One big point in favor of the factory ships implementation: immediate recycling of the nutrients (including recovery of a sizeable proportion of the iron which will have been dispensed), which probably find themselves concentrated in the press cake after the oil has been pressed out of the microalgae. This is assuming the oil itself keeps only a negligible proportion of the nutrients, is this correct?
If we return the press cake to the ocean surface as we go, the nutrients are ready to be re-used almost immediately: all we will have removed is renewable stuff: CO2 from the atmosphere, photosynthesis energy from the sun, and maybe some water, which makes the process sustainable even on a large scale IMHO. Michel (a repented whale hunter ;-) ----- Original Message ----- From: "Michel Jullian" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Sunday, February 18, 2007 2:18 AM Subject: Re: [Vo]: Russ George challenges Branson on ABC >I forgot to mention, the process should be repeated on the move in open sea >rather than e.g. in a bay, so that each iteration occurs at a place where >dissolved CO2 and nutrients have not been recently depleted by the previous >runs (it takes time for those resources to be restored) > > Michel > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Michel Jullian" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: <[email protected]> > Sent: Sunday, February 18, 2007 2:02 AM > Subject: Re: [Vo]: Russ George challenges Branson on ABC > > >> We are all in-seine aren't we, this is Vortex after all :) >> >> In any case I think we all agree on the function to be implemented: >> >> Local iron fertilization of the ocean surface > On the fly harvesting of the >> algae bloom > Conversion to oil and possibly charcoal >> >> The rest is mere implementation details, cost will decide, we should rule >> out no particular technical solution at this point (not even the whales Nick >> ;-) >> >> Can you do the cost analysis for the factory ships implementation you >> describe below Fred? >> >> Michel >> >> ----- Original Message ----- >> From: "Frederick Sparber" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >> To: <[email protected]> >> Sent: Sunday, February 18, 2007 1:20 AM >> Subject: Re: [Vo]: Russ George challenges Branson on ABC >> >>> Sounds to me like Michel (Dave's Gender I. D. Problem) is acting out >>> Arthur Dent's worst nightmare. >>> I posted Michel an algae-confinement-fine mesh-floated-seine idea the other >>> day, but >>> living near the Seine I guess he thinks I'm in-seine. :-) >>> The seas should contain adequate nutrients that can diffuse into the seines >>> that >>> can be tens of meters wide and thousands of meters long. The iron powder >>> can be retained in the seine, with barges that reel it in and through for >>> harvesting >>> and iron replenishment. >>> A whale of a lot better than torturing a declining population of whales. >>> >>> Fred >> >> >
