OriginOil Developing Dynamic Lighting Process to Optimize Algae Growth

16 July 2009

OriginOil, Inc., the developer of a new extraction process for algae oil, (earlier post) is developing a dynamic lighting system designed to optimize algal growth rates by ensuring the right types and amounts of light are used at all times as the algae grows to maturity.

A programmable controller receives information from multiple sensor types reading the algae culture. The controller, which can be programmed for specific algae strains, responds by changing lighting parameters such as intensity, pulsing frequency, and duty cycle.

OriginOil’s existing automation of the nutrient delivery process will be integrated in the final version of the Dynamic Control System.

We are currently using the new Dynamic Control System to test many lighting variations such as concentration, angles, distribution, and pulsing intervals. We expect this study to yield a wealth of data about what works best in algae lighting.

—Dr. Vikram Pattarkine, OriginOil CTO

Origin Oil’s Helix BioReactor features a rotating vertical shaft with very low energy lights arranged in a helix or spiral pattern, which results in a theoretically unlimited number of algal growth layers. Additionally, each lighting element is engineered to produce specific light waves and frequencies for optimal algae growth.

The helix structure also serves as the bioreactor’s nutrient delivery system, through which nutrients, including CO₂, are evenly delivered to the entire algae culture, monitored and tuned for optimum growth.