OriginOil Launches Electro Water Separation Model 12; Tripling Entry-Level Algae Harvester Capacity
Entry-level harvester now features enhanced bacterial control capabilities, energy efficiency and intelligent power management
Los Angeles, California – October 29, 2013 – OriginOil, Inc. (OTC/BB: OOIL), developer of Electro Water Separation™ (EWS), the high-speed, chemical-free process to clean up large quantities of water, today announced that it has tripled the capacity of its entry-level algae harvester from four to twelve liters per minute at no additional cost, with improved energy efficiency.
OriginOil VP of quality assurance and services Jose Sanchez unveiled the new harvester’s improved capacity, energy efficiency and available intelligent power management, as well as its ability to remove bacteria without harming the algae crop, at a presentation made at the recently concluded Algae Biomass Summit 2013.
The EWS Algae unit, now designated as Model 12, offers reduced energy consumption due to an improved design that reduces electrical resistance and boosts harvesting performance.
The available intelligent power management system can take readings via sensors on parameters such as salinity, temperature, pH and algal density, to better manage and dispense energy to achieve optimum algal harvest. It is designed to connect through wireless sensor networks to central management facilities, thus enabling commercial farmers to monitor and manage an entire array of harvesters at full scale, up to hundreds of acres.
In his presentation, Sanchez stated that detailed data is now available on the bacterial control capability. He said that, according to independent testing, “bacteria exposed to EWS Algae is reduced from a factor of 99% (referred as ‘Log 2’ by biologists) to a factor of 99.9999999% (referred as ‘Log 9’), depending on the period of exposure. The algae passed through EWS is typically left largely unharmed.”
Sanchez continued, “We have found that the new EWS Algae system can help trigger metabolic processes that can transform Hematococcus pluvialis from its green phase, to the red phase in which the stressed cells encyst and astaxanthin forms as a pigment.” The process is documented in an Application Note now on the OriginOil website.
Natural Astaxanthin, known to provide wild salmon with their pink color, is also an extremely potent anti-oxidant and ranks among the most valuable compounds that can be extracted from algae. The research firm Oilgae forecasts Astaxanthin sales of nearly $2 billion by 2020, with uses in nutriceuticals, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and food coloring.
OriginOil’s Global Manager of Algae Sales, Marlene Stewart added, “The Algae Biomass Summit confirmed industry demand for an automated, scalable, low energy and chemical free system that can be deployed by algae producers everywhere. Our algae units enable desired microbiological control capabilities.”
