SCHOTT recently demonstrated its glass tubing technologies for algae production and wastewater treatment at the Algae Biomass Summit in Phoenix, Arizona.
SCHOTT’s tubing is a crucial component in photobioreactors and algae production systems, e.g., for the Austrian commercial algae producer ecoduna and Clearas Water Recovery, a U.S.-based municipal and industrial wastewater recovery firm. Though the two systems differ in size and arrangement, the glass tubing encourages algae growth and improves biomass yields.
Algae production systems are designed to run constantly, therefore the tubing must be structurally sound and cannot become opaque or fade. SCHOTT’s glass tubing can withstand hundreds of gallons of water filled with algae over many years and still maintain excellent light transmittance. Research has found that SCHOTT’s glass tubing boasts higher light transmission than polymer tubes while experiencing minimal solar degradation over one year.
Niko Schultz, SCHOTT PBR product manager, highlighted the advantages of glass compared to polymer tubing and presented some trends in the field during a conference presentation.
Montana-based Clearas Water Recovery, which specializes in wastewater cleaning and recovery, relies on SCHOTT glass tubing in its nutrient recovery system. Clearas Water’s reactors use sunlight and algae’s appetite to remove excess nitrogen and phosphorus from municipal and industrial water supplies before the water is discharged into the environment. The algae, feeding on the surplus of nutrients in tightly controlled, clear glass tubing, can reduce the phosphorus levels in the water by a factor of 10 and the nitrogen levels by a factor of 3; the biomass can be converted into soil enhancements, fuels, and other products. Because the system is designed to run constantly, Clearas Water uses SCHOTT’s glass tubing, which remains structurally sound and doesn’t degrade in transparency over the span of many years.
ecoduna, which produces biomass from chlorella, spirulina, and other algae, runs a vertical photobioreactor system using SCHOTT’s 65mm DURAN glass tubing. Nutrients are introduced at the base and oxygen disperses from the top. The glass tube system provides superior light dilution and utilization, as well as a large surface-to-volume ratio. ecoduna can cultivate 365 days of the year and the firm expects to replace the tubing once every 50 years. The consistency, longevity, and transparency of the tubes in this vertical photobioreactor help increase output while driving down operating costs.
“Clearas Water has turned to algae to clean and filter wastewater and prevented environment-wrecking algae blooms, like the ones in Lake Erie almost every year. ecoduna has pioneered continuous industrial algae production methods while conserving resources,” said Schultz. “Both companies offer real-life evidence of the unique properties glass tubing brings to algae production, from clarity to strength to longevity to sustainability.”
For more information: http://microsites.schott.com/us-pbr/english/index.html