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FAQ
Who is Global Green Solutions?
Global Green Solutions Inc. (GGRN) develops and implements ecotechnology solutions for renewable energy and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. The company's key technologies are HDVB, the production of algae for biofuel feedstock and other products; Global Greensteam, which converts waste biomass to steam and electrical power; and greenhouse gas emissions reduction projects for natural gas pipelines. Global Green Solutions is a US public traded company (OTCBB: GGRN) with offices in Vancouver, San Diego, El Paso, New York, London, Brussels and Johannesburg.
What is a High Density Vertical Bioreactor?
HDVB is a joint venture business between GGRN and Valcent Products Inc. The HDVB technology mass produces algae, which is harvested and processed into algal oil for biofuel feedstock and ingredients in food, pharmaceutical, and health and beauty products. The algae are grown in bioreactors using sunlight as the energy source. The bioreactors also absorb massive amounts of carbon dioxide, thus contributing to reduction of greenhouse gases.
Who is Valcent Products?
Valcent Products Inc. creates, designs, and develops and patents innovative consumer and industrial products and processes for global markets. They are located in El Paso, Texas.
What are algae?
Algae are a diverse group of primarily aquatic, single celled, plantlike organisms. Most algae have characteristics in common with plants; they have cell walls, contain the green pigment chlorophyll, and manufacture their own food through the process of photosynthesis. It has been estimated that marine algae account for more than 90 percent of the world's photosynthetic activity, making them the primary source of oxygen.
What is photosynthesis?
Photosynthesis is the synthesis of sugar from light, carbon dioxide and water, with oxygen as a waste byproduct.
What is carbon sequestration?
Carbon sequestration is the absorption of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that would otherwise be emitted to the atmosphere.
How is HDVB's absorption of carbon dioxide beneficial?
Algae in the HDVB bioreactors absorb massive amounts of carbon dioxide and release oxygen (O2) in the process. Ninety percent of the dry weight mass of the algae biomass produced is sequestered carbon dioxide (CO2). Carbon dioxide is responsible for 60% of the greenhouse gases that are causing global warming or climate change.
What amount of carbon dioxide can be removed per acre?
As 90% of the algae's dry weight is absorbed CO2, possibly as much as 1000 tons per acre per year.
Do HDVB customers achieve any benefits from carbon dioxide reduction?
GGRN and our partners will develop and submit a methodology for creating carbon credits from HDVB projects. HDVB projects carried out under the Kyoto Protocol or other recognized international or national mechanisms will then be eligible for registration for carbon credit generation. Carbon credits can be traded with other countries or companies to offset their greenhouse gas emissions reductions targets.
Will the HDVB technology remove NOx?
Not at this time, but we are researching multiple species to determine which types will best accomplish the removal of NOx.
Will the HDVB technology remove SOx?
Not currently.
Who supplies the algae?
GGRN will provide the algae and select the species and strain based on the product specification and environmental and geographic conditions.
Are the algae natural or genetically engineered?
HDVB algae are all natural with no transgenic modifications. The algae will be sourced from indigenous species in the location where the HDVB bioreactors are installed and operated.
What algae species and strains are used?
GGRN is continuing researching species and strains to determine the optimum yield and components for final product requirements. Our proof of concept testing utilized the genus chlorella. It is single-celled green and globally prevalent. Our differentiating expertise is our ability to isolate a strain that grows well in our bioreactor environment and determine its optimal growing parameters. The process is then controlled to maintain those parameters.
What are the best climate and environmental conditions?
Algae will grow in virtually all climates and conditions. Sunny mild climates, however, will maximize the yield of biomass and oil.
How much water is utilized by the bioreactor?
The HDVB system uses minimal water due to its closed loop design. Water estimates will be confirmed during harvesting and extraction testing.
Are the algae a health hazard?
The species and strains of algae used by GGRN are non-toxic. Algae contain many components beneficial to human health.
Do wet algae emit odors?
Algae are an aquatic organism and can produce a "fishy" smell (like seaweed) when exposed to warm atmosphere and decay. HDVB, however, is a closed loop system so any odors can be tightly controlled during the harvesting phase.
Is this a sustainable energy technology?
Yes. Most of the energy is provided by the sun. Since HDVB systems do not require arable land, they do not compete with food sources for agricultural acreage. Electricity is required for operating the pumps, heating/cooling and harvesting and extraction processes.
How it the oil extracted?
Oil extraction from algae is a hotly debated topic currently because this phase is one of the more costly processes when determining the sustainability of algae-based biofuels. There are three primary methods used to extract the oil:
Expeller/press: oil is pressed out of dried algae with an oil press. This is a simple process but can extract 70-75% of the oil from algae.
Hexane solvent extraction: the chemical cyclohexane is mixed with the remaining pulp after the expeller process. The oil dissolves in the cyclohexane, and the pulp is filtered out from the solution through distillation. These two stages (cold press & hexane solvent) together will be able to derive more than 95% of the total oil present in the algae.
Supercritical fluid extraction: this can extract almost 100% of the oils, however it requires special equipment for containment and pressure. In the supercritical fluid/CO2 extraction, CO2 is liquefied under pressure and heated to the point that it has the properties of both a liquid and gas. This liquefied fluid then acts as the solvent in extracting the oil.
Other less well-known extraction methods exist such as enzymatic extraction,
osmotic shock and ultrasonic-assisted extraction.
Which method does Global Green Solutions utilize?
We will use supercritical fluid extraction in HDVB R1.0 to extract the algal oil, as it is environmentally-friendly and has the efficiency and ability to isolate oil components. We are currently evaluating other extraction processes for commercial applications.
Where will the harvesting and extraction occur?
Harvesting and algal oil extraction is part of the HDVB process and will be performed at the location of the bioreactors.
How often are the algae harvested?
Harvesting is a continuous process and is controlled to ensure that new growth maintains a constant cell density to optimize yield.
What additional nutrients and in what form, are required?
Algae are plants, so the nutrients are similar to liquid fertilizer. The primary chemical nutrients are phosphorus and nitrogen.
What is the difference between algal oil and vegetable oil?
We believe algal oil will be similar to vegetable oil. Our technology as applied to algae gives us an opportunity to select and culture a specific strain to address a broad range of potential oil attributes.
We do know from previous research that algae oil varies widely by species. The Aquatic Species Program identified some 300 different species. We believe there are probably hundreds of thousands of species which have not been studied in any detail, and finding the "right" strain within the "right" species for a particular application is a goal of our ongoing research.
The Aquatic Species program suggested there are significant limitations to
growing algae for oil. What are you doing differently?
The Aquatic Species Program concluded that 10-15,000 gallons of oil per acre was achievable from open ponds or raceways. The rate couldn't be sustained due to uncontrollable factors in an open environment, such as temperature, contamination, and evaporation. HDVB's closed system eliminates those issues. The photoreactive bioreactor surface area and the productive growing volume increase the contact between the sun and the algae chloroplasts, thus our system is highly efficient at capturing solar energy. There are significantly higher numbers of cells that are exposed to the same amount of light, thus enabling the system to capture more than 50% of the available solar energy. The HDVB system production yields are a function of the increased volume, higher number of cells and photosynthetic surface area.
What substances are toxic to algae?
There are numerous elements, compounds and conditions that are toxic to different species of algae at different levels. For example, heavy metals from an exhaust stream can be toxic to various species.
What specific risks of catastrophic failure have you identified (such as an
algae die-off)?
An algae die-off would be contained to a module, which might be as small as onequarter acre. The design includes redundancy for pumps. If a bioreactor leaks, it will be quickly and inexpensively replaced.
Can the algae be contaminated or killed?
HDVB is a continuous process closed loop system, thus blocking contamination by any airborne algae or micro-organisms. Water and gas filtration of solid and bioparticulates with chemical analysis, health monitoring systems and water treatment is provided. The only exposure of the water/algae to the external environment is during harvesting and extraction.
What are your yield estimates?
We believe that we will achieve a significant multiple of the Aquatic Species Program estimates. We well be validating this figure during 4Q 2008 at our El Paso, Texas R&D facility.
What are comparative yields from alternative biofuel feedstocks in gallons
of oil per acre per year?
Yields from food crops range from 18 gallons of oil per year for corn to 635 gallons of oil per year for palm oil. Other plant oil sources include soybean (48 gal/yr), sunflower (102 gal/yr), and rapeseed (127 gal/yr).
What are the major components of the algae biomass?
The components are lipids (50%), carbohydrates (25%) and protein (25%).
What is the quality specification of the algal oil produced from the biomass?
Algal oil attributes will be determined over the next several months as our El Paso R&D facility produces demonstration quantities of oil.
Do you provide associated downstream technology for lipids extraction or
biofuels production?
HDVB is a system for growing, harvesting and producing algal oil for biofuel feedstock and ingredients for the food, pharmaceutical and health and beauty industries. We do not supply biodiesel refining technology.
Do increased carbon dioxide (CO2) levels in the feed gas stream increase the
yield?
Research suggests that enriched carbon dioxide levels will accelerate the growth of the algae and impact yield up to 20%.
What other uses for algae can result from the HDVB process?
Algal oil is valuable for biofuel feedstock and ingredients in food, pharmaceutical, and health and beauty products. The coproduct is rich in proteins and carbohydrates, making it ideal for fertilizer and animal feed.
What is the ratio of biofuels to other products?
It varies by species of algae, but likely not less than 35% oil and 65% coproduct (by weight) for any species targeted for oil production.
Where is the HDVB research and development facility?
A HDVB pilot plant and laboratory are located on a six acre site in El Paso, Texas.
How will you select and screen the algae?
Testing an individual strain to optimize biomass growth as well as oil formation requires 20,000 tests, which are conducted in our laboratory. We believe we have the most advanced and sophisticated algae research facility in the world.
Do you have a project scope and time table developed?
Our target is to complete HDVB R1.0 this year. This is the basic system fully tested and optimized for oil production from one species in a sunny environment in fresh water. The system includes the bioreactors for growing, harvesters for separating the algae out of the water, and equipment to extract the oil from the algae.
We intend to build pilot plants in 2009, which will initially be one acre facilities at customer sites which will then scale up to full production. We are assembling R&D candidates for R1.x and R2.x. These include cost reduction ideas, targeting emissions sources as gas intake, different extraction subsystems and different coproducts.
Is the system modular and scaleable?
The HDVB system will be engineered on a modular basis to allow construction in phases or expansion in the future.
What is the smallest size of module and production capacity?
In theory, the system scales down to ¼ acre or smaller. The practical limit of "small" will be dictated by the cost effectiveness of small extraction subsystems.
If one fails, do they all?
The concept of modularity and critical component redundancy is engineered into the entire system so that one failed component will not create a major production disruption.
What is the largest size of facility and production capacity?
There is no upper limit on the size of a HDVB system.
What is the life of a bioreactor?
Five to ten year life on the bioreactors.
What is the estimated capital cost of the HDVB system
Preliminary estimates are that the capital cost of the HDVB equipment, supplied ready for construction will be less than $1,000,000 USD depending on the location and size of the facility. When we estimate costs, we include the complete capital cost of front end water and gas filtration and treatment, growing algae in bioreactors, harvesting the algae, and extracting the oil. The bioreactors (growing) and harvesting capital costs scale linearly.
What is the estimated cost of the HDVB biofuel production?
We estimate $150-250 per metric ton of algae biomass. This includes electricity, manpower, and nutrients and depends on the location and size of the facility.
How many personnel are required to operate an algae facility?
Once constructed, a crew of 3-6 people will be required to manage a commercial 50 acre HDVB facility. Instrumentation and remote monitoring of the operations center are included as part of our ongoing support services.
What intellectual property and patents protect the technology?
The HDVB technology is protected by an extensive and active intellectual property patent program which is vigorously defended by the technology owners. GGRN may disclose an increased level of technology details under a nondisclosure agreement with selected potential partners.
Will GGRN have commercial biofuel feedstock operations?
We will explore joint venture opportunities for feedstock production but do not intend to own or operate our own facilities.
Will GGRN enter into technology licensing agreements?
We will license HDVB technology to customers to build, own and operate the
biofuel feedstock facilities. Global Green Solutions Inc., www.globalgreensolutionsinc.com develops and implements ecotechnology solutions for renewable energy and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
Global Green Solutions Inc. is a U.S. public traded company (OTCBB:GGRN)
with offices in Vancouver, San Diego, El Paso, New York, London, Brussels and
Johannesburg.
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