Michael Joubert, the farm’s manager, who was interested in the potential of using algae to produce biodiesel, started experimenting with what Papadoyianis calls a floating sock system. “We send the fish waste into these floating algae tubes,” Papadoyianis says. “The beauty of the system is that these clear vinyl socks are very, very cheap. You can buy the tubing in huge rolls and it floats on the surface of the water.”

Neptune Industry’s algae system is uncomplicated and takes advantage of the Aqua-Sphere’s environment. Long strips of plastic tubing are suspended on a frame of PVC piping and water and the fish waste fertilizer are circulated through the system. The system floats so the algae get all the sunlight it needs. Because the tubes are partially submerged, the system maintains a constant comfortable temperature for the algae. “It is basically a closed system,” Papadoyianis says. “You put the waste, which is the fertilizer, and the algae innoculum in, and it circulates around in a huge manifold. The water traverses literally thousands of feet as it circulates around. It gets the sunlight and keeps cool so you have the best of all possible worlds.”

The first test of the system used the dominant species of algae growing in the lake where the company was doing the work. That species wasn’t feasible so Neptune is working with an undisclosed company to provide algae species that have high-oil content. The company began testing using the new algae species in mid-June. While Papadoyianis could not say which company was providing the algae innoculum, he did say it was developing systems for extracting algae oil. “It’s a good marriage because we are working on the production system and harvesting, and they are working on how to extract and refine that oil,” he says. Neptune is still in the design stages of creating a harvesting system that will separate the algae from the water.

Papadoyianis believes Neptune Industries and its partner will be at the point where they can harvest algae and start oil extraction on a test scale before the end of the year. The company has received a three-year grant from the state of Florida to support its work in algae production. Papadoyianis believes the company will have a commercial version of the algae production system up and running well before that grant runs out. “I think in the next 12 months and maybe sooner we will have the system refined and will be able to take it to market as a commercial system,” he says.

Among the challenges to scaling up the system will be keeping the algae culture pure, Papadoyianis says. Although the algae socks are a closed system, being submerged in lake water will allow opportunities for native species to contaminate the operation. Another issue of concern is working out the proper amount of waste from the Aqua-Sphere to fertilize the system. But Papadoyianis’ main concern is separating the algae from the water after production. “I known we can raise the algae with no problem,” he says. “It’s going to be the separation that will be the problem.”

The work being done by Neptune Industries is being supported by a $158,000 Farm to Fuel Initiative grant from the Florida Department of Agriculture. The company has also been encouraged by Miami and Dade counties as the local governments want to transition all county vehicles to biofuels in the next five years. “They are very, very committed to doing that,” Papadoyianis says. “They wrote a nice letter to the state for us supporting our research. So it is a big issue in south Florida.”

Jerry W. Kram is a Biodiesel Magazine staff writer. Reach him at jkram@bbibiofuels.com or (701) 738-4962.

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