Answer to Fuel Food Crises

 

Aaron Baum at work. All photos courtesy of The Algae Lab

 by Alice C. Chen 

Microscopic spinning orbs and spirals of green goo are the answers to our planets energy crisis and arable land shortage. At least thats what Aaron Baum, a 40-year-old Harvard graduate and Stanford PhD, has concluded.
And Baum should know. After a mid-life crisis of sorts, he spent months researching the types of science that would most benefit the world and concluded that algae are it. Now, he wants to share his passion with the public by creating communities of people with their own algae farms. Imagine that – you can have a personal algae tank that provides fresh, ultra-nutritious food on a year-round basis.
Baum is a research consultant for NASAs OMEGA project, whose mission is to create massive amounts of algae for biofuel, fertilizer and food. The San Rafael, California algae-phile knows not everyone has access to professional grade equipment – which can cost tens of thousands of dollars – so Baum has started teaching seminars on how to raise spirulina inexpensively and in ones own home. The day-long workshops cost $150 and hell also provide you with a kit that includes a tank, spirulina starter stock, a nutrient mix and other equipment for $200. Through these workshops, Baum hopes to continue forming a collaborative community that shares knowledge about algae farming.

The seminars grew out of Baums first venture in algae. In 2008, he created what he says was the worlds first communal algae farm. The project was based in Berkeley and consisted of more than a dozen 55-gallon tanks of algae. It eventually got so massive that it wouldve required full-time staff, so Baum closed it down when he traveled around the world last year to attend algae workshops and visit algae farms. When he returned, he thought it would be more manageable to have the farms in peoples homes. I talked with him about his adventures in algae, and his plans for the future

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Alice Chen: How did you get interested in algae?
Aaron Baum: As a scientist, Im completely committed to doing good things for the environment. I earned my Phd in applied physics from Stanford in 1997 and worked for several years in Silicon Valley as a program manager on technologies I developed in graduate school. I realized I was working my butt off to make computer chips run faster. I kind of lost faith in what I was doing.
I dropped out of that field, worked as an artist for several years and realized I miss science -- the intellectual challenge and making contributions and changing peoples lives. I decided to get back into science on my own terms.
I thought about it for a long time and decided I wanted to work in a field where I could be sure I was doing something good for the world. I started doing a lot of research four years ago and after a few months, algae started to stick up out above everything else. Back then if you searched for algae, what came up was how to kill algae and how bad it was because of algae blooms. That was happening for a while but now its exponentially worse. I started working in that area. Now if you search for algae (online), about half of what you find is good.
AC: Whats so great about algae?
AB: Algae is a way to grow really high quality food in a small area, on the surface of a body of water or in wastewater. Or you can grow algae in dilute urine which is an easy way to get the right nutrients and reduce your impact on the environment.
Most marine biologists consider that the number one danger to marine life is eutrophication, an excess of nutrients in the water from agricultural runoff due to application fertilizer. When it hits the ocean or lake, there are massive algae blooms. When they decay, they wipe out oxygen and everything dies.
If you can find a way to keep nutrients out of water, you reduce the size of dead zones. You can create controlled algae blooms, harvest algae and eliminate nutrients that way. Or you can take wastewater, give it to algae directly and absorb nutrients. You come out with clean water, fuel, food, fertilizer and extra oxygen. And on a small scale in your own house if you grow it in dilute urine, you reduce the fertilizer load on the local ecosystem.

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AC: Tell me about algae as food. Why are people so into it?
AB: The idea was first proposed in the 1930s in Germany. They were trying to develop it for growing food. You can grow a lot of food in a small area. Its extremely nutritious on a gram-for-gram basis. You can mix it in with other food. It didnt take off until spirulina in the 1970s. Now theres chlorella.
Normally you get spirulina in a powder or pill form. Its grown in large outdoor ponds normally, and you sieve it out of water. Its kind of special. It grows in corkscrew filaments making it relatively easy to strain out of water using a special fabric. Most other kinds of algae are too small and roundish, very difficult to filter.
Algae as a food is extremely healthy. Its high in complete protein, antioxidants, omega-3 fatty acids, and its effective against infections. It has defenses against viruses and you can acquire defenses as well. Its good to protect against environmental toxins. There were dozens of experiments where they fed rats a regular diet and another group with spirulina. They exposed them to mercury, lead, pesticides, radiation and mutagens and found that spirulina-eating rats do much better.
In powder form, spirulinas great, but when you want to eat a blueberry, you dont want it powdered. You want it fresh. You can eat fresh spirulina thats basically alive. It tastes better.
AC: What does it taste like?
AB: The problem with most algae is it tastes like seaweed. A lot of people are not turned on by that taste. I think its really good in certain dishes. When you eat it live, fresh, the taste is much lighter, creamy, and buttery. You can spread it on crackers. We mix it with brown rice and guacamole so its vegan. The easiest way is in carrot juice.

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AC: Is anyone else doing what youre doing?
AB: Were at the very beginning of growing it. A few people have worked on it. Some people in France grow spirulina on a small scale in their house. Outside of France, theres been very little work. Im not aware of anyone in the U.S. working on it other than us.
AC: Why havent more people already started growing algae in their homes?
AB: There are technical barriers. You need to grow live spirulina. You need a seed reactor, a nutrient mix to put in the water and a special cloth. You must maintain proper balance between acidity and alkalinity, and the proper temperature. What Im doing is putting together a kit to provide live spirulina.
AC: How is this a communal project?
AB: Im starting out by building the community and showing people how they can do it themselves. Well do it together and share information through our website.
Previously we built a whole algae lab all based on volunteer labor. We built it for about 1,000 times less money than what we spend in places like NASA. What were aiming to do is cultivate algae based on free material. We grow algae and are investigating it as fertilizer, biofuel, and growing it in dilute urine.
Wed like to create an international network of people growing all kinds of algae in their homes in a small community scale, sharing information, doing it all in an open source way. Wed be like the linux of algae – do-it-yourself with low-cost materials and shared information.
I get emails from all over world. Theres been a huge wave of interest in algae, driven by biofuels and by the growing awareness of the lack of farmland. If you want to make new farmland, you have to destroy ecosystems. The biggest impact humans have on the world is through agriculture. If we want to grow more food so people can eat better, we either destroy the last remaining ecosystems on the planet or find a new way to do things.

AC: Whats the market like for spirulina?
AB: The world consumes about 100,000 tons of spirulina a year. Its used for animal feed and its a nutraceutical (that is, a food that provides health benefits). Its kind of expensive, usually about $80 per pound for powder. Its a very nutrient dense food. When I eat spirulina – I eat vegan – I dont have cravings for meat or sugar. Food is more satisfying when it has spirulina. I eat a lot, 15 grams a day. Most people would consider 5 grams a day to be fairly high. If youre eating 10 grams a day, youre spending about $200 a year on it.
AC: How did you transition into algae as a career?
AB: I got interested in algae and decided to create an algae farm project at Burning Man in 2007. I got together a community of people and we created an installation on a trailer. We had 16 bioreactors with live algae that was eating the exhaust of a generator. They grew great – it was very successful. We had a lot of educational material. There were big posters jammed full of text explaining what we were doing and why it was interesting.
Ive worked at the Exploratorium. Theyll tell you that anything beyond one to two sentences, theres no way youre going to get anyone in the public to read anything more than that. On the night of the Burn, the craziest night of all with partying and dancing, I went to the installation. We had forgotten to turn the lights on. In the dark, I was surrounded by people all using headlamps, leaning close and reading every single word wed written. As soon as they knew I was part of it, they started peppering me with questions. A guy from NASA was inspired by this project and then joined the OMEGA project. And then he gave me a call.

LabBench

AC: What are you doing for NASA?
AB: Were developing large-scale systems that are combining biofuel and fertilizer production with wastewater treatment and production of fresh air and fresh water. Were using large membrane enclosures floating in bodies of water. Its a low-energy, low-resource way of growing algae.
One budding thing of NASA technology – were working on a clever way of removing algae from water.
Were focused on the biofuel aspect at NASA. For biofuel, you want a species that produces a lot of oil. Many species of algae can produce huge amounts of oil -- they can be more than 50 percent oil by weight, compared to normal plants that only produce a few percent.
Algae can produce about 100 times more than typical oil plants like soybeans, on a per acre basis. You can grow enough algae to replace all of the fossil fuel in an area thats small enough to be manageable. You dont need to use farmland, theres not much remaining in the world ready to be used, and you dont need fresh water. The nice thing about algae is while they cleans water and air, they can produce very valuable things like fuel, fertilizer and food. Theyre precursers for bioplastics, cosmetics and medicines.
Its a new kind of farming, potentially very low impact and sustainable.

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AC: So whats your vision -- to see every household have algae?
AB: I dont see why not. It should be easier than a vegetable plot. Algae is such a super food. Its so productive on a daily basis that with one tank in a window you can significantly supplement the diet of one person. If you use a whole window, you could probably do two to three tanks year round and have even more. Every day you could be eating algae.
Algae is an incredible resource we havent tapped into. Human beings havent gone there yet because its microscopic. I didnt know what algae were until quite a bit later in life. They dont really teach you about it in school. It produces approximately 70 percent of the oxygen we breathe. Its the basis of 95 percent of life thats in oceans.
Even people with no dirt can grow fresh food for themselves. If youre in an apartment complex on the 25th floor, you can still grow fresh food.

 

Croatian Center of Renewable Energy Sources

 special thanks to 

Alice C. Chen 

 

Alice C. Chen developed her storytelling skills while exploring the Amazon Rainforest as an undergraduate at Stanford University. She went on to earn her masters degree from Northwestern Universitys Medill and is now an award-winning journalist.
Alice has nearly a decade of experience across media and has produced stories for the web, print, TV and radio. Her pieces have appeared everywhere from the San Francisco Chronicle to BNET and Newsweek.com. Alices specialties include business and health care reporting, and shes also interested in narrative writing, profiles and inspirational stories.
Previous to Alices freelancing career, she was an education reporter at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, one of the largest daily newspapers in the country. Alice resides in the San Francisco Bay Area.

More info about AlgaeLab on

 http://www.algaelab.org/

CCRES SPIRULINA 

project of 

Croatian Center of Renewable Energy Sources

(CCRES)

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The Life of Algae

This video from Sapphire Energy tracks the cultivation of algae from their San Diego lab in microscopic images, to petri dishes, to flasks, and then outside in their Las Cruces, NM facility and into 14?, 40?, 100? and half-acre ponds. This is the path that many thousands of strains have taken as Sapphire refines their library of commercial strains that will be used in their Green Crude Farm or Integrated Algal BioRefinery (IABR) now under construction in Columbus, NM. At the Green Crude Farm, the world’s first commercial demonstration scale algae-to-energy facility, algae will be cultivated in ponds over 2 acres in size.

CCRES SPIRULINA

 part of 

Croatian Center of Renewable Energy Sources (CCRES)

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Algae The Worlds Most Important Plants

Believe it or not, your life depends on algae!

Join Scripps Institutions Russell Chapman as he discusses the important roles algae have played in the development of life as we know it.

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Nutrient data for Spirulina

CCRES Spirulina, raw

Nutrient	Unit	Value per 100.0g
Proximates
Water	g	90.67
Energy	kcal	26
Protein	g	5.92
Total lipid (fat)	g	0.39
Carbohydrate, by difference	g	2.42
Fiber, total dietary	g	0.4
Sugars, total	g	0.30
Minerals
Calcium, Ca	mg	12
Iron, Fe	mg	2.79
Magnesium, Mg	mg	19
Phosphorus, P	mg	11
Potassium, K	mg	127
Sodium, Na	mg	98
Zinc, Zn	mg	0.20
Vitamins
Vitamin C, total ascorbic acid	mg	0.9
Thiamin	mg	0.222
Riboflavin	mg	0.342
Niacin	mg	1.196
Vitamin B-6	mg	0.034
Folate, DFE	µg	9
Vitamin B-12	µg	0.00
Vitamin A, RAE	µg	3
Vitamin A, IU	IU	56
Vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol)	mg	0.49
Vitamin D (D2 + D3)	µg	0.0
Vitamin D	IU	0
Vitamin K (phylloquinone)	µg	2.5
Lipids
Fatty acids, total saturated	g	0.135
Fatty acids, total monounsaturated	g	0.034
Fatty acids, total polyunsaturated	g	0.106

CCRES Spirulina, dried

Nutrient	Unit	Value per 100.0g	cup 112g	tablespoon 7g
Proximates
Water	g	4.68	5.24	0.33
Energy	kcal	290	325	20
Protein	g	57.47	64.37	4.02
Total lipid (fat)	g	7.72	8.65	0.54
Carbohydrate, by difference	g	23.90	26.77	1.67
Fiber, total dietary	g	3.6	4.0	0.3
Sugars, total	g	3.10	3.47	0.22
Minerals
Calcium, Ca	mg	120	134	8
Iron, Fe	mg	28.50	31.92	2.00
Magnesium, Mg	mg	195	218	14
Phosphorus, P	mg	118	132	8
Potassium, K	mg	1363	1527	95
Sodium, Na	mg	1048	1174	73
Zinc, Zn	mg	2.00	2.24	0.14
Vitamins
Vitamin C, total ascorbic acid	mg	10.1	11.3	0.7
Thiamin	mg	2.380	2.666	0.167
Riboflavin	mg	3.670	4.110	0.257
Niacin	mg	12.820	14.358	0.897
Vitamin B-6	mg	0.364	0.408	0.025
Folate, DFE	µg	94	105	7
Vitamin B-12	µg	0.00	0.00	0.00
Vitamin A, RAE	µg	29	32	2
Vitamin A, IU	IU	570	638	40
Vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol)	mg	5.00	5.60	0.35
Vitamin D (D2 + D3)	µg	0.0	0.0	0.0
Vitamin D	IU	0	0	0
Vitamin K (phylloquinone)	µg	25.5	28.6	1.8
Lipids
Fatty acids, total saturated	g	2.650	2.968	0.186
Fatty acids, total monounsaturated	g	0.675	0.756	0.047
Fatty acids, total polyunsaturated	g	2.080	2.330	0.146
Cholesterol	mg	0	0	0

CCRES special thanks to US National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference

CCRES ALGAE PROJECT
part of
Croatian Center of Renewable Energy Sources (CCRES)

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GRANPA DOME Farming Beneath a Dome

 

GRANPA DOME Farming Beneath a Dome

Special Report : Farming Beneath a Dome

In our first "Special Report", we take a look at a uniquely shaped plant factory, which is up and running in one of the devastated areas from the Great East Japan Earthquake. Within its dome is a circular vegetable cultivation stage.

This is a dome-type plant factory produced by a company named Granpa. Curly lettuce is grown inside this 29-meter diameter dome. A maximum of 14,000 heads of lettuce can be grown in one dome. The harvest varies according to the season, but roughly 250 to 400 heads of lettuce can be picked a day. For now, eight domes have been up and running since September 2012 at Rikuzen Takata Farm in Iwate prefecture. The company that developed them already had one operating in Kanagawa prefecture which is what led to the interest by Rikuzen Takata City. This dome allows the planting of seedlings while standing up straight, which is impossible when planting things outside. The strong point of the plant factory is that it can supply a stable amount of vegetables every day with a constant quality. Additionally, post-harvest work is also relatively easy, as the inside of the dome is always kept clean. The dome plant factory different from the square ones is the product of a number of ideas. It foretells the future of farming and also brings hope to the devastated areas.

 

CROATIAN CENTER OF RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES (CCRES)

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CO2 Generator

This is how to make a homemade carbon dioxide generator for your aquarium plants or algae.

yeast

  sugar

 tubule

 bottle 2 lit

 add sugar 50 g

 add yeast 20 g

 pierce stopper

 half a liter of hot water

 distilled water with the pores of Spirulina

 the pipe going into the water

 CO2 begin to sink into the water after 10 minutes

after a few weeks you have

 SPIRULINA

 CCRES SPIRULINA 

project of

Croatian Center of Renewable Energy Sources (CCRES)

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CCRES promotes Elken Spirulina

Best Food for The Future – Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)

Spirulina contains nutrition not found in other food sources and is able to fulfill nutrition deficiency as well as neutralize our body’s acidic condition. Spirulina has been consumed by the Japanese for decades and has been proven to increase health and promote longevity.

To maintain healthy body, we need nutritious food which consists of 80% alkaline food, and 20% acidic food. Alkaline food presents only in vegetables, fruits, cheese, egg white and algae. Others are all acidic in nature. To make matter worse, modern food tends to be high in carbohydrates, calorie, glucose, fat and cholesterol, and at the same time, low in vitamin, minerals and proteins which are what our cells need the most. These conditions create nutrition-deficiency and acidic body condition.

Our body cells require 46 different types of nutrition in well balanced amount. These vitamins and minerals cannot be produced by our body and is used up daily. Therefore, we need to have them in our diets. Since the various types of nutrition may have dependencies among themselves, a lack in one element might cause another to be wasted.

Unbalanced nutrition may cause semi-healthy states, such as fatigue, susceptible to illness, lack of concentration, allergic, gastric and others.

Spirulina contains complete and balanced set of nutrition that is easily available to our cells for faster absorption and to strengthen our body’s immune system.

How to preserve health? Our body needs food in the following proportion to remain healthy: 80% alkaline food and 20% acidic food. Modern lifestyles and diets consist of mostly acidic food such as meat, seafood, grains and others. The choice of alkaline food is very limited and consist only of vegetables, fruits, algae, cheese and egg white. Spirulina is the best out of alkaline food as it is 100% alkaline and is very nutritious.

CROATIAN CENTER of RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES

special thanks to

Hakim Hauston from Indonesia

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Why choose Spirulina

 

 

What is Spirulina?

Spirulina is 100% natural and a highly nutritious micro salt water plant. It was discovered in South American and Africa in natural alkaline lakes. This spiral shaped algae is a rich food source. For a long time (centuries) this algae has constituted a significant part of the diet of many communities. Since the 1970s, Spirulina has been well known and widely used as a dietary supplement in some countries.


Biotin is an enzyme that carries carbon dioxide and acts as an agent in the assimilation of some B complex vitamins.
B12 or Cobalamin is very difficult to extract from vegetables, but Spirulina is rich in this rare vitamin. The deficiency of B12 is indicated in cases of pernicious anaemia, nerve degeneration etc.
Pantothenic Acid is used in the adrenal glands along with vitamin C and cholesterol to produce steroids such as cortisone in response to physical and mental stress.
Folic Acid is essential for making new red blood cells.
Inositol keeps the liver healthy and balances blood holesterol. It is probably the most abundant vitamin in the body after niacin.
Niacin is considered to be a cholesterol lowering agent as well as being essential to mental health.
B2 or Riboflavin prevents eye problems and severe eczema.
B1 or Thiamine maintains glucose level in the blood. A serious deficiency of this vitamin may result in death.
E or Tocopherol. Preserves heart and vascular health and retards ageing.
Carotenoids. Some substances in plants are not always true vitamins, but they may be something from which the body can produce its own vitamins. The carotenoid compound of Spirulina is just such a substance. Carotenoids act as free radical quenchers, so they behave as a protector for the bodys own cells.
Normally, vitamin A is available only from the liver of some animals. Since vitamin A from animals is fat soluble, the human body stores it with its own fat reserves and it is not naturally expelled when an excess is consumed. Hence, vitamin A poisoning can occur.
Beta-Carotene is a very important antioxidant. There are some sources which are artificial, and others which exist within some of our vegetable foods.
The latter group or natural beta-carotenes are much to be preferred since the body can absorb these much more quickly. Several studies have indicated that people whose diet contains a lot of beta-carotene tend to have a lower risk of developing cancer. Other developing cancer. Other advantages are that natural sources do not contain preservatives or colouring materials.

Many common foods are rich in beta-carotene and may be enjoyed for their flavour as well as their goodness. Kale and spinach with their dark green leaves, broccoli, pumpkin, carrots, squash, papayas and cantaloupes all supply this important substance.
Green and yellow vegetables in general should be embraced as important foods for good health. Spirulina of course is very rich in beta-carotene, and by using it regularly youd ensure the body was not in need of this essential food.

Other Good Things!

Depending upon growing conditions, Spirulina will be from 65% to 71% protein. This protein content is said to be biologically complete. That means that all eight essential amino acids are present in their correct ratios. A lot of plants contain various ranges of protein, but with differing quantities of amino acids. Thus some degree of incompleteness will exist.

Here again Spirulina is different in that it contains a total of 18 amino acids in the exact proportion to mother’s breast milk.
It has these eight complete amino acids regarded as ideal for the human body.
Regrettably, the human body is unable to store amino acids, so when incomplete foods are taken, there is frequently an imbalance in the diet. Spirulina can come to the rescue with its full range of complete amino acids. These are as follows.
Isoleucine (4.13%). Needed for growth, intelligence development and nitrogen balance within the body. Also assists with synthesising other nonessential amino acids.
Leucine (5.8%). Helps to increase muscular energy levels and stimulate brain function.
Lysine (4.0%). used for forming blood antibodies, improves the circulatory system and promotes cell growth.
Methionine (2.17%). Vital for metabolising fats and lipids that maintain a healthy liver. Also helps calm the nerves.
Phenylalanine (3.95%). Used by the thyroid for the production of thyroxin which in turn governs metabolic rate.
Threonine (4.17%). Improves competence of the intestines and thus aids digestion.
Tryptophane (1.13%). Enhances the use of B group vitamins, improves nerve fibres. This in its turn contributes to emotional stability and calmness.
Valine (6.0%). Assists with the co-ordination of the muscular system as well as contributing to improved mental capacity.

Nonessential amino acids

Another group of amino acids are termed as nonessential, and there are twelve of these. Well Spirulina doesnt have all of them, but does have ten; not bad eh? Nonessential means that if not present in normal foods, they can be synthesised; it does not mean that the body has no need of them. Again, the following list is that of the nonessential amino acids which Spirulina can provide.
Alanine (5.82%). Strengthens the walls of cells.
Arginine (5.98%). Important for the production of (male) seminal fluid which is about 80% arginine. Assists in keeping the blood clean.
Aspartic Acid (6.34%). Helps with the transformation of carbohydrates to energy.
Cystine (0.67%). Aids with pancreatic health and thus stabilises blood sugar etc. May help towards alleviating food allergies.
Glutamic Acid (8.94%). Along with glucose it fuels the brain cells. Can reduce the craving for alcohol and also stabilise mental health.
Glycine (3.5%). Promoter of energy.
Histidine (1.08%). Improves nerve relays, especially in the hearing organs. Has even been used as a remedy for deafness.
Proline (2.97%). A Precursor of Glutamic acid.
Serine (4.0%). Helps with the formation of the fatty sheath surrounding nerve fibres.
Tyrosine (4.6%). May slow the ageing of cells and suppresses hunger. Involved in the colouration of hair and skin, and indeed helps with sunburn protection.

Chlorophyll - The Green Gold

Spirulina is very high in chlorophyll. It has an average of three times the amount of the green gold of other highly developed green plants. The dark green colour of Spirulina omes from the large amount of plant blood or in other words, chlorophyll, which is only one molecule different from haemoglobin in human blood and with it, a very important substance in a healthy diet. Chlorophyll in plants is collected sunlight. This “light-energy”, as Dr. Fritz-Albert Popp, Germany, calls it, is an important key factor in the human metabolism and cell communication.
Already in 1915 Prof. Richard Willstätter was honoured for his research about chlorophyll with the Nobel Prize. He proved, that chlorophyll is able to produce living substances from dead matter with the help of the stored, converted sunlight.
Dr. Ingfried Hobert, Germany, Chairman of the International Federation to Research and Develop Traditional Healing Methods and author of the book “Das Algen Gesundheits Buch” (The Algae Health Book), highlights in his book the benefits of chlorophyll in maintaining good health. Chlorophyll is mentioned for the prevention and treatment of gastric and duodenal ulcers, acne, to strengthens the heart muscles, build up immunity and energy, as a possible anti-bactericide, only to mention a few.

Minerals

Along with vitamins, we are always told how important minerals are. Well, to most people minerals come from rocks to form stalactites, or simply make washing water harder to wash with! Minerals really are chemical elements which we know are very important for good health. They are used in extremely small amounts however.
Spirulina grows in shallow ponds which contain very high concentrations of minerals. These ponds are very alkaline and in fact almost no other plant life can survive in this type of environment. Spirulina has the ability to lock many minerals into amino acids. By doing this, when we consume Spirulina, we receive the minerals in a form which our body can readily make use of. This next list shows those minerals and trace elements which Spirulina can provide.

Calcium (1,315 mg/Kg). The most abundant mineral in the human body. Essential for strong bones and teeth. Calcium also contributes to nerve transmission ability and absorbs acids in the body.
Potassium (15,400 mg/Kg). Used for regulating electrolytes. A deficiency can lead to heart attack and muscular collapse.
Zinc (39 mg/Kg). Assists with mental health, skin tone, prostate function and the ability for wounds to heal quickly.
Magnesium (1,915 mg/Kg). Assists with the assimilation of vitamins B and C and also some proteins. A deficiency may lead to muscular and cardiac problems.
Manganese (25 mg/Kg). Activates enzymes together with zinc. Helps stabilise blood sugars.
Selenium (0.40 ppm). Improves cardiac efficiency, reduces some types of toxicity and may retard ageing processes.
Iron (580 mg/Kg). Used for making haemoglobin, the oxygen carrier in the blood.

Phosphorus (8,942 mg/Kg). Found in almost every cell of the human body, and together with calcium contributes to strong bones, and assists with digestion of carbohydrates.This information in article is repruduced with a permission.

Croatian Center of Renewable Energy Sources 

special thanks to

 Harald W. Tietze

 "Spirulina - Micro Food Macro blessing"

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Happy St Patricks Day!

Happy St Patricks Day!

 Croatian Center of Renewable Energy Sources

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Build an Aquaponics Grow Bed

All the food CCRES produced during the year is given to poor families.

Measure the length and width of the aquarium with the measuring tape.

Cut the plywood with the saw to the dimensions of the aquarium you measured in Step 1.

Cut four beams the same length and width of the plywood you cut in Step 2.

Drill holes into two beams and screw them together at a 90-degree angle. Lay the other two beams across the aquaponics grow bed.

Cut legs for the aquaponics grow bed frame. Place the frame where you will use it and measure and cut the legs to the length you need, keeping in mind the need to make them longer if there is a slope.

Drill holes into the legs. Keep them flush with the edge of the frame and screw them into place securely. Place the frame onto the plywood you cut in Step 2.  

 

Place the grow bed right next to the aquarium or pond. Line the grow bed with pond foil the same length and width of the grow bed. Pour gravel on top of the pond foil in the grow bed. Cut a hole through the center of the grow bed and pond foil with the saw.

Place the water pump in the fish tank or pond and connect the water-in pipe to the pump.
 Pull the water-in pipe through the hole in the grow bed. Install the overflow drain into the grow bed and set it to a few inches above the height of the grow bed to prevent water from overflowing.

Fill the aquarium or pond with water and place plants into the gravel of the grow bed.

 

CCRES AQUAPONICS special thanks to Zeljko Serdar for presentation of “How-To” module.

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Algae Competition The Future of Algae

A Global Challenge to Design Visionary Algae Food and Energy Systems

Landscape Designs • Production Systems • Food Development

"How will growing algae change the world and improve our lives?"

Participants represent projects in 40 countries and have submitted amazing entries. Visit the exhibits.

The Future of Algae video introduces twenty visionary entries in the Competition. Beginning with algae pond systems and photobioreactors today, this video looks into our future, exploring emerging themes, schemes and dreams in algae architecture and landscape design.

More info at:  http://www.algaecompetition.com/

Croatian Center of Renewable Energy Sources special thanks to  Robert Henrikson and Mark Edwards

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What is Spirulina

                                                                                          Spirulina Algae

What is Spirulina Algae ?

Spirulina is a microscopic blue-green algae that exists as a single celled organism turning sunlight into life energy.

It is one of the first life forms designed by nature more than 3.6 billion years ago. Spirulina contains billions of years of evolutionary wisdom in its DNA and is an offspring of earth’s first photosynthetic life forms.

Under the microscope, Spirulina is a blue-green color and has the appearance of a spiral of long thin threads. 

Spirulina is exceedingly adaptable and occurs in a wide variety of environments including fresh water, tropical springs, saltwater and saltpans.

Spirulina is full of nutrients and very easily digested. Commercially, Spirulina is available as a powder, tablet and capsule or added to foods and health tonics.

There are many forms of valuable algae and in the last 40 years Spirulina has been singled out for its nutritional properties. Long before it became a favorite of the health food industry, Spirulina was eaten regularly by North Africans and Mexicans centuries ago. Now many people around the globe realize that Spirulina is a powerful food with huge potential as a whole food source, medicine and biochemical resource.

A great deal of research has concentrated on the cultivation and harvesting of what is affectionately referred to as ‘the green’. It has been described as ‘probiotic’ and a ‘superfood’.

The cultivation of Spirulina has also brought interest because, as with most micro algae, Spirulina is extremely adaptable, often thriving in extreme conditions. With its rich nutritional goodness and ability to grow in adverse conditions, Spirulina has a huge potential to be a food source that will help feed and nourish the worlds population.

As a plant, Spirulina is incredibly rich containing a balance of nutrients that make it virtually a ‘whole food’ capable of sustaining life without the need for other foods.

Spirulina provides vitamins, many minerals, essential amino acids, carbohydrates and enzymes. Spirulina is at least 60% vegetable protein, which is predigested by the algae, making it a highly digestible food. It is higher in protein than any other food. Its outstanding nutritional profile also includes the essential fatty acids, GLA fatty acid, lipids, the nucleic acids (RNA and DNA), B complex, vitamin C and E and phytochemicals, such as carotenoids, chlorophyll (blood purifier), and phycocyanin (a blue pigment), which is a protein that is known to inhibit cancer.

A breakdown in nutritional terms of a few of the most commonly available supplements reveals an impressive comparison. 

                                                                   Spirulina in water
 

How is it grown?

Spirulina thrives in natural alkaline lakes. Spirulina farming is part of the new era of ecological agriculture. The key component in the production of Spirulina is sunlight and attention is given to measurement of temperature and oxygen levels.

Because pesticides and herbicides would kill many microscopic life forms in a pond, algae scientists have learned how to balance pond ecology without the use of these harmful substances.

This form of aquaculture represents one of the solutions needed to produce food while restoring the planet.

 Why Certifed Organic ?

Humans create toxic waste, spill oil in the oceans, fill the air with acid rain and car exhaust and dump herbicides and pesticides into the soil. Unfortunately, this story of destroying our planet is still unfolding, and we are all its authors. Theres no question that lives will be much poorer if conventional farming continues to pollute water, changing historic landscapes into arable deserts, reducing the ozone layer for the sake of a few more strawberries and allowing the return of diseases that modern society believed it had beaten. For healthy human race with happy prospects and for sake of our planet, choose organic food.

                                                                                         Fresh Spirulina

Ensures no Pesticides are used
Pesticides. People simply dont understand how dangerous they are, most of the commonly used manmade pesticides are potential carcinogens…some of them are related to nerve gases and all of them are poisonous. They have to be — they are designed to kill. But what we dont know is what the accumulation of potent pesticide residues do to us. Studies suggest that low-level exposure to pesticides over several years can cause health problems. The health effects of pesticides in our food and the environment are slowly becoming clear; immune suppression, hormone disruption, neurological damage,birth defects, cancer and nerve damage. 

 Additives
As if pesticides in our food were not enough, we are forced to ingest food additives. Have you ever wondered what is added to food before it is packaged? Or, have you ever found yourself perplexed by words like tocopherol, propionic acid, or carrageenan on a food label?
Food additives are defined as substances that are added to food during processing, but are not normally consumed by themselves as foods. But the larger question is why do food companies use additives in any amounts? And, why should we purchase foods that contain these additives if there is even the slightest health risk? Since artificial colours arent necessary to preserve the food or enhance food safety and quality, (and may cause medical problems in some people) its best to do without this particular type of additive.
The seven thousand artificial additives permitted in non-organic foods are used to make food last beyond its natural sell-by date, make it appear brighter or more colourful, and/or taste sweeter, saltier or just plain better than the manufacturer could manage without these crutches. At best, these additives are unnecessary and annoying to those who question their use and usefulness. At worst, they are possible carcinogens and could be causing damage that no one has bothered to study.

                                      CCRES ALGAE                

Is Algae oil the sustainable low cost fuel of the future?


Algae has recently shot to prominence thanks to President Obama and the US elections, as a high yield, environmentally-sound renewable and potentially low cost transport fuel source.

Currently the well-established process for fossil fuel substitution has been plant based products such as soy, corn. However more recently algae, been hailed as the solution to our fossil fuel addiction, energy security, import replacement and sustainable fuels.

Indeed with the debate raging around the cost and sustainability and viability of crops to fuels, algae has emerged as a sustainable solution.  clear winner. Algae, the fastest growing photosynthetic organisms on earth, can accumulate greater than 50% of their dry weight in oil and double their size within 2-5 hours.

A recent CSIRO report has named the organisms as a more viable solution with regard to cost and greenhouse gas emissions, than fossil fuels.

Algae fuel technologies use algae to produce fuels by combining light, carbon dioxide, water and nutrients for photosynthesis. In addition, the carbon capture is a clear benefit with algae production plants capable of absorbing CO2 waste from power stations and manufacturing facilities.

As more companies initiate production of algae fuels to meet biofuel targets throughout the USA, Asia and Europe, the debate now centres on the viability of the production method.

Land and water usage are key factors when producing algae and the pond method is challenged in both these areas. Many companies base their production around open pond systems. Increasingly these companies are focusing their attention on the production of algae outcomes producing high value product applications.

LEADING ALGAE PRODUCTION FACILITY IN THE CROATIA

Using a combination of open water ponds and photobioreactors, requiring only carbon dioxide (CO2), sunlight, water, and nutrients. CCRES technology optimizes conditions for cultivation to improve efficiency using optimal turbulence in the water and the effective use of selected nutrients.

CCRES demonstration facility plays a pivotal role in testing and improving algae technology lineup to achieve cost reductions and efficiency benefits.

Once harvested, there are a number of conversion technologies that can be used to convert the algal oil into high quality biofuels, including transesterification and hydrotreating. The residual defatted biomass and carbohydrates can also be used to make a fishmeal replacement or animal feed supplement for the aquaculture and animal feed markets.

Our priorities are sustainability, productivity, cost-effectiveness, safety, and respect for the environment and communities. Our research and development activities at the  demonstration facility are currently focused on yield improvement and cost reductions through engineering research.

 HOW TO GROW SPIRULINA

If you want to grow Spirulina, you have to make sure that the following characteristics are present:

Spirulina is not likely to grow in sites that are constantly cold. Warmer temperatures are needed to achieve the growth of Spirulina.

Spirulina needs adequate sunlight. Sunlight causes a cell reaction in Spirulina, and when this reaction begins, Spirulina will create nutrients for itself. The more sunlight it gets, the more nutrients it will create.

The source of water should be clean. Preferably, the water should be alkaline and saline-based.

There should be no pollution which might affect Spirulina since it also gets its nutrients from the water.

The best pond sites for Spirulina are concrete ponds. The cement should be well hardened, dry, and thoroughly whitewashed. However, if you are making economical ponds, plastic film with U.V. protection will also do well.

Also, make sure that your site is well illuminated. However, be advised that illumination should not be strong when the temperature drops below 15 degrees Celsius.

You should use water that is clear from impurities such as algae. Portable clean water can be used in the pond. Meanwhile, salty water can also bring good results. However, you should test its contents before using it to water Spirulina. Water containing calcium can also be used, but you have to observe if it causes mud to form.

If you use fertilizers to supply the nutrients needed by Spirulina, make sure that it is the soluble type. Avoid those fertilizers that contain heavy metals such as mercury, lead and cadmium as Spirulina absorbs these easily.

To harvest Spirulina, it is advised that you harvest it during mornings, as the sunlight will help you to easily dry it. In addition, proteins present in Spirulina are found to be higher during mornings.

Spirulina tastes best when freshly harvested. Keep in mind that it will lose its freshness after a couple of days in the fridge and only a couple of hours at room temperature. Freezing is the most suitable method of keeping the freshness of Spirulina.

CCRES SPIRULINA

project of NGO

CROATIAN CENTER of RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES (CCRES)

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