Harvesting technique could make algae a viable biofuel

Algae produce an oil that can be used to create a useful biofuel. Biofuels made from plant material are considered an important alternative to fossil fuels and algae, in particular, has the potential to be a very efficient biofuel producer.

Until now, however, there has been no cost-effective method of harvesting algae and removing water from it so that it can be processed effectively.

The technique from Sheffield University builds on previous research in which microbubbles were used to make algae blooms denser and consequently easier to harvest. However, removing the water so the algae could be harvested remained problematic.

Now, a team led by Mark Zimmerman in the Department of Chemical and Process Engineering at Sheffield University believes it has solved the problem.

Zimmerman told The Engineer: ‘What we’ve found is that we can separate the microalgae from the water or harvest it using microbubbles that are created by a fluidic oscillator.