Alternative Energy Production Challenges

Due to the high water content of many species, it takes a large amount of raw material to create even a small amount of oil or carbohydrates for further processing into fuel. Large-scale production is even more challenging, considering the resulting biofuels need to be competitive with petroleum prices to gain popularity and widespread use.
The microalgae is pre-concentrated through flotation or flocculation, then run through a special type of decanter centrifuge (Flottweg Sedicanter®) designed to handle large volumes of material with high concentrations of these tiny particles. This technology combines aspects of a traditional decanter centrifuge and disk stack separator.