Useful Links

It's estimated that the red tide algae, Karenia brevis, costs approximately $20 million per bloom in economic damage off the coast of Florida alone. Scientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology have found that a diatom can reduce the levels of the red tide's toxicity to animals and that the same diatom can reduce its toxicity to other algae as well.

Wastewater Treatment

http://www.nrel.gov/biomass/pdfs/lundquist.pdf -

Prof Lundquist on use of Algae for Wastewater treatment .

http://www.iwaponline.com/wst/05511/wst055110165.htm -

Symbiotic algal bacterial wastewater treatment.

Nitrogen and Phosphorus in Water

http://www.waterandwastewater.com/www_services/newsletter/november_17_2008.htm

Phosphorous Pollution Costs US $4.3B Annually

Dissolved Oxygen

http://www.eco-check.org/pdfs/do_letter.pdf

Harmful Algal Blooms

http://www.epa.gov/gmpo/habpage.html

Diatom Algal Bloom

http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2009/may/19/algae-in-atlantic-could-move-southward-from/

The algae floating in the Atlantic off Brevard, Flagler and Volusia counties isn't dangerous; but it deserves monitoring, say scientists.

Chesapeake Bay and Gulf of Mexico Dead zone

http://sitemaker.umich.edu/scavia/hypoxia_forecasts

Bioremediation of water

http://www.algaewheel.com/algaewheel-technology.cfm - ALGAEWHEEL TECHNOLOGY

Redfield Ratio

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redfield_ratio

Redfield-Brzezinski nutrient ratio for diatoms is C:Si:N:P = 106:15:16:1 (Brzezinski, 1985).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_fertilization

The Redfield ratio describes the relative atomic concentrations of critical nutrients in plankton biomass and is conventionally written "106 C: 16 N: 1 P." This expresses the fact that one atom of phosphorus and 16 of nitrogen are required to " fix " 106 carbon atoms (or 106 molecules of CO 2 ). Recent research has expanded this constant to "106 C: 16 N: 1 P: .001 Fe" signifying that in iron deficient conditions each atom of iron can fix 106,000 atoms of carbon, [28] or on a mass basis, each kilogram of iron can fix 83,000 kg of carbon dioxide. The 2004 EIFEX experiment reported a carbon dioxide to iron export ratio of nearly 3000 to 1. The atomic ratio would be approximately: "3000 C: 58,000 N: 3,600 P: 1 Fe" [29] .

Biodiesel from Diatoms

http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ie900044j

In the face of increasing CO 2 emissions from conventional energy (gasoline), and the anticipated scarcity of crude oil, a worldwide effort is underway for cost-effective renewable alternative energy sources. Here, we review a simple line of reasoning: (a) geologists claim that much crude oil comes from diatoms; (b) diatoms do indeed make oil; (c) agriculturists claim that diatoms could make 10-200 times as much oil per hectare as oil seeds; and (d) therefore, sustainable energy could be made from diatoms. In this communication, we propose ways of harvesting oil from diatoms, using biochemical engineering and also a new solar panel approach that utilizes genomically modifiable aspects of diatom biology, offering the prospect of “milking” diatoms for sustainable energy by altering them to actively secrete oil products. Secretion by and milking of diatoms may provide a way around the puzzle of how to make algae that both grow quickly and have a very high oil content.

Ocean Iron Fertilization

Therefore small amounts of iron (measured by mass parts per trillion) in "desolate" HNLC zones can trigger large phytoplankton blooms. Recent marine trials suggest that one kilogram of fine iron particles may generate well over 100,000 kilograms of plankton biomass. The size of the iron particles is critical, however, and particles of 0.5~1 micrometre or less seem to be ideal both in terms of sink rate and bioavailability . Particles this small are not only easier for cyanobacteria and other phytoplankton to incorporate, the churning of surface waters keeps them in the euphotic or sunlit biologically active depths without sinking for long periods of time.

Exotic uses of Diatoms:

Algae in Space to recycle CO2, Urine and Feces into O2, Water and Food.

http://www.jaxa.jp/article/special/eco/oguchi_e.html

“Recycling air is essential for humans to stay in space for an extended time. Currently, oxygen is delivered from the ground to the International Space Station (ISS), and adsorbent materials are used to remove the carbon dioxide exhaled by humans. The problem is that if six astronauts are scheduled to stay in space for six months, the mission requires more than a tonne of adsorbent material, and the transportation cost is significant. We are also conducting research to develop an air cleaning technology that uses photosynthesis with a kind of algae called spirulina.” (Blue Green Algae / Cyanobacteria ).

If diatoms are used even the urine and feces can be recycled into water and food.

Computer Chips from Diatoms:

http://www.scienceagogo.com/news/20080021192855data_trunc_sys.shtml

Diatoms, tiny phytoplankton that encase themselves in intricately patterned shells, could represent the next big breakthrough in computer chip fabrication, say scientists from the University of Wisconsin-Madison .

Photovoltaic panels with Diatoms:

http://blog.bcarc.com/2009/04/11/pv-panels-built-from-algae-shells-triple-collector-efficiency/

Microscopic algae called diatoms could help triple the electrical output of experimental, dye-sensitized solar cells, according to researchers at Oregon State University and Portland State University .

Useful Links

Video about Nualgi and Diatoms – The Diatom Story

Video of Oxygen bubbling up in a lake after use of Nualgi.

Algae

Diatoms

Diatomaceous Earth

Biogenic Silica

Ocean Acidification

Fish Kills

Red Tides