OriginOil teams up with Desmet Ballestra in algae to fuel technology

OriginOil biochemist, Heather Heath. MIAA

Algae is an ancient source of fuel, rediscovered. © MIAA

Much of the world's oil and gas is made up of ancient algae deposits. OriginOil’s technology will produce 'new oil' from algae, through what it describes as a cost-effective, high-speed manufacturing process.

This endless supply of new oil can be used for many products such as diesel, gasoline, jet fuel, plastics and solvents without the global warming effects of petroleum. Other oil producing feedstock such as corn and sugarcane have been criticized for destroying farmlands and rainforests, disrupting global food supplies and a range of environmental problems.

'Our unique technology, based on algae, is targeted at fundamentally changing our source of oil without disrupting the environment or food supplies,' said Eckelberry,

'Desmet Ballestra is an early leader in the implementation and sale of full-scale algae extraction systems. With Desmet Ballestra as a worldwide partner, OriginOil can begin commercializing its algae-to-oil technology on a global scale.

'Like most current algae oil extraction systems on the market, the Desmet systems are quite expensive. Our patent-pending Single-Step Oil Extraction technology will help Desmet Ballestra create a more cost-efficient algae oil extraction system.'

In early studies, Desmet and OriginOil have estimated that energy efficiency gains may reach 90% in certain configurations.

Abundant and easy to grow, marine algae is far and away the most promising option for bio-fuel, according to its proponents. © MIAA

Conventional algae oil extraction systems use petrochemical or alcohol solvents to extract algae oil. In this process, the largest amount of energy consumption comes from the initial steps of dewatering and drying the algal biomass. The novel OriginOil Single Step Extraction technology, however, allows the oil to be separated from the algal biomass in water with no dewatering or drying steps. As a result, substantial electrical and thermal energy can be saved.

The OriginOil Single Step Extraction technology also requires significantly less capital expenditure per ton of oil extracted.

Conventional oil extraction systems are rather complex and need to be large-scaled to keep the capital cost per ton of oil within reason. In contrast, the OriginOil Single Step Extraction technology does not require a petrochemical solvent, such as hexane, which is known to require an extensive permitting process before implementation, thus allowing for a more cost-effective production of algal oil.

'We are looking forward to working with OriginOil on a partnership that we believe will be mutually beneficial,' said Desmet Ballestra North America president and CEO Timothy G. Kemper. 'We are enthusiastically modeling the use of OriginOil's Single Step Extraction technology in commercial algal oil extraction systems, and expect to announce further industry-impacting details in the months to come.'

Two incubations of nannochloropsis algae, separated for parallel testing. © MIAA

Desmet Ballestra is a private company based in Zaventem, Belgium, serving the seed crushing, oil refining, oleochemical, surfactant, and detergent markets. It has operations in Egypt, Nigeria, Sudan, Argentina, Brazil, Columbia, Mexico, the United States, China, India, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, the United Arab Emirates, Belgium, Bulgaria, Romania, Russia, Spain, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. More at www.desmetballestra.com

Eckelberry's presentation from the conference can also be found on the OriginOil website: www.OriginOil.com