1. Algae Dual
Product
BE 2120 - Fall 2018
Pa-Sweet Betancourt, Karli
King, Alec Popichak, Jacob
Simmons
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAekE-7_Wrs
2. Introduction
❖ Problem/Need:
➢ Global Climate Change/Carbon Capture system
❖ Goals:
➢ 25 kg algae/day
➢ Pigment Extractions
➢ Paper
➢ Usable
❖ Constraints:
➢ Time
❖ Considerations:
➢ Algae growth
➢ Tree issues
➢ Environmental impact
Fig.1: Filamentous green algae
https://www.swnewsmedia.com/eden_prairie_news/news/local/filamentous-algae-not-
significant-problem/article_dd9efd52-f611-512e-9519-12c667a472c6.html
3. Literature Review
❖ Pigment extraction from algae
Evaluation of Pigment Extraction Methods and a
Recommended Protocol for Periphyton Chlorophyll
aDetermination and Chemotaxonomic Assessment-
Hagerthey and others- 2006
➢ Solvent
■ Four solvents combinations
➢ The effects of grinding, and freeze‐drying
4. Literature Review
❖ Bleaching and Pulping
Red algae and their use in papermaking- Seo YB-2010
➢ Carbohydrate extraction at 120 deg. C
➢ Bleaching
■ First Stage- Chlorine Dioxide
■ Second Stage- Hydrogen Peroxide
➢ Paper Production
■ 60g/m2 handsheets
5. Design Methodology
Harvesting approx. 25 kg algae per day,
how much paper and pigment can be produced?
❖ Wet weight- 10 g
❖ Dry weight- 0.5 g
((10-0.5)/10)*100= 95% wet weight
Sheets of Paper= 25(kg/day)*0.025kg/0.0045(kg/sheet)= 138 sheets per
day
Fig 2: Example of final
product
http://naruseiya.net/colored-sheets/colored-sheets-high-
quality-colored-paper-sheets-at-rs-40-kilogram-paper-
sheets-templates/
6. Design Methodology
❖ Process Flow: Method 1- with
hydrogen peroxide bleaching
Stage
❖ Process Flow: Method 2- without
hydrogen peroxide bleaching
Stage
8. Methods
Pigment Extraction
1. Weight samples of
a. Algae - 20g
b. Carrots - 72g
c. Turmeric - 3.0g
d. Coffee - 20g
e. Beets - 32g
2. Put into solution with 100 ml acetone
3. Blend until adequately processed
4. Stir for 1.5 hours
5. Filter solution
6. Dry at 180°F
Paint Mixing
1. Combine dry pigments,
glycerin, and white clay
Fig. 4: Carrot sample for
orange pigment
Photo by: Jacob
Fig. 5: Algae sample for
green pigment
Photo by: Jacob
9. Methods Cont.
Pulp Processing Method 1
1. 10:1 water/algae
2. Blend
3. 120°C for 1 hour
4. Peroxide Treatment
5. 80°C for 1 hour
Paper Production Method 1
1. Filter
2. Squeeze out liquid
3. Granite slabs
4. 90°C until dry
Fig.6: Blended algae/water solution
Photo by: Pa-Sweet
Fig.7: Filtered algae ready to be flattened
Photo by: Pa-Sweet
10. Methods Cont.
Pulp Processing Method 2
1. 1:2 solutions of
algae/water
2. Blend 15 seconds
3. Pigment extraction
Paper Production Method 2
1. Filter
2. Remove
3. Granite slabs/Paper towels
4. Overnight dry
Fig. 9: Granite slabs used for pressing algae
Photo by: Pa-Sweet
Fig 8: Algae sample after blending used
for pigmentation Photo by: Karli
11. Results
❖ Pigment Extraction
➢ Adequate pigments extracted
➢ Application for waste material
Fig. 10: Extracted Pigments
Photo by: Jacob
Graph 1: Pigment extraction comparison
12. Results
❖ Paper Production Method 1-
➢ Poor paper quality
■ No tensile strength
■ Holes in the sheet
■ Thickness issue
■ Pigment issue
❖ Paper Production Method 2-
➢ Better paper quality
■ No holes
■ Tensile strength
■ Acceptable thickness
■ Flexible
■ Dark pigmentation
Fig. 11: Method 1 paper
Photo by: Pa-Sweet
Fig. 12: Method 2 paper
Photo by: Pa-Sweet
13. Discussion
❖ Pigment extraction
➢ Other substances extracted
❖ Method 1- Including hydrogen peroxide bleaching
➢ pH control
➢ Hydrogen peroxide amount
➢ Baked at a low temperature
➢ Flattening issue
❖ Method 2- Without bleaching
➢ Flattening technique
➢ Sun bleaching
➢ Sample size
Fig. 13: Method 2 paper
Photo by: Pa-Sweet
14. Conclusion
❖ Many applications
❖ Natural vs synthetic dyes
❖ Pigments successfully
extracted
❖ Unknown pigment lifespan
Fig. 14: Various Natural
Pigments
http://www.almetcolours.com/en/contents/4543.html
15. Conclusion
❖ No desirable qualities of standard paper
➢ No current research
➢ Dual product attempt
❖ Many errors in the procedure
❖ Current market
➢ Future research- increase in quality of
product
❖ More sustainable and lower energy
Fig 15: Algae Bloom
https://www.amusingplanet.com/2013/07/chinese-
beaches-once-again-hit-by.html
16. References
❖ Hagerthey, S. E., Louda, J. W., & Mongkronsri, P. (2006, March 03). EVALUATION OF PIGMENT
EXTRACTION METHODS AND A RECOMMENDED PROTOCOL FOR PERIPHYTON
CHLOROPHYLL a DETERMINATION AND CHEMOTAXONOMIC ASSESSMENT1. Retrieved
from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1529-8817.2006.00257.x
❖ Seo, Y. B., Lee, Y. W., Lee, C. H., & You, H. C. (2009, December 9). Red algae and their use in
papermaking. Retrieved November 15, 2018, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20022488
❖ Prajapati, C. (2013, July 02). Synthetic dyes: Environment & human risk. Retrieved from
https://www.omicsonline.org/proceedings/synthetic-dyes-environment--human-risk-5860.html
17. Appendices
Method 1 Method 2
Algae wet
weight
2 kg 50 g
Acetone
amount
N/A 50 ml
Hydrogen
Peroxide
1 liter N/A
Sample Mass Before
Extraction (g)
Mass Extract
(g)
Algae 20.0 0.05
Turmeric 3.0 0.06
Carrots 71.9 0.98
Beets 31.6 0.40
Coffee 20.0 0.61
Editor's Notes
Problem Need
Global climate change has led to the need to develop carbon capture systems.
While trees are a net zero carbon source, they take much longer to capture carbon, require more chemicals to process, and their harvesting affects the health of the soil which is perpetual carbon capture system when properly maintained
Goals
25 kg determined by the size of the aquaculture and the max rate of algae growth per unit area
Develop a process of paper production that has minimal environmental impact in terms of chemicals used and process waste
Create full size paper sheets- 8.25 in X 11.7 in
Usable- Flexible and good tensile strength, will the pigments maintian brightness over time
Extractability of four solvents- acetone, methanol, methanol/acetone, and methanol/acetone/N,N‐dimethylformamide
Extractability- The best overall extraction was obtained using freeze‐dried samples extracted with methanol/acetone/DMF/water
Acetone was used to reduce chemical requirements and environmental effects
Formaldahide highly toxic
Freezing Improved the extraction of both polar and non‐polar (lipophilic/hydrophobic) pigments
Freezing-Not done to reduce energy requirement and to effect
Grinding- not done to increase pigment extraction but still was done as it was part of the pulping procedure
Mucilaginous carbohydrate extraction at 120 deg. C with no chemicals water to algae ratio of 10:1
Leaving a mush of endofibers that are normally discarded
in the both at 60 min. and 80 deg. C (5% active hydrogen peroxide)
Only hydrogen peroxide was used to have a chlorine free process as chlorine dioxide is of mild toxicity
-talk about specific goal
-we have aq her at clemson
-from the area of this aq, we derived we could get 25kg a day
-tested wet vr dry weight...so that would yield (not including weight lost during pigment extraction)
-we looked at the weight of a sheet of paper
-we created method from literature-attempted but did not achieve-so here’s our flow chart for method 1
-method 2 we got from lab from other students-here’s flow chart for that
-no chemicals
-difference: hydrogen peroxide vs none
Sample size to to algae ratio were arbitrarily decided by the intensity of the color displayed in the samples.
Other pigments were extracted to increase the variety of colors for the proposed painting
-we dont know the concentration in these substance
20 g algae
72 g carrots
-given we are making duel product-first step is extracting pigments
3.00g turmeric
32 g beets
20g coffee
Mixing was done by hand every 5 minutes
Acetone/ pigment solution was filtered using a 20 micron coffee filter
-reason for other samples-intended on painting, wanting more colors
-Combine dry pigments with glycerin and white clay until ideal color and texture is achieved
Why 1 L?, why 3%?-3% is all we could get our hands on
Create solution of 10:1 water/algae
Blend solution until adequately processed
Boil at 120°C for 1 hour
Add 1 L 3% hydrogen peroxide
Boil at 80°C for 1 hour
Paper-800 micron filter
Pour pulp solution onto filter screen
Squeeze out liquid
Press pulp into sheets using granite slabs
Bake at 90°C until dry
Window screen is 800 microns
Pigment extraction- was outlined earlier
Created 2 solutions to test pigment extraction vs non-extraction
Procedure originally outlined in lab but we modified
Create 2, 1:2 solutions of algae and water
Blend 15 seconds
Perform pigment extraction
Pour pulp through window screen
Remove algae from screen
Press pulp between several layers of paper towels and granite slabs
Allow paper to dry overnight
Adequate pigments extracted
Non-algae waste material can be dried and composted
Method 1 - including hydrogen peroxide
Paper strength- average bursting strength of office paper 250-300 kpa
Average thickness- 0.05 mm, our thickness- 3 mm
Pigment extraction- other substances were also extracted besides pigments, these may include things like lipids, antioxidants- in the future a smaller filter could be used to reduce the infiltration of these things- or a procedure for seperating these valuable substances can be used
The research on red algae paper production used sodium hydroxide to control the pH. Perhaps the large amount of hydrogen peroxide added reduced the pH and interfered with the quality of the pulp
Brightness measures the amount of reflectance of a specific wavelength of blue light and iis measured on a scale of 0 to 100
The research indicated that the bleaching step done with the hydrogen peroxide was repeated until the brightness reached 80% but does not state how much hydrogen peroxide this equated to
Paper was baked at 190 deg. because of the size of the sample
Due to issues with the filtering process, the algae had to be hand spread,resulting in inconsistent thickness
The paper only had 1 day to sun dry, if we had more time, the paper may have reached a more acceptable brightness
Method 1- Including hydrogen peroxide bleaching
No pH control was implemented
Hydrogen peroxide lower conc. and lower volume
Paper was baked at a low temperature
Method 2- Without bleaching
Better flattening technique
Longer sun bleaching
Red algae paper went through multiple rounds of bleaching, as we only did one, we might have not used enough h202. Paper was baked at a low temperature to dry, this for certain darkened our pigment.
Wanted bigger scale
Flatten more efficiently
Time for sun bleaching
Perhaps waste material can be used for pigment extraction
Synthetic dyes have lots of documented environmental and consumption health risks- those include tumors, various cancers, and lung disease to name a few
Natural dyes do not have the same documented health effects and are a worthy substitutes despite a current greater cost of production
Food dyes, drink dyes, clothing products
Paper created has no desirable qualities of standard paper
Dual product attempt was of no lower quality than the basic paper process
Future research- quality of product will increase
