Algae for Biofuels & More! Workshop @ The Shipyard... May 8, 2008

Algae Workshop at The Shipyard
with Dr. Friendly

In this workshop you will earn the techniques and concepts of algaculture, then create your own algae cultures. We will also show you how to create your own algae bioreactors and ponds to produce algal products on a large scale. This workshop will result in a functional algae lab for continued exploration and to provide starter cultures and kits for do-it-yourselfers! You are invited to take part in the workshop and to be involved in the community in the long-term.

We will discuss elementary phycology and the main types of algae, then discuss the biology of the primary species we will be working with: chlorella, spirulina, dunaliella, and scenedesmus. We will build and run paddle-wheel mixed open ponds as well as enclosed bioreactors, both fed by concentrated carbon dioxide sources, possibly including output from a generator or a gasifier. Designs for exhaust cooling and handling will be discussed. Carbon dioxide and optical density measurement techniques will be demonstrated, and we will implement basic data logging for our colonies. We will also demonstrate techniques such as auto-flocculation, microstraining, centrifuging, and spray-drying. We will employ an optical microscope for strain identification, and discuss (and possibly demonstrate) genetic analysis of our strains. There may also be optional field trips for local wild strain collection. By the end of the workshop, you should be able to start cultivating your own algae, and you will be invited to join our long term algae community (and its permanent, mobile, container-based algae lab) on an ongoing basis. Our long-term mission is to bring algae farming out of the corporate labs, enable community-based algaculture, and have fun showing off what we do. You will also be able to take home starter inoculants for your own cultivation.

The workshop will be led by Dr. Aaron Wolf Baum (aka Dr. Friendy), who has worked with many top experts in the field; he is perhaps best known as one of the founders of the Chlorophyll Collective, a group of algae enthusiasts who grew algae on generator exhaust, urine, and sunlight on the Black Rock Desert and in the Bay Area.

He will also be assisted by Daniel Fleischer, also of the Chlorophyll Collective, a long-time algae biologist working in one of the top companies in the algal biofuels field, as well as other experienced algae farmers.

Dates: May 8 introduction, 7-10pm; May 10, 18, 24 ,and 31, 10am-6pm.
Cost: $350 per person for materials
Location: The Shipyard, 1010 Murray St, Berkeley

Contact: Dr. Aaron Baum
[email protected]
415 203-9216

Official Website: http://theshipyard.org