Serious quention about algae

[Dune]

I am trying to design an oil press for algae. I don't want to reinvent the wheel unless I have to. You guy have had some good links. I have already looked at expellers, used for pressing oil from seeds, and while an expeller may work for algae, it does not seem ideal, plus it requires having the alge dried first. I am also considering large meat grinders. Any Ideas anyone?

 

[Telco]

If the oil can be pressed out, how about boiling it out, like a refiner cracks crude oil? Went through a few links, looks like when you press oil out you wind up with oil and plants, or when you use CO2 to press it out, you wind up with oil, water and plants. For a small scale personal setup, something like a still might work Since diesel (I'm assuming) is the desired product, then heating the algae to the boiling point of diesel should result in oil being boiled out, into the tube and into the collection vessel. Might require further refinement from there, but another distilling step that brings the result to just under the boiling temp of diesel should purify it.

And you said I have no can-do attitude...

 

[Dune]

Sorry I insulted you. I understand I may not be that likeable, but I am here to share knowledge. What I am looking for is a press of some type, for a first pressing, so to speak. Heating would help to get additional oil out, after the first pressing, but 70% or so can be pressed out. Maybe a mechanical olive oil press, or some other agricultural press. Thankyou for the reply.

 

[Telco]

No worries. I've not been insulted. Anyone on the internet with thin skin deserves what they get. If I were insulted I wouldn't be offering ideas.

I don't know that an olive press would work since olives are relatively solid. This would still require that the algae be dried somewhat. With a liquid you'd need to strain it against pressure with a filter that would only pass the oil, not the water. I know you can filter the water out fairly easily with a reverse osmosis style filter, but I'm unaware of a filter that would only let oil through. I'll give it some thought and maybe do some checking if I get time during the day (post here from work during slack periods). For now though, the only idea I have for it that's different from the internet search I did yesterday was the boiling method. You could even use dried algae that had already been processed to fuel the next fire.