300% to 630% biomass increase in just 6 days

John Ericsson, the inventor of the “BioStim” research system believes Our electromagnetic growth research may result in creating more than a 300% plus increase in land- based commercial and space station biomass production of pure oxygen, biofuels and nutrients.

The 20-month Renewable Energy and Efficiency Technology (REET) research project was directed by Dr. Ashvini Chauhan at Florida A&M University, which focused on growing a special blend of Florida alga biomass while studying the interaction of rare-earth magnet powered energy with artificial sunlight utilizing Ericsson’s USA patented“BioStim” electromagnetic biostimulation research system that substantially increased alga biomass production.

Dr. Chauhan’s team creatively grew energy rich micro-algae with bacteria in wastewater and nutrients obtained from a local Tallahassee sewage treatment plant.

Mr. Bobby Edwards, REET research supervisor at FAMU, last August reported a 630% biomass increase in just 6 days utilizing BioStim rare-earth magnets to power the required biomass growth stimulation.

Applied Research Associates in Panama City, Florida (ARA) conducted their proprietary hydrothermal liquification process to convert the FAMU produced wet-algae biomass directly into bio-oil.

The final REET report issued January 2021 stated:

“Microalgae holds an immense potential for production of biodiesel, food, drugs and other value-added bio-products. When algae growth is coupled to nutrients present in chlorinated influent wastewater from a sewage treatment plant plus electromagnetic biostimulation “BioStim” this combination becomes a very cost efficient and environmentally sustainable technology for the future of mankind’s survival on Earth, space exploration and a Mars colony. This process can reduce waste treatment facility chemicals (SRP, NH4, NOx) discharged into rivers and coastal zones resulting in alga blooms and red tides.”

(Note: Consumption of waste CO2 via alga also results in the production of pure oxygen)

How it Happened

AlgaStar Inc., won a $1.0 million State of Florida and three participants funded, 20-month (REET) research grant in 2018 with Florida A&M University (FAMU), NASA at Kennedy Space Center and ARA, a leading USR&D engineering firm.

Additionally, in 2018, BioStim Inc., as an affiliate of AlgaStar Inc., received its third year of technical assistance from Los Alamos National Laboratory through the New Mexico Small Business Assistance Program (NMSBA) to further develop their 2020 USA patented “BioStim” electromagnetic biostimulation research system.

NASA Space Center participants have expressed interest in the potential of electromagnetic biostimulation for use in conversion of CO2 into pure O2 for long-term space travel and for future Mars exploration and human inhabitation.

Investment opportunities available.

For more information on

AlgaStar Inc. & BioStim

Please email: info@algastar.com

See:  www.algastar.com

 

A research team at AlgaStar Inc., a Florida-based biomass R&D cultivation company, reported to the Algae Biomass Summit in 2014 that electromagnetic field (EMF) biostimulation had yielded a 300 percent biomass growth increase and 174 percent increase in lipid oil content in several alga samples over controlled growth conditions.

Part of this research is being carried out by BioStim Inc., AlgaStar’s wholly owned subsidiary located in New Mexico. They are leading a consortium of small businesses as a part of a New Mexico Small Business Assistance (NMSBA) program to further their research.

The objective of the NMSBA project, which allows local small businesses to work with scientists at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, is to map the conditions under which biostimulation enhances the growth rate and metabolism for several biological cultures involving algae and bacteria by means of microwave energy for use in the future development of nutraceutical, pharmaceutical, food and alternative fuels production.

Hybrid enclosed airlift PBR design. Courtesy/AlgaeIndustryMagazine.com

Even though algae is one of the fastest-growing organisms on the planet, faster is better for the biofuels and chemicals industries, as documented in a recent NAABB study presented last year by former Los Alamos scientist, Dr. Jose Olivarez. The study concluded that algae fuels are “limited by sustainable biomass accumulation.”

“Biomass growth rates substantially impact both capital and operational costs,” AlgaStar founder John Ericsson said. “A 20 percent increase in growth rate could give some growers a 30 to 50 percent increase in net revenue. We have seen up to a 300 percent increase in laboratory growth rate experiments.”

The US patened BioStim™ biostimulation system will integrate a millimeter microwave generator – which upon success, will radiate spontaneous growth energy into large volumes of biomass within AlgaStar’s SolarMagnatron™ (SM). “This system, when fully developed, allows us to commercialize biomass production of biofuels, pharmaceuticals and nutraceutical chemicals,” said biologist Edwin Cake, Ph.D., in a video on AlgaStar’s website.

AlgaStar’s US patented 17,000 liter SM vertical biomass, commercial-scale prototype system is substantially built in Florida. The SM is designed to have an automated bio-system controller (ABC), which controls light, temperature, pH, nutrients and delivery of carbon dioxide to achieve optimal productivity. The ABC will also manage and monitor the biostimulation systems with EMF frequency and amplitude, to optimize algae and bacteria growth cycles, according to the AlgaStar researchers.

The ABC transforms the SM system – which allows continuous growth during daylight hours by maximizing the use of natural sunlight – into an adaptable microcrop platform that can mimic ideal growing conditions for many algae species as well as other microorganisms. During non-daylight hours, special domed acrylic lenses and flat-panel glass reactors, containing high-efficiency fluorescent and LED lights, produce artificial sunlight at specific wavelengths and power levels that optimize algae photosynthesis continuously, Ericsson said.

The system allows growers to use non-potable water such as brine, brackish, waste or seawater. An integrated UV and Ozone unit under development is intended to sanitize both the inflowing water as well as recycled water after biomass harvest.

The SM gravity flow and air-lift circulation systems use very little energy and will incorporate a solar-powered, electric generation system that would enable siting off-grid and use of geothermal energy for heating and cooling.

The SM is ideal for the production of genetically modified organisms (GMO’s), since it is a completely enclosed bioreactor system, which answers the USEPA’s concerns in restricting GMO’s from being grown in open-pond and raceway systems.

“I am also investigating the potential use of the BioStim system for future NASA Mars exploration efforts to expedite the recycling of CO2 into pure oxygen and help produce our astronaut’s and future planetary colonizers with food, fuel and nutriments,” Ericsson said.

As the BioStim research progresses, AlgaStar is planning to publically release its private stock offering and develop a 4.2 million liter (1.0 million gallon) biomass plant with 200 SolarMagnatron™ units in New Mexico.

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Does Biostimulation Accelerate Algae Growth?

Algae and bacteria are the fastest growing organisms on our planet. A single algae cell can produce over one million daughter cells in one day. Is this fast enough? All algae producers are limited by sustainable biomass accumulation. Growth rates impact both capital and operational costs. A 20 percent increase in growth rate could give some growers a 30 percent increase in revenue.

John Ericsson, CEO, AlgaStar Inc. presented at the 2013 Algae Biomass Summit in Orlando, Fla., a session titled: Increasing Algal Biomass Production Using Electromagnetic Bio-Stimulation. Ericsson reported that their research team used biological simulation to achieve a 300 percent increase in algae growth rate over normal conditions. Research conducted at AlgaStar and recently initiated at Los Alamos National Laboratory has begun to map the conditions under which biostimulation enhances growth rate and metabolism for several biological cultures with microwave energy.

Biological stimulation research began in the 1920’s, re-emerged in the 1950’s with the space race and continues today. Music and wine grapes provide an interesting parallel track. If music makes better wine, might sound, electronic or microwaves similarly stimulate algae?

Music and wine grapes

Wine grape growers in Italy, South Africa, France, Washington and California play classical music to the vineyards to enhance growth rates and sugar production. The music equipment company Bose has sponsored music and wine research by providing their excellent speakers for placement in wine vineyards. The effect of sound on plants depends on frequency, intensity and exposure. In 2001, Chinese researchers found that low-frequency sound does not change cell structure but does activate enzymes, increases cell-membrane fluidity and promotes DNA replication and cell cycling.

Wine grape farmer Carlo Cignozzi equates music to fertilizer for grapes in his Al Paradiso di Frassina vineyard in Tuscany. He favors classical music such as Mozart and Tchaikovsky. He says music scares off animals that feed on young grapevines, as well as parasites, molds and bacteria. He calls music fantastic because bunches closest to the music grow grow faster, mature 10 days earlier and have higher the alcohol content. The results on his vineyard have been so impressive that Florence University has launched a research to scientifically validate them. Researchers will examine music versus silence and the response of the vines to different sound frequencies.

 

The DeMorgenzon web site proudly announces: “We pipe Baroque music through our vineyards 24×7 and believe that the power of music positively influences the ripening process.” The owner, Hylton Appelbaum in South Africa notes that his vines respond to a very particular style of classical music. Rock, pop, rap, techno and jazz do not have the same effect. His vines enjoy harmonious and melodious classical or wordless baroque music. He has observed that music stimulates the vines to grow more vigorously and to have more vitality. His vines exposed to music have a bigger surface area of leaves, which increases photosynthesis. Enhanced photosynthesis results in faster growth with higher sugar and flavor accumulation in the grapes.

A French physicist and musician, Joel Sternheimer filed a patent application in 1994 covering his assertion that playing the appropriate tune stimulates protein synthesis. His model includes melodies for cytochrome oxidase and cytochrome C proteins involved in respiration.

Researchers at South Korea’s National Institute of Agricultural Biotechnology found classical music triggered a response in two specific genes (rbcS and Ald) in rice plants. Scientists at Trakya University in Turkey found relaxing, calming and mentally invigorating music had a positive effect on root growth in onions during germination. Another study in Chemosphere examined music modeling and found calm music improved boron uptake in plants.

Algae biostimulation

Biological stimulation from electromagnetic fields and/or microwaves offers a novel technology that can accelerate algae growth substantially compared with natural sunlight. Laboratory tests at AlgaStar, Inc. and research collaborators at the University of Western Ontario, (UWO) have proven the biostimulation concept but considerably more research is needed. Additional research efforts are now funded for AlgaStar with Los Alamos National Laboratory. Additional grant applications and research sponsor funding will include Dr. Bruce Rittmann’s lab in the Biodesign Institute at ASU, the world class AzCATI Test Bed at ASU, NanoVoltaics, UWO and others.

The AlgaStar algae production and biostimulation system integrates two types of electromagnetic energy. The first is a millitesla generator and the second a millimeter microwave generator that radiates spontaneous growth energy into large volumes of algae biomass. The research teams have demonstrated that electromagnetic energy waves can provide an increase in algae biomass and its corresponding lipid oil production by up to 300 percent.

AlgaStar’s patented 4,500 gallon SolarMagnatronTM, biomass production system uses an automated biosystem controller, (ABC) which optimizes biomass production. The ABC can control the biostimulation EMF frequency and amplitude to optimize the algae growth cycle and substantially reduces the risk of culture crash. The ABC controls light, temperature, pH, nutrients and delivery of carbon dioxide to achieve optimal productivity. The ABC will allow the grower to harvest on precisely the schedule that maximizes growth such as 1 percent of the biomass every 15 minutes or 50 percent once a day. The ABC transforms the SolarMagnatronTM system into an adaptable microcrop platform that can mimic ideal growing conditions for many algae species as well as other microorganisms.

The SolarMagnatronTM uses light very efficiently. The design allows continuous growth during daylight hours by maximizing the use of natural sunlight. The system is constructed primarily fiberglass, acrylic and flat glass. During the non-daylight hours, special domed acrylic lenses and flat-panel glass reactors containing high-efficiency florescent and LED lights produce artificial sunlight at specific wavelengths and power levels that optimize algae photosynthesis.

The gravity flow and air lift circulation systems uses very little energy. AlgaStar is working on a PV DC power system that would enable siting off-grid.

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