Recreate Energy

Background

The goal of this project is to turn microalgae into crude oil for commercial use. The students must design effective growing systems - from physical tanks, to electronics, to regulating the environment - to turn the algae into fuel that results in cheap, clean, compatible fuels. Recreate Energy has previously tested the optimal algal growing conditions to build the reactor around and has already signed with a company to deliver a commercial ready bio-reactor with web management platform.  Recreate Energy is currently developing modular bioreactors, compared to the previous exclusively on open-air systems or closed-controlled systems, to lower costs and include the best of both systems when it comes to algae cultivation for biofuels. The project is separated into 3 sub teams that deal with specific design considerations: Temperature Control, Electro-Flocculation, and Electronic Box. 

Goals and Objectives

1. Heating/Cooling System: Establish a heating/cooling thermoelectric system using Peltier modules to efficiently power it.
2. Metal Treating: Determine a successful alteration to improve the thermoregulatory system so that it can achieve thermal conductivity without damaging the biomass growth.
3. LED Lighting System: Implementing an LED light system to support algal growth when sunlight is not available and potentially accelerate the growth.
4. Rigid Weather Resistant Design: Designing a weather resistant casing to house the system’s electronic components.
5. Electroflocculation System: Design an efficient tank to house and seperate the algae biomass from wastewater. The tank must be durable and assemble/disassemble easily. The electroflocculation system must be efficient in cost and performance.

Website

Recreate Energy was founded in 2019. More information on the company and their work can be found on their main webpage. 

https://www.recreateenergy.com

Team Contacts

Erica Stoll (eastoll@uci.edu)

Rene Valencia (renecv@uci.edu)

Santiago Buitron (sbuitron@uci.edu)

Shaun Kim (shaunjk@uci.edu)

Sponsor/Advisor

Daniel Vega (drvega@uci.edu)