Algae Biofuel Cake

Like anybody, I have quite a few friends that always have algae on the mind. Euglenophyta this, Dinoflagellata that, we’ve all been there. What might surprise you is that your algae loving friends have it right, these little guys are way more efficient for producing energy than any other biofuel currently around (some say up to 30 times!). And did I mention how cute they are?:

Diatoms may not be the most loyal pets, but you'll save on bills!

NASA recently started a project for an algae biofuel system called OMEGA, which is badass for Offshore Membrane Enclosure for Growing Algae system. With so much news around algae I decided it was a good time to create an Obviously Made by the Experimentally Glorious Adam (OMEGA) cake.

Visual perfection was far, oh so very far,  from being attained for this project, but the thing tasted fantastic. I present, a shoreline wastewater plant connected to an algae reactor!

Uhhh okay??

So I won’t be entering this for art prize, but I will spend the rest of this post trying to convince you that it has any representational value.

Let’s use our imaginations… hard… and imagine we are on a vista peering out over vast green toothpick forests leading to the wavy white-cake-dyed-blue ocean. And what is this! A beautiful wastewater treatment plant marked with a discrete W is front and center. A white chocolate buttercream frosting covers this essential facility like a light spring snow (oh god I hope not). Pendulously extending from the facility are the photobioreactors of the OMEGA system!

Before we dive into the ocean, let’s take a look at how much awesome goes into this technology.

Promoting a sustainable Pokeculture.

The algae look at wastewater as a tasty treat and only need sunlight to start converting it. What really sticks out is that this is actually a cleaning technology, not just a clean one. By helping to break down the nutrients that come out of the treatment plant, the system is helping keep these harmful chemicals from the ocean.

The OMEGA system doesn’t just protect the ocean, the algae is able to fix carbon from atmospheric CO2 (put it into organic compounds) and then release oxygen back into the atmosphere. This could be very beneficial in reducing the effects of global warming. And what do we get out of it? Energy. Not bad.

I'm sure that now you're even more curious about what is lurking in the brackish depths of this vanilla cake ocean?

Ah! an upwelling. 

Keeping harmful nutrients out of the ocean should help to alleviate marine dead zones. These oxygen-deprived zones have become a big problem recently, some as large as the west side of the Lower Peninsula! In my experience, having oxygen is a big plus, and I’m all about keeping some O2 for the fishes. As you can tell by the freshly made strawberry filling-phytoplankton, this cake supports a rich aquaculture.

The OMEGA system may have some problems, such as the plastics needed to contain the algae, but it’s a technology to keep your eye on.

Well I hope that this post was a bit entertaining and a bit informative. Suggestions for the blog are always welcome!