covered, Closed Looped, and sanitized air intake
• Geothermal Exchange to maintain optimum Pond Temperature
• Monitor and Control Temperature, pH, EC, ORP, expandable to handle up to 10 inputs
• Durable cover with built in UV inhibitors to help maintain a healthy culture
• Proprietary pumping system that is designed to maximize the algae’s exposure to photosynthetic radiation. The Fluid Dynamics do not allow algae to rest on bottom of the pond.
• Proprietary cleaning system keeps the Pond from Biofouling.
• Theoretically achieve algae concentrations of 4-6 grams per liter at an efficiency of 20% in optimum summer daylight

ALGAE LIPID OIL EXTRACTION

Culturing Solutions has developed a process to extract the algae lipid oil from the alga cell. This is a process that has been used for other extraction needs like essential oils and decaffeination. It is completely non-toxic and is efficient and highly repeatable. The extracted oils can be converted into Biodiesel, Biojet, GreenGasoline and GreenDiesel.

P2400L Installed at a European Union Funded Research Facility

P600L LOCATED AT THE DEMO SITE

PHYTA-POND LOCATED AT THE DEMO SITE

Key Benefits of the Phyta-Platform tubular Photobioreactor.

• The platform has a continuous self-cleaning process
• The most rigid platform available, able to withstand 130MPH wind load
• Tubes are specially designed for the Phyta-Platform
• Tube diameter is set to optimize the optical path of photons
• Tube pattern is optimized for absorption of every photon falling on a square meter
• Stainless Steel and HD/PVC construction of all plumbing and pumping
• May be designed at any angle, very versatile (horizontal, vertical or at any angle)
• Additional sensor ports are available
• Units will ship in 10-12 weeks

Control Panel Detail

The Phyta-Platform has an easy to use and intuitive three button user interface. The buttons are used to navigate through the menus and to modify the standard setup. All setup and program modifications are possible through the buttons on the Phyta-Platform – no external computer is required.

The base unit includes a comprehensive owner’s manual, which contains instructions and examples on how to best utilize your Phyta-Platform. No technical background is necessary to operate the controller. To help you perform the initial setup of the Phyta-Platform, the base unit comes pre-programmed with a default setup which requires little modification to work with most aquaculture setups.

Monitor pH, ORP, Temperature, Conductivity and Dissolved Oxygen

The base unit includes software which is capable of monitoring pH, ORP, temperature, conductivity and dissolved oxygen. The monitored data is continuously displayed on the large LCD display and also logged into the internal RAM for later retrieval. All probes support digital calibration.

Control pH, ORP, Temperature, Conductivity and Dissolved Oxygen

The Phyta-Platform also contains the functionality to control the pH, ORP, temperature, conductivity and dissolved oxygen in your unit. The standard control functions for the monitored parameters listed above are possible.

Advantages over other Photobioreactors

Monitor: pH, ORP, Temperature, Conductivity, and Dissolved Oxygen

Control: pH, ORP, Temperature, Conductivity, and Dissolved Oxygen

Timers

Simulate Sunrise/Sunset

Simulate a Moon Cycle

Control Powerheads/Pumps (Wavemaker)

4 External Switch Inputs

Programming Language (enhanced)

Alarms

Perform Data logging

PC or Macintosh RS232 Serial Interface

Ethernet Interface (10 Base T)

Embedded HTTP Web Server

Telnet Server

Email Alarm Notification

Large Backlit LCD Display

Display Lock with password protection

Battery Backup

Power Fail Alarm

Hardwired Direct Connect Modules

Flash Memory for easy Firmware Upgrades

PX 1000 Probe Expansion Module

Diagnostics

• Allows the Phyta-Platform to be configured from the PC.
• Ethernet Connection to Phyta-Platform is supported.
• Both conventional windows GUI and web browser interface. Note: web server not supported on Windows XP Home Edition.
• Updates the seasonal temperature and lighting variation tables.
• Updates the Phyta-Platform’s program and timer names.
• Allows user control of all the devices connected to the Phyta-Platform.
• Continuous monitoring and graphing of all parameters measured by the Phyta-Platform.
• Phyta-Platform controlled event monitoring.
• Automatically downloads and graphs the data log (daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly graphs available).
• Advanced graphing functions
• File output of all monitored parameters so that they can be imported into other data analysis tools (i.e. Microsoft Excel).
• Integrated database. A complete electronic notebook on the conditions and algae in your Phyta-Platform
• Alarm notification via email, pager, or shell command of tank error conditions.
• Graphic Database Explorer
• Automatically set the Phyta-Platform’s Clock/Date.
• Remote access to the Phyta-Platform via a modem or TCP/IP connection.
• Support for direct modem connection to a Phyta-Platform
• Support for hardwired serial connection to a Phyta-Platform
• On-Line Help

• Contamination of other algae species is minimized or prevented, allowing for the axenic algal cultivation of cultivating monocultures.
• Easy and better control over biocultural conditions (light, nutrients, CO2, pH and temperature).
• Evaporation of water is prevented.
• Better absorption of input CO2.
• Permit higher cell concentrations than raceway ponds.
• Reduce space need and increase production exponentially more than a raceway pond.

Limiting Factors

Regardless of the type of Photobioreactor (tubular, thin film, bag, tank, etc.) There are limiting factors that are relevant.

• Fouling caused by algae collecting on the surface will inhibit light absorption and reduce production
• Pumping is a major concern. Too much shear will damage more delicate algae species.
• Low flow rates will bleach algae from to much light and dissolved oxygen will build up, both of which greatly inhibit cell reproduction.
• Light transmission into the growing media only reaches to a certain depth before photosynthesis ceases. In dark areas more complex synthesist occurs.
• When the algae do not have the proper amount of time in each phase growth rates are greatly depreciated.
• Control over the growing parameters needs to be closely maintained to specifications.

The Phyta-Platform has solved all of these limiting factors:

Biodiesel is the fastest growing renewable fuel in the United States with an average growth rate in excess of 100% per year over the past five years. Biodiesel is renewable, environmentally friendly, and mixes easily with diesel fuel at rates between 2% and 100%.  Biodiesel improves the lubricity of petroleum based diesel fuel significantly at inclusion levels as low as 2%.

Biodiesel is an alternative fuel that can be used in neat (pure) form, or blended with petroleum diesel for use in compression ignition (diesel) engines. Its physical and chemical properties as it relates to the operation of diesel engines are similar to petroleum based fuel. The official definition for Biodiesel is: “Biodiesel” – a fuel comprised of mono-alkyl esters of long chain fatty acids derived from vegetable oils or animal fats, designated B100.

Biodiesel is typically produced by a reaction of a vegetable oil, animal fat or ALGAE LIPID OIL with an alcohol such as methanol or ethanol, in the presence of a catalyst to yield mono-alkyl esters and glycerin, which are separated. The finished biodiesel derives approximately  10% of its mass from the reacted alcohol. Although biodiesel is considered a renewable fuel, the alcohol used in the reaction may or may not come from renewable resources.

Biodiesel can be used in any diesel engine with little or no engine modification even at a B100 level. Biodiesel can also be blended at any ratio from 1% to 100% (pure or neat biodiesel) and blends as low as 1% have been shown to increase lubricity up to 65%.  However, blends of 2% offer a higher amount of lubricity benefit for lesser incremental cost.  In most cases, biodiesel must be blended at a rate of 2% for it to be considered “biodiesel”.

When compared to petroleum diesel fuel, biodiesel provides significant reductions in harmful emissions. Biodiesel significantly improves air quality, is biodegradable and is less toxic than table salt.

The environmental benefits of biodiesel have been proven through some of the most rigorous testing of any renewable fuel.   Biodiesel is the first and only alternative fuel to have a complete evaluation of emission results and potential health effects submitted to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the U.S. Clean Air Act Section 211 (b).   These programs include the most stringent emissions testing protocols ever required by EPA for certification of fuels or fuel additives.