Waste Management and Recycling News

21-05-2010

Students create algae growth device from computer parts

Five students at the University of Illinois have created an algae growth device using electrical waste materials. They say it can help replace fossil fuels and bring algae growth for bio fuel production to a household level.

The algae growth machine was created using the following redundant equipment: the side panels of an Apple G4 CPU tower, PVC piping and acrylic panels for structural support, an Apple iMac CRT for light and heat, and high-density foam for stability and insulation. A water pump aerates the algae and a faucet allows for extraction. A heat sink from a CPU was also used, along with copper coil found in a monitor to absorb much of the heat from the CRT and direct it into the algae tank, heating the tank while cooling the CRT.

According to the teams calculations, if 6.5 percent of Americans had one in their homes, it could generate the amount of algae needed to replace petroleum with bio diesel.

Megan Kenney, one of the students involved in the project commented, "Our goal of this project was twofold. We hoped to give a second life to these electronics that would otherwise be discarded and toxic to the environment, while creating a piece of equipment that would drive down the production costs of algae. The economics of algae growth systems and their effective implementation are major barriers to a robust algal bio fuel industry. The team believes that algal bio fuel will replace all diesel in the future due to its high oil content, protein and nutrients, and growth rates within a relatively small area."

Pure Planet Recycling heard about the teams findings and found it fascinating, our recycling process takes the equipment down to material level for plastics and metals recovery, read more about our Electrical Waste Recycling. Let us know if you hear of any other ingenious uses for electrical waste at info@pureplanetrecycling.co.uk .

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