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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™, 90% of the culture is transferred out for extraction, and the remaining 10% 'green' water is purified and returned to the growth tank. That remaining 10% 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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