Borrowing ideas from the natural process of oil formation underground, a group of researchers from the Islamic Azad University in Iran have invented a device that can turn algae into oil and gas within 20 minutes. In an interview with the Iranian student news agency ISNA, translated by the French Institute of Petroleum, project participant Fereshteh Gorbani stated that they have started producing oil from algae grown in several ponds.
Gorbani and her colleagues dried the grown algae for the purpose of selling them, however, after conducting large-scale research, scientists put forward an initiative to process algae into oil using a special device.
“Initially, this device produces crude oil and then turns it into kerosene, generally similar to natural oil,” she said, adding that they have already launched a semi-commercial production of such oil.
According to Gorbani, their structure is based on the natural mechanism of oil formation. She drew an analogy between the operation of the apparatus and the mechanism of oil formation underground, saying that "algae are converted into oil due to high pressure and temperature."
Further, the Iranian researcher reported that the oil production process takes only 20 minutes, and "the flammability of the product at the exit is as high as that of natural raw materials."
The project, led by Dr. Abu-Ali Golzari, was recently presented at the Iranian Tech-Bazaar exhibition.
