ISAP POEM

We've now a new society, with membership world-wide, For economic algae and phycology applied.

There's algae in the oceans, and there's algae on the lands, In rivers, lakes, and puddles-even in the desert sands, And natural phycology has now another side,

The culturing of algae and phycology applied.

We've many ways to culture them-to make a phycostat- In tubular arrays that may be helical or flat, Or open ponds or reservoirs, rectangular or round, To optomize the yeild (in dollar, lire, yen or pound). They normally grow quickly through the exponential phase, And many can be harvested in 2-20 days.

If we have just to deal with sewage effluents and such, Then chemical components do not matter very much, Whereas if oil or pigments are our ultimate concern, Then quantity is vital for the profits that we earn, And if we seek inhibitors of parasite or pest, Some species must be subject to a more specific test.

We hail our new society, with pardonable pride,

For economic algae and phycology applied.

"ALOHA & MAHALO" to Ralph A. Lewin

Prof. Ralph A. Lewin,

Scripts Institution of Oceanography,

University of California, San Diego,

9500 GUman Drive,

La Jolla, CA 92093-0202, U.S.A.

"A Portable, Closed, Continuous, Outdoor, Long-lived, Large-scale, Photo-Filtered, Automated, Petro-Electrically Independent, Energy-Efficient, Microalgae Culturing System, conceived to efficiently utilize Hawaii�s Sloped-terrain and Gulch-Valleys, for Large-scale Algae-supported Polyculture Production Sites�; �BioFarms�.

AUTHORS UPDATE: 09/11/2002

�In updating myself since 1994, in the progress made in state of the art; Algal Phycology, Algal Pharmacology and �Cracking� Methodologies, (eg: Hydrogen recovery from algae), New Markets, some 3,000+ potentially useful Species now identified, new innovations in Data-relay Systems and Plastics manufacturing technology, Bio-fuel Systems, etc., the importance of my early research in 1979-1994, in these various disciplines has been manifested beyond my wildest dreams.

What I�m NOT seeing is progress in developing continuous/steady-state axenic-alga-production systems on a scale of commercial interest. Although the laboratories and small pilot-projects have been very busy and a great deal of data has been gathered, the closed-systems I observe, remain heavy and unwieldy in terms of acre/hectare increments, petro-electrically dependant, with energy-gulping operational support nomenclature, and high cost of manufacture, installation, management and maintainance. I have difficulty in envisioning hectares of tanks, towers, domes, modules, etc., as being a commercially viable approach.

I see references by various investigators stating; �cheap, low-cost culture systems� must be developed in order to make �bio-farming� a commercially viable industry�. �When you are putting a �laboratory� into the field, in acre-increments, there is no �cheap�. What must be considered is the system�s useful life-span in an outdoor environment, simplicity of design (*passive-dynamic design parameters-*no moving parts), ease of installation and maintainance, petro-electric independence, site-requirements non-competitive for land more suitable for Agricultural crops.

Without addressing these basic premises, all other efforts, including costly large-scale pilot plants, are bound to lead nowhere, as far as �Agro-Industry� is concerned. Semantically, the words �Agriculture and Agro-Industry� means the ability to mass produce a specific plant at the expense of all other competitors and it implies the availability of a technology for consistently doing so. Politicians, Administrators, Businessmen, and Industrialists are easily persuaded to pour money into Agrobusiness by the assurance the very word implies. The words �Aquaculture� and �Bio-technology� still do not, as yet, carry that same connotation and assurance; although I�m starting to see some progress towards commercialization, eg. the July, 2002 merger of Aquasearch and Mera Pharmaceuticals, based on the compound �Astaxanthin� : (3% of the dry weight of the host alga;�the tip of the iceberg�).

Following an in-depth review of current art pertaining to closed mass alga culture systems, it appears that the technology for large, outdoor, mass-algal culture systems I�ve been proposing and refining since 1982 remains �fresh� and I am once again compelled to attempt to develop it and bring it to market as my contribution to the art and to humanity in general. The implications of successful development of the Improvement are boundless and well documented; �The identification and development of a vast cornucopia of Product(s) for mankind�s benefit, ushering in the age of intensive �Bio-Farming�. The Technology valuable to mankind for future Space Development, producing �needful things� for Space Station/Colonies....�Science�?....or �Science Fiction�?

A chronological, documented history of disclosure and past attempts to develop the proposed technology are available by request. Technical Disclosure available with Proprietary Disclosure Agreement.

I seek a Partner/Backer. An elegant-liason would be a progressive Pharmaceutical Company capable of extracting the myriad "Constituents of Algal Pharmacognosy" (1984-Cipriani et. al.), this vast pharmacopia presented by some 3,000+ strains of prokaryotic microalgaes.

Algaes are among the very best of the bio-mass producers. Studies have shown that Algaes (under optimum lab-conditions) convert PAR; Photosynthetically-Active-Radiations (380-730 nanometers; light capable of initiating photosynthetic reaction) with near ten-fold the efficiency of vascular plants and produce a minimum of five-fold the amounts of consumable energy per unit practical growing area and given a lab-controlled growth environment, are inclined to double their bio-mass every 24-48 hours. The potentials that Applied Algal Phycology exhibit are; namely to provide greater yields per acre of proteins, lipids, vitamin enriched materials, and potentially valuable compounds than ANY conventional Agriculture crop, and, with the successful development and licensing of the proposed Portable PAR-MAX "Laboratory-in-the-field Technology"....to do so world-wide, with an 'unlimited growing season', thereby enabling mass-alga-culture to take it's place as a vital, new, Agro-Industry.

AUTHORS UPDATE/PROGRESS REPORT: 09/11/2005

2002: Commenced searching for a Manufacturing Company, willing to sign the PAR-MAX Proprietary Agreement, capable of fabricating the PAR-MAX Photo-BioReactor Body to specifications, on a scale to be of commercial interest, for the Test & Demonstration of Prototype II, which will test and improve the Culture System and it's Support Systems, leading to Design-freeze of a compleate Turn-keyed Commercial-scale Culture System, capable of steady-state mass-production of most Photosynthetically-Active Alga.

11/25/2002: Signed PAR-MAX Confidentiality Agreement with AMERICAN DURAFILMS, INC. This Company has agreed to evaluate my design specifications for Production. I continue to research and evaluate various Support Systems Components.

03/11/2004: AMERICAN DURAFILMS, INC. advises capability of fabricating the Reactor-body in 100+ ft. continuous lengths. The first model is fabricated and evaluated. A design change, and a second model fabricated and improved.

07/25/2005: Final design improvement implemented, leading to Design-freeze of the Reactor-body. Awaiting third Model for review.

08/28/2006: PAR-MAX Technology transferred to PROTERRA ENERGY, INC., in partnership with BIOFARMS HAWAI'I and Professor GJERT KNUTSEN. "PAR-MAX" has now evolved into "AlgaMax." R&D thrust: "Algal-Biomass to zero-carbon footprint Electricity Production; (District Energy), and/or salable BioFuels, Plastics, Nano-electronics, Nutraceuticals, Cosmetics. BioProspecting: Molecular Medicine R&D, (Dr. Knutsen).

For recent developments, visit my COMMUNITY OF SCIENCE Profile (Last Update: 06/06/2008).