Video: The Continuous Growth Process

The OriginOil automated growth system manages the continuous process by which algae grows by absorbing CO2, and then recovers. This allows growth to continue throughout the day to help maintain Cascading Production.

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Speeding Up the Process Further

Algae growers already know that algae can expand rapidly if space is available. Once fully matured — and the space is filled — the culture will then stabilize and grow very little.

If the space was expanded by a factor of ten, for example, then the algae population would explode to occupy this new volume – in as little as a day.

This rapid expansion is called the ‘log phase,’ or ‘logarithmic phase,’ of growth where cells divide exponentially. Typically, growers incubate an algae population in a smaller vessel and then release it into a larger tank for production, one batch at a time.

OriginOil’s Helix BioReactor™ growth vessel adds the time-saving efficiency of combining the incubation vessel and larger tanks into one system. Once the algae matures in the Helix BioReactor, a portion of the culture is transferred out for extraction, and the remaining ‘green’ water is then allowed to re-expand into the Helix BioReactor, creating a new batch, and the process is repeated.

With this system there is no need to re-incubate each batch: the remaining algae culture is already mature and is ready to re-enter the log phase after each harvest and replenishment of growth environment.

The Cascading Production design makes possible continuous daily harvesting of algae without incubation, thereby enabling a vital property of industrialized algae oil production.

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