The main problem with algae is the entire system can become infected and kill all the algae or poison you if you are consuming it. You might consider separating the algae generator into multiple discrete units to allow for direct comparisons to ensure safety and redundancy as well as protection from accidental contamination.
It is a great environment to grow bacteria and mold too. For non-food use the risk of legionella is greatest problem, but for food use there are a large number of organisms that could be dangerous.
If you separate it you could also use it to select for more effective strains. Like as select for carbs if you want ethanol or select for lipids if you want oils.
@@dmarsub You are assuming that the closed system was 100% sterile before it was closed. Very hard to do even when you are trying really hard to clean everything.
@De paus van de Lilith Kerk how? That’s not really political, if anything, it’s cool to see how much CO2 a person gives off. I totally thought that algae would’ve offset more
Chemist here: I would recommend not to use vinyl or pvc for food usage. They can leetch phatalates. Expeacially the soft tubing is full of softeners. It is good for testing, but not for final product. Phatalates are known to be bioactive and harmful.
@@imbrudedsoul Acryllic polymers or borosilicate glass are viable FDA-approved options for a project like this. He could use regular glass tubes but they wouldn't be as sturdy as lab grade borosilicates. Another plastic option would be clarified polyethylene, like clear or nearly-clear HDPE. I disagree with napiton, PVC is generally recognised to be safe for human biological use. Millions of miles of PVC pipe are used to transport water to the homes of many industrialized countries. My only issue with PVC is that it will itself degrade with exposure to UV and become malleable, potentially causing leaks in a system like this. Concerning the toxicity of the degradation, I would argue evidence is largely unavailable to support a claim like that.
@@zachalexander963 I definitely agree with the PVC comment, PVC would be a MASSIVE improvement on the lead lined plumbing all over the United States. Thanks for the info!
When my favorite youtubers talk to each other, it makes me soooooo happy. Ive been watching you both for YEARS now. I have been wanting to start my own channel for as long as I can remember and youll see me soon, hopefully I will be able to collab with you guys both in the future.
When Cody came into frame for the first time I thought he had a guest. It never ceases to amaze me how much a hair cut changes someone, and I'm a barber lol
I cant get over him eating the algae powder at 0:43 and then coughing up a green cloud right after. Hilarious. Keep up the great work though, Awesome content.
it reminds me of what happens when my mother takes cinnamon capsules - they dissolve in her throat and she'll cough a brown cloud a little bit later lol
It's been a minute since I've seen Cody with short hair. He looks like a different person. Cody. If you read this at any point I hope whatever prompted this change has set a positive spin on your life. I know you've had some rocky bits these past few years so again. I hope whatever made want to change up your look is a good thing. You look happier and I hope that happiness lasts!
This is the only channel where the creator clearly cares for content more then being famous. Just about every channel out there that gets to this size pivots in a poor way. Except for Cody whos been a true dedicated dude since day one. Cheers, hope he keeps the show going for the next 50 years.
Hey Cody, I just want to say thank you. I’m so glad you didn’t decide to leave TH-cam. The wholesomeness you bring to people is something to never be understated and seeing all your cool experiments are a joy.
Way to go! The man behind my favourite astronomy channel is here too. 👍 I love to hear those reassuring words "hello wonderful person!" Greetings from Australia. 🇦🇺
Wow, when you jumped into frame i immediately thought, someone is looking fresh. Looking good Cody! haven't been on your channel for like 4 months or so. i'm liking the project, something i might have to use in my food science degree i'm starting now :D
You should grow botryococcus! it is similar to chlorella, but the difference is that it doesn't make edible fats - it makes diesel fuel! it makes C34 hydrocarbons in its extracellular matrix, and that lets it float on water. It outproduces almost all other algae in terms of biofuels. I have been doing biology research on both of these algaes for the past couple years, so it's exciting to see someone else as enthusiastic as I've been!
@@toddberkely6791 this was a long time ago, and i moved away from that research because i finished undergrad. Now i’m doing analytical chemistry at a pharmaceuticals plant! haven’t kept up with the literature since i left unfortunately
Cody's that one guy who put his points into every stat. Mining, chemistry, metallurgy, electronics, mechanics, woodcrafting, farming etc. Lets hope he's on our side 😳
I think my most favorite part was the paper of algae directed into the mouth, followed by a cough that expelled a green mist, followed by a choking/gagging sound, followed by GREEN teeth. I was laughing so hard after that that I don't remember how the rest of it went! Nice one, Cody! Oh, I'm guessing this isn't going to be on the list for steak substitutes? 😂
The memory I had of you was during a rough patch years ago. It broke my heart. I’m so happy to see that you’re back up on your feet and you look healthy and bright! Keep going man!
I've wanted to grow blue algea(spirena(sp)), it is just slightly better in food value, but more important, it grows in a high PH so little other life could ever invade the medium, making raising it to eat much safer. Still, best to view under a scope from time to time.
@@awesomestuff9715 By siphoning water out for cleaning. Getting a little water in your mouth is kind of typical when doing that. Or, more realistically, by simply assuming you know what it'll taste like based on the smell.
Cody talking about the panel freezing up being bad reminded me of a commercial solar water heating job i installed the structula suports for. The job was being finished up in late January in the far north. The panels had all been hooked up, and the technition filled them up with the glycolic. Everything was running fine at the end of the day. That night temps.droped to -30c..... the crew i was working for was the first in every day before sun up. When we got to the roof there was green snow everywear. About half the tubes had froze the night before and burst and as the sun came up, it started to unfreeze in the panels but only the parts the sun was hitting so you had boiling hot glycole venting out of vents everywere. 1 million in damage all because the tech didn't read the labels and cut the glycole down with water when it was already mixed
I'm glad to see you're still around, youtube would be a pretty boring place without you :) I know this past year was a tough one for you but you're looking much more healthy and happy lately, whatever you've been doing it's definitely working! Keep up the great work, Cody, and stay awesome! ❤️
@@slaytronic His neck is huge compared to his arms.. wonder if he hoped on TRT… bout the age and circumstances where it’d be one or the other… or both.
He’s looking super healthy, took a break on yt for about 4 months and wow does he look like he may be in a better place mentally etc! Love the content! Catch up for me
I feel like you're going to want to be more careful about sealing the holes in your system - especially the algae tub. You do have bugs in your greenhouse, and if there's one thing I know about bugs, it's that they love to get into open water sources. Dead bugs aren't something you want floating around in a food source. Also some way to avoid any spores or microbes from creeping in through the air intake. Like with mushrooms, you're going to want the system to be sterile and sealed to avoid contamination. Might also want to look into ways to isolate the starter algae culture from any contaminants too.
Using clear PVC pipe for the panel, tubing and even large diameter like 12" for the reservoir would keep the entire system sealed. Air intakes could use bacteria viral (BV) filters like the ones used on medical ventilators would keep the air supply clean. I also wonder if there is some antiseptic that could be kept in the algae solution without killing it to prevent microbes from colonizing.
Drilling holes, the exact size of the tubing, then using silicon sealant should fix most of the algae tub issues. As for contamination, he could honestly take one of the filters from the mushroom grow bags and put it over the air intake and that would keep most stuff out. One other improvement I think Cody should do is take a cap from one of the water bottles, and glue it into some tubing and drill a hole in it for sealed water input and output by screwing on bottles. When not in use, to keep it sealed just leave empty bottles on it.
The "which I've kind of been planning on doing" at 19:39 made me chuckle. I admire your drive to try new things. You are an example for all scientists. I wish you the best.
nice to see you look energized and happy cody. the past year or two might've had some bumps and life wasn't all that nice to you sometimes, but it's always darkest before dawn and eternal happiness is not natural. i want you to remember all the people you have influenced for good and have changed their lives drastically (including me), it hurt to see you in sorrow and am sure me and an insurmountable amount of people out there would help you in time of need. you are the best person on this platform and i don't say that lightly, please keep on being passionate and being you
Week later: cody update: Hi guys, I'm in hospital with a fungal lung infection, but I'll be back with more videos in two weeks time, see you then *thumb up - wave*
I remember back in the 70s when this idea was first taking off (Prevention and Organic Farm and Garden magazines talked abut this back then, around 1974, I believe) and a friend and I tried growing and processing this algae that we then made muffins with and it was ok. As you said, not gourmet. But, edible. I later tried it in some borsht as the beets would over power the flavor of the algae and it worked nicely. Now that you have rekindled my thinking on this and the need for self sufficiencey, I will set up my system again. We used a waterfall runway to our fish pond and that produced a fair amount of algae. Since we were not planning on eating it raw but only in cooked foods, it did not bother us that it was fed fish waste. So, the algae grew very fast and very thick. Since the spill way was of hard wood, it clung to the wood and was easy to scrape off. Now, I will build several so when one is off to dry, the others are still going. Maximise my production and harvest ability.
Hi Cody, Keeping ur water temp near ideal growing conditions (21C +-3C) is challenging and appears to be your determinant growth variable. Its a common issue with outdoor bioreactors. I'd suggest putting the tubes indoors and submerged in a clear thermally stable liquid (or just water) to maintain a relatively constant temp. I know that doesn't fit your theme. You could eventually use solar panels/cells/battery/LED grow lights to maintain 24hr growing and stable growing temps/conditions. Yes, that's pricy. With stable temps, You should be able to max-out your bio-reactor within 5 days. Please check your algae variety often, like daily, and have backup virgin species on hand to start new clean reactors as needed. Back in the 2000's, when I was looking at this (for biodiesel/coal flu gas treatment/food/cattle feed source, etc), foreign or 'local' algae would be take over the bioreactor within 90 days. We simply just don't have a filter capable of 100% contaminant prevention... maybe we do now, or you could invent one? Safety tip: The foreign algae can be toxic to humans/animals. It can kill you, or destroy your kidneys, liver, ect. Also, I strongly suggest that every part of your bioreactor that is exposed to algae (storage basin/tubes/hoses/fittings) be easy to access for cleaning. Because of the foreign Algae introductions, you can expect prolonged contamination issues. The predominant joke at the time was that anyone that could run a stable independent bioreactor for longer than 4 months would become a billionaire. I was inspired by a guy named Isaac Berzin out of MIT. His research papers are a great place to start for info on the topic. I think he ended up being funded to do a full scale project in South Africa or somewhere, I don't know him personally and it was along time ago. Any hoo, Looking good so far. I used T12 lightbulb covers from H.D. as a cheap tubes. However flexible clear PVC (UV stable) tubing's now the more common (used for product packaging) and dominant tubing material. I lost interest and stopped all this after a pear reviewed paper definitively showed all diesel fuel including biodiesel & its exhaust were carcinogenic. Hope that helps, Good luck :)
Hey, just in case you are interested, in Spain there's a research facility that uses microalgae as a way to treat waste water, use algae as an edible product and as fertilizer for crops. It uses a local strand so that they don't have to fight it and they produce an economically viable product. The algae just grows thanks to the great amount of sunny days they have. If the algae is consumed by humans they have it in tubes, but if it's to feed insects or to be used as fertilizer they can get away with open-aired containers.
Also, Solar Foods is a startup that's making the most sustainable food using algae... I guess they use a completely closed system and advanced air filters to prevent foreign algae contamination that you pointed out... Also, the fact that burning the oil it produces is carcinogenic shouldn't dampen your interest in it, after all, even without the oil it has so many other use-cases such as making food and even bio-degradable manufacturing materials (for instance, there's one company that's making flip-flops out of them).
You can use volume to your advantage here. Building a 10m2 panel 50 cm thick will be cheaper than building 20m2 at 25cm. Obviusly its not endless but in the ocean sunlight doesnt realy deminish untill like 50 meters. You can also add a mirror underneath to have the sun pass through the mix twice. I would also recomend a head exchanger both to cool the selution and to heat it if it gets too cold. If you collect enough heat of it you could heat a shower with it. Or atleast your greenhouses.
In the Gulf of Mexico it's more like 8 feet... but the mirror idea is good. It doesn't have to be a smooth specular reflector, but something vaguely reflective, or very, very white, would get more light to the algae, assuming that much light makes it through. It's also a thermal management issue. You might want more of the light to be used for heat in the winter, and during summer bounce it back. Of course with adequate power production you could rely on the active heating in the tank. I'm kinda thinking the ideal system would have the thickness of the pipe based on the occlusion of light at the bottom, and in that case, there wouldn't be enough light to worry about reflecting. How dark is the water going to get at full saturation before you harvest it? It would be interesting to see how industrial algae farms do it though.
Oh wow it's been a couple months since I've watched Cody regularly. When did he get absolutely YOLKED??? Dude is built like a boulder now. That algae must be treating him right!
It's great idea man. Im building a pond on my property for similar reasons. Will grow algae, duckweed and fish. Carp fish last all winter and if you clear the water, algae can grow under the ice even in winter. As long as you stir and airate the water somehow. Using windmill and solarpanel should work most of the year. Collect some staple food before harsh winter tho as here where I live, wintertime has 24h darkness cycle. No light, no life. It's stagnated at least. For about 1 month it's total darkness, then it's doable again. So food for at least 1 month prior is essential. Unless you have land to hunt for gain or dig for food in tunnels under the frostline.
If these were set up vertically along the northern wall of a greenhouse, they'd be useful for doing double duty as a thermal stabilizer for the internal air temperature!
and as a bonus you could use IBC totes for the storage, of both heat and algae. Though you would have to have it set up to limit the amount of heat gain while maintaining the light it receives to keep it alive.
Last time I watched a Cody video, he looked exactly like the kind of prospector that would dig around in the mines he always used to make videos about. At the risk of sounding shallow, Cody has made immense progress on his appearance and looks fantastic. I almost didn't recognize him!
Learned so much from you over the years. From making gun powder out of urine, refining gold from spark plug dust off the road all the way to growing algae. Amazing.
Actually it was platinum (and irridium) from just the spark plugs, then another video mining platinum again but from the road dust (which actually assayed to be a viable platinum ore) 🤓
It was platinum from catalytic converters, which is why he liked the exits of bends because engines are under higher load when accelerating out of corners.
The photocell for auto on/off was a good idea. I might suggest using some insulation like for an air conditioner refrigerant line to wrap the bare hoses to protect from high heat and harsh cold. Easy, cheap modification.
man I'm back to watch this video again!!! I'm inspired to start cultivating it myself and want to offer my observation, your temps began to fall sharply when your water began sucking all that air from outside into it which then looked like it ran to your reservoir, if you could build a cap with a small hole to act as a restriction to limit the amount of air introduced into the system and still easily remove it to add water, awesome project :D
Awesome project! Maybe you could try to give it a reflective backing so you effectively get more light in winter. Maybe a space blanket on a roll that can retract in case the algae gets to hot.
@@vladimirvikentije5202 LARPing is short for Live Action Roleplaying, which is basically like a tabletop RPG (e.g. dungeons and dragons) without the, uh, table
😬 I couldn't stop staring at that crack the whole video thinking the same thing. Maybe he could find a way to live off of consuming the mold in his basement. ;)
Checked in to see if there was anything new I'd missed after a month or two, saw someone claiming he was sick or something so I checked his Twitter, and watched the new post appear as I was looking at the algae progress. Couldn't have been more wonderful timing.
I'd love to see an algae cooking video some day. The first thing that comes to my mind would be combining it with flour, to make something like algae bread, for example. Maybe replace the spinach in green pasta with algae? Or put some algae in pesto, or use it as a base for a soup? Or just hot water + algae to get algae tea?
@@trollmcclure1884 A lot of ingredients taste bad by themselves but can be made delicious with a little trial and error. I imagine it would be a pretty good investment of time if you plan on having that be your primary source of calories for the rest of your life.
wow that's so awesome!!!! and it has so many uses! you get oil, which you can use later, you get wood gas, which you can use later and you get charcoal which, just like the wood gas, you can use later!!!! genius!
Rather than having tubes, I would suggest using two panes of glass (or acrylic, plexi, etc) sandwiched together with a bead of silicone around the edges, with an inlet and outlet port for the media to flow through. This way, the algae can spread out through the large surface area, fill it up to the top, and then outflow back into the tank. That would greatly reduce the amount of time and energy spent on building each panel.
I've been thinking about doing something similar in the future: living off of algae, but I've been running into some problems regarding hypervitaminosis. Especially with chlorella, living off of algae alone can actually be dangerous because the vitamin and mineral content in it is so high. Just the vitamin A content in chlorella, using conservative estimates, is ten times higher than the absolute maximum considered to be safe by most medical professionals (assuming 2000 calories worth of it per day). That's not even considering how much iron, zinc, and other vitamins are in it. The effects of this can be more severe than you might think, especially if you plan to take this much daily, so I would definitely talk to a dietician or substitute caloric intake with less nutrient-dense food or algae before actually moving on with this plan.
This channel has such a good track record for me. I only see videos from Cody'sLab pop up occasionally but every single time they deliver. Absolute dynamite.
It's been fun watching Cody grow as an engineer. Compared to his older projects, he's much more mature, thinking forward, fixing mistakes and improving his design. I just love this channel so much
I was watching this on my Apple TV but came to TH-cam just to mention how good you’re looking man! I know these past few years have been difficult, but thanks for sharing your projects with us!
Hey Cody LOVE this project! Just a heads up, silicone isnt the best option for sealing plastic to plastic as, from my experience as a tradesperson, it has a tendency to allow water to track between the plastic after a few good sun and cold cycles, try a foodsafe cement, although even those arent too good for potable liquids after a time as most contain heavy metals, even the ones that say they don't.
Some plastics like PP and HDPE won't stick to anything but themselves. As a thermoplastic PET should be ok to weld with other thermoplastics, so that could be an alternative solution.
@@woosix7735 true, but pure algae contain way too much vitamin A and other substances to live off directly. Also the Feed Rate Conversion for shrimp really isnt bad, so even if it was just because shrimp taste good, it might still be worth jt.
This is just awesome! I can already imagine an army of these outside chicken hole base. As for reducing the cost and areas where algae can catch, maybe use plastic sheets that you roll into a tube and the weld together ultrasonically? it would eliminate the need for any adhesive and would provide a seam parallel to the flow, making it harder for stuff to settle in.
I’d recommend having the air in/out connected to your mushroom growing area as they also use oxygen and produce carbon dioxide. The require oxygen to fruit!
When I was studying microbiology we got to look round a couple of sewage treatment plants. They removed the sludge for processing in an anaerobic digester that provided methane to run the site generators. One site allowed the untreated waste water to run down a long wide slope to local stream. This was in the 1980s not sure if it's still allowed. Anyway the slope the water ran down was covered in reeds but also many tomato plants from seeds that had survived people's digestive systems. The site workers harvested the tomatoes. Given that they were irrigation was by sewage water I would have been concerned about bacteria and viruses, and would hope that the workers vaccinations against Diphtheria, Typhoid, Tetanus, Polio, Leptospirosis and Viral Hepatitis were kept up to date.
You do know what manure is?....😒RIGHT THERE BIFF TANNEN!?? *YOU DO KNOW WHAT YOUR GROCERY STORE FRUITS AND VEGETABLES ARE WATERED WITH, RIGHT BIFF!?!???😒😒🙄
In terms of processing the algae into fuel, I'm curious what a fractional distillation would produce. You'd want quite a lot of it to start so you can have long enough fractions to isolate. Since it hasn't had a chance to be processed with all the heat and pressure underground, it would likely be mostly smaller chains equivalent to Naphtha, Kerosene and Propane.
Biodiesel is basically produced just by mechanically compressing the algae mush through a filter to separate oils from the solids. Some filtering and chemical processing is done to make it more suitable to engines. Distillation takes far too much energy and destroys some of the product.
@@BTheHeretic Biodiesel is not suitable for ALL applications, though. Kerosene is jet fuel. It can burn well in low oxygen, has a higher freeze point and burns cleanly in a lantern. Biodiesel can gel in cold temps and produces much more soot. The only advantages of a biodiesel are cost and lubricity. Kerosene just can't compete with diesel when it comes to lubricating cylinder walls and valves.
Cody I want to thank you for your creativity, bold vision, and hard work- it’s inspired me to try things I never would have dreamed of without having your example to follow. Learning about biology and chemistry has been really a great adventure for me, and you’re always a source of such cool ideas! We owe you a debt of gratitude!
This may be the coolest DIY project I've seen so far, and there's some stiff competition in this channel alone. I can't wait to see you go past this prototype and incorporate it into CHB!
Nice work, efficient use of materials. Would it be possible to increase the algae's production by giving it some kind of feedstock, possibly derived from kitchen scraps and or animal waste?
I heard if he shared some of the crack he smokes with it he will be able to keep it in the sweet spot. Then he can smoke the algae and it will be stronger crack.
No, that's because algae make their own food. I think an euglena would be able to do that, because euglenas make their own food when they don't have any food, but when they have food they just eat it. Maybe you could compost the food waste to give the algae some minerals.
He could also increase efficiency by lowering the number of times in that panel, have 3 thicker tubes instead of 9 smaller ones as it would Power wasted space.
Cody, you're a legend. I also started watching you when you were doing mining, and the level of the stuff you're doing now is mind-boggling. Great stuff!
Cody's Lab: tastes all the things so we don't have to! Seriously, though, excellent project. I live watching the thought process and the experiments develop. I'm always glad to see a new upload.
Refugiums were always my favorite part of my salt water reef aquariums. I love algae, so simple to grow, cultivate and utilize, and such a powerful tool when used correctly. Fantastic experiment. Great work fren.
Cody glad to see you recycle plastic bottles and great idea, another solution is to drill a hole slightly smaller than the bottle screw neck in the bottom of the bottle then glue the screw neck and screw it into the bottom of the other bottle done this and no leaks it also creates eddy currents in the bottles. Also those plastic bottles works great in ceilings
16:10 i think the temperature falling rapidly might be partially due to the radiator like design of it, after all, if your not absorbing heat from the sun then your going to just as quickly radiate heat out, especially from the exposed pipes you mentioned at 16:45, maybe put a pipe insulation sleeve over it like the ones that are used under houses on water pipes?it would definitely help retain heat on the trip to and from the panel. you are also probably pulling in cold air from the air intake, since the air intake is under the panel it is going to be in the shake where its colder, maybe put the air intake in direct sunlight where it can also get warmed up and add heat rather than remove it. and maybe spray the panel with something to make the ice less likely to form or slide off better on its own so you dont have to scrape it off. i hope we get to see you make improvements on it! i love watching you and your experiments!
maybe 2 layers of the clear plastic would help, kind of like 2x insulated windows, but IR would still pass through unfortunately I'm also thinking about maybe an emergency heating coil, powered by something energy-dense, for if the main tank falls below a certain temperature
When you said that it "only does around 2%" of your calorific needs, I was immediately astonished that just 50 of these systems would - in theory- sustain you! I find that incredible, and that isn't even an unreasonable task at all. Obviously simplification will help with costs, and as low-tech a solution would be absolutely ideal to mitigate failure points as much as possible, but 50 of these PROTOTYPES is all you need*? Absolutely phenomenal really. As soon as you set up the timer system, I could see that being an issue instantly, as the whole "what if it's cloudy/raining?" question comes up. We both came to the same solution though, so that's brilliant. A little side-project of it could be powering things off of your already in-place solar panels, where you could set up a relay to monitor how much wattage the solar panel is taking in, while also being able to power the pump and heater from it. That's a simplification right there, as it's a reasonable assumption that, if a solar panel is greater than X amount of power, then there is a good chance that it's sunny, and, therefore, providing enough light that, when absorbed by the comparatively "dark" algae, it would provide enough heat to sustain constant flow. That removes the timer and thermostat from the whole system, and, providing you have large enough tanks, the thermal energy should sustain it for extended periods of non-thermal days (remembering, of course, not to put all your eggs in one basket so to speak).
Also comrade, if he were to scale up the size, it would be a lot more productive than building more individual systems. Maintaining a small amount of large systems is probably easier than managing many small systems, and would probably simplify refinement.
I'd just like to add that for a small system like this where power is already available, you don't need a solar panel to trigger the system. A simple (cheap) photo diode would suffice.
Dude this is incredible, you're always doing the most interesting things I'd never heard of. Can't wait to see how this goes, hope you get a good yield!
I love this so much. How did you learn to do this? You are literally that guy that could be placed almost anywhere, in any point, at time and survive. The mad scientist
This is an awesome design, looking at the thumbnail I thought it was a solar water heater or similar. Would having a just two panes of plexi/glass just stuck near enough to each other (like a flat aquarium), with some standoffs for flow agitation, be more efficient? I know it's supposed to be a proof of concept, but having a sun roof that doubles as a algae farm just seems awesome.
My big concern with a roof setup would be the weight of water putting a huge load on the roof trusses, that and if they did fail, you'd now have a large quantity of water ready to fall in your collapsing roof
@@macklinmollard4045 I guess I'm imagining them to be on one of those rooftop sunroofs. Being a whole other floor on top of the house means they could support greater weight.
the method of extracting oil from the algae that cody did can be done to other organic things aswell and get the same results, i did that a long time ago using dry leaves and chicken feeds and the oil i extracted is still with me, its kind of like a tar and crude oil but once its exposed to fire it ignites
I find this absolutely fascinating I'm going to see about starting to experiment with this and using the algae for biofuel to power a more economically sustainable coffee shop
Cody I love how when I see your video comes out I get excited and when you talk about a project my brain goes crazy thinking about it. This panel idea is amazing. . What about 2 sheets of glass and using a strip of something to divide up into one long maze or just vertical strips. Sandwich it using silicone. You coud make the tracks wider then thick for more sun surface area.
Algae also has a lot of protein! Sometimes up to 70% by dry weight if I remember correctly. Also, are there cyanotoxins present in Chlorella that could limit the amount of algae you can eat in one day? I believe you can only eat a few grams of cyanobacteria per day due to this reason... Back when I thought I could use cyanobacteria as protein powder; my teeth were very green too :)
I thought algae isnt suitable for food because of the large amount of iodine. No idea what algae this applies to though. Only know that chlorella is sold as food supplement with typical bs promises unfortunately 😒
@@user-qx7tm5df8j it does suck... I wonder if there's a way to isolate the protein from the toxins... I know you can isolate the oil. There's a company that's doing this with algal cooking oil already
@@user-qx7tm5df8j Since he grows it himself... an iodine is a chemical element, if he doesn't put any iodine in, there wont be any "grown" (except from the seeder culture) the panel certainly wont filter iodine from the air. I don't know enough of the bio chemestry to know if iodine is an essential element to algae or just happens to be there because usually it's grown in the sea (and it gets it from the water) However I'm quite certain that algae needs phosphor on the long run to keep working (without phosphor there is no ATP and without ATP there isn't life). So to create a cycle one would need to get the phosphor out of the urine again.. (every other essential elements H, C, N can be acquired from air)
Maybe you could try running the algae through Twinwall Polycarbonate Sheet? It's available in large panels. Not sure how practical eating the algae directly would be, but you could use it to feed shrimps, snails or as an addition to the diet of chickens.
I made a photobioreactor (the scientific name of the algae panel I guess?) in january of 2020 for my second year of uni, and I can tell you that your design is by far the best I have ever seen! It is SO practical and straight to the point while staying simple. I wish I had seen that video at the time... I can't wait to see the following videos, keep up the good work!
Wouldn't a flat panel be more optimal? It would increase the surface area that the sun interacts with algae, thus with more sunlight you would increase the overall energy absorbed by the algae in the system.
I found it interesting to see how the algae melted the snow build up on it when it started running! Perhaps some kind of "defrost mode" would be a useful addition to the system? It most likely was due to the heater, but perhaps it could still prove useful?
Wonderful setup and information. I can imagine water cooled clear solar panels growing algae. Infra red absorbed for electricity and the rest for the algae. Heat disapated in summer and used to keep water warm in winter while increasing panel efficiency. Cant wait to see what comes next.
![PASULOL รามเกียรติ์ ตอนที่ 4 นนทกพบรัก [Ramakien Ep.4: Nonthok in love]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/tMUQgmZzf_A/mqdefault.jpg)
I started following Cody when he was literally mining. Now he is making automatic algae farms. Seriously, you are my favorite minecrafter.
Huge supporter here also..
Dude you just blew my mind.
same here! he's a genius!
same
😂
The main problem with algae is the entire system can become infected and kill all the algae or poison you if you are consuming it. You might consider separating the algae generator into multiple discrete units to allow for direct comparisons to ensure safety and redundancy as well as protection from accidental contamination.
Spirulina is better for that. It grows in a solution almost as basic as bleach. Pretty hard to contaminate bleach!
It is a great environment to grow bacteria and mold too. For non-food use the risk of legionella is greatest problem, but for food use there are a large number of organisms that could be dangerous.
If you separate it you could also use it to select for more effective strains. Like as select for carbs if you want ethanol or select for lipids if you want oils.
May i ask how a closed system can become infected?
What are the weakpoints? What would you nees to filter in order to make it foodsafe?
@@dmarsub You are assuming that the closed system was 100% sterile before it was closed. Very hard to do even when you are trying really hard to clean everything.
I love how enthusiastic this man is about science, really makes this channel so interesting and fun to watch.
@@AxxLAfriku no. Cringe
He blew it with the compensation for his CO2 ofsett.
If you're new to his channel you should watch some of his oold stuff
That's why I watch him lol.
@De paus van de Lilith Kerk how? That’s not really political, if anything, it’s cool to see how much CO2 a person gives off. I totally thought that algae would’ve offset more
In a few years he's gonna discover actual farming and i love it.
He already has a lot of videos of "gardening" that show his large "garden" planted in the ground outside. aka a farm xD
:D i know i love Cody, it was just a joke ;) @@N8Dulcimer
shit in a few years he’s gonna emerge from the wreckage of humanity and help us figure out the way.
After the mutant algae consumes modern human infrastructure he will guide us to paradise.
We are all going to be herded into mega city's so this is farming in that scenario.
Chemist here: I would recommend not to use vinyl or pvc for food usage. They can leetch phatalates. Expeacially the soft tubing is full of softeners. It is good for testing, but not for final product.
Phatalates are known to be bioactive and harmful.
Signal boosting comment here! PET is also pretty porous. ABS is food safe but not transparent.
What would you recommend?
@@imbrudedsoul HDPE pretty sure
@@imbrudedsoul Acryllic polymers or borosilicate glass are viable FDA-approved options for a project like this. He could use regular glass tubes but they wouldn't be as sturdy as lab grade borosilicates. Another plastic option would be clarified polyethylene, like clear or nearly-clear HDPE.
I disagree with napiton, PVC is generally recognised to be safe for human biological use. Millions of miles of PVC pipe are used to transport water to the homes of many industrialized countries. My only issue with PVC is that it will itself degrade with exposure to UV and become malleable, potentially causing leaks in a system like this. Concerning the toxicity of the degradation, I would argue evidence is largely unavailable to support a claim like that.
@@zachalexander963 I definitely agree with the PVC comment, PVC would be a MASSIVE improvement on the lead lined plumbing all over the United States. Thanks for the info!
This is a super cool project. I'd really like to give it a try
Can you make it explode?
Do it! I’d definitely tune in to watch.
These types of projects give me hope for humanity lol I'd love to see you give this a try on your channel.
When my favorite youtubers talk to each other, it makes me soooooo happy. Ive been watching you both for YEARS now. I have been wanting to start my own channel for as long as I can remember and youll see me soon, hopefully I will be able to collab with you guys both in the future.
yeah I would love to have a Diesel making panel haha
When Cody came into frame for the first time I thought he had a guest. It never ceases to amaze me how much a hair cut changes someone, and I'm a barber lol
HE has put on some weight as well.
@@1Shignog too much fatty algae
and he shaved his goatee.
he looks much worse.
He's got himself a haircut and also a widescreen patch!
I cant get over him eating the algae powder at 0:43 and then coughing up a green cloud right after. Hilarious. Keep up the great work though, Awesome content.
it reminds me of what happens when my mother takes cinnamon capsules - they dissolve in her throat and she'll cough a brown cloud a little bit later lol
It is Cody’s version of the cinnamon challenge.
😆😆
Then him talking with the green teeth...I'm literally CRYING right now LMFAOO..
Cody’s way of dispersing alga spore.
It's been a minute since I've seen Cody with short hair. He looks like a different person.
Cody. If you read this at any point I hope whatever prompted this change has set a positive spin on your life. I know you've had some rocky bits these past few years so again. I hope whatever made want to change up your look is a good thing. You look happier and I hope that happiness lasts!
He is a lot more muscular as well, i guess he has been working quite hard or it is a radioactive animal bite..
And looks like he has hit the weight and bulked up massively
I thought I had mistaken another channel for Cody's when he first jumped into frame, lol
It's the algae
What "rocky bits" ?
This is arguably the absolute best channel on this platform. Even the worst of days get better when Cody uploads!
Only channel that i keep notifications on!
100%
Absolutely agreed
What about Nile man..
This is the only channel where the creator clearly cares for content more then being famous. Just about every channel out there that gets to this size pivots in a poor way. Except for Cody whos been a true dedicated dude since day one. Cheers, hope he keeps the show going for the next 50 years.
Haven't watched Cody for a while, he's looking super healthy and happy. It's nice to see.
Hey Cody, I just want to say thank you. I’m so glad you didn’t decide to leave TH-cam. The wholesomeness you bring to people is something to never be understated and seeing all your cool experiments are a joy.
great to see you in such good spirits, Cody
sounds like an incredibly interesting project!
can't wait to see more
Way to go! The man behind my favourite astronomy channel is here too. 👍 I love to hear those reassuring words "hello wonderful person!" Greetings from Australia. 🇦🇺
glad to see great minds gathering together
This should have more likes
you could say he's a wonderful person
Love your content too, bro! Amazing to see you supporting Cody's content!
Keep up the amazing work you guys!!!
Wow, when you jumped into frame i immediately thought, someone is looking fresh. Looking good Cody! haven't been on your channel for like 4 months or so. i'm liking the project, something i might have to use in my food science degree i'm starting now :D
My man is looking a little thick
@@Controlled01 seems like the good kinda thicc, i atleast feel better with a little layer of fat on me :D
Yeah me too. I was also surprised 😊
Man went from desperado to Mr Incredible
its his cousin cody is currently half way to mars in a terrarium rocket
Always a good day when Cody uploads
I was about to say the same. 👍
YES
For real
yeah best channel ever
Agreed!!
You should grow botryococcus! it is similar to chlorella, but the difference is that it doesn't make edible fats - it makes diesel fuel! it makes C34 hydrocarbons in its extracellular matrix, and that lets it float on water. It outproduces almost all other algae in terms of biofuels. I have been doing biology research on both of these algaes for the past couple years, so it's exciting to see someone else as enthusiastic as I've been!
how is the research going?
@@toddberkely6791 this was a long time ago, and i moved away from that research because i finished undergrad. Now i’m doing analytical chemistry at a pharmaceuticals plant! haven’t kept up with the literature since i left unfortunately
@@toddberkely6791good question
Hi. Biologist here. Botryococcus app? Where would you get some? Do you share?
Cody's that one guy who put his points into every stat. Mining, chemistry, metallurgy, electronics, mechanics, woodcrafting, farming etc. Lets hope he's on our side 😳
Seems like he didn't have any points left for the control of his arms, I have more control over my nuts than this guy have over his arms... lol
Also strength, our guy is bulking up like crazy
Cody is 100 stat man
@@Reth_Hard Italian origin?
@@alessandrosimongini2312
C'mon mate, are you trying to insult me?
Him explaining with a straight face while showing green teeth got me laughing real hard.
Man's has iridium nuts 😂💪
No need to be ashamed of a temporary state. Was original.
My brain skipped the word "laughing"
Some people are said to have green fingers; Cody, on the other hand...
The green puff when he coughed. Lol!
I think my most favorite part was the paper of algae directed into the mouth, followed by a cough that expelled a green mist, followed by a choking/gagging sound, followed by GREEN teeth. I was laughing so hard after that that I don't remember how the rest of it went! Nice one, Cody! Oh, I'm guessing this isn't going to be on the list for steak substitutes? 😂
followed by "Its not that bad"
By far one of the best scenes I've seen on this Channel!!
Same
Cody knows what crushed up grass and walnuts tastes like, doesn't surprise me.
"Its good for the environment and its ok for you" (sic)
The memory I had of you was during a rough patch years ago. It broke my heart. I’m so happy to see that you’re back up on your feet and you look healthy and bright! Keep going man!
I've wanted to grow blue algea(spirena(sp)), it is just slightly better in food value, but more important, it grows in a high PH so little other life could ever invade the medium, making raising it to eat much safer. Still, best to view under a scope from time to time.
The other benefit of high pH is that carbonates can deliver CO2 to the cells more efficiently than in neutral or acidic water
it also tastes like old fish tank water. Chlorella is a delicious spinach like green tea compared to Spirulina
@@trollmcclure1884 i wonder how people found out what old fish tank water tastes like
@@awesomestuff9715 By siphoning water out for cleaning. Getting a little water in your mouth is kind of typical when doing that. Or, more realistically, by simply assuming you know what it'll taste like based on the smell.
@@awesomestuff9715 sometimes stuff tastes as it smells (no pun intended 😀)
One of the coolest project you've ever started Cody, along with the Chickenhole base.
And the mine :D
Dude is weird. He is like a 7th grader with an IQ of 60 role playing a scientist.
This is awesome. I still have those glass slabs btw when you want to expand.
So cool to see you actively supporting fellow TH-camrs. You are one of my favorite TH-camrs!!!
Just remember, glass is glass, and glass breaks.
unlike cody's indominable radioactive will.
This is so cool!
@@TheGroundedCoffee but it also scratches at a level 7 with deeper grooves at a level 8
Cody talking about the panel freezing up being bad reminded me of a commercial solar water heating job i installed the structula suports for.
The job was being finished up in late January in the far north. The panels had all been hooked up, and the technition filled them up with the glycolic. Everything was running fine at the end of the day. That night temps.droped to -30c..... the crew i was working for was the first in every day before sun up. When we got to the roof there was green snow everywear. About half the tubes had froze the night before and burst and as the sun came up, it started to unfreeze in the panels but only the parts the sun was hitting so you had boiling hot glycole venting out of vents everywere. 1 million in damage all because the tech didn't read the labels and cut the glycole down with water when it was already mixed
"If it's good enough for fish, it's good enough for me." Cody has a simple and humble air about him that is extremely charming.
I'll just eat the fish
I'm glad to see you're still around, youtube would be a pretty boring place without you :)
I know this past year was a tough one for you but you're looking much more healthy and happy lately, whatever you've been doing it's definitely working!
Keep up the great work, Cody, and stay awesome! ❤️
right like he looks like a whole new person without the glasses and it looks like he jacked up some weights woah
@@shipwreck9146 Hahaha Dont be so silly ben. He is clearly just happy to be back on earth after his isolation on fake mars
@@slaytronic His neck is huge compared to his arms.. wonder if he hoped on TRT… bout the age and circumstances where it’d be one or the other… or both.
He’s looking super healthy, took a break on yt for about 4 months and wow does he look like he may be in a better place mentally etc! Love the content! Catch up for me
No he looks worse. He is of European heritage. Not native American. STOP SHAVING!!!
awesome
@@timesthree5757 lmao. Shave, it looks tidy.
@@dimitrijekrstic7567 shave it looks disgusting.
He's looking sharp and healthy!
2:09 Small correction: Plants don't pump water. It moves through capillary action and evapotranspiration. It is fairly passive energy-wise.
I feel like you're going to want to be more careful about sealing the holes in your system - especially the algae tub. You do have bugs in your greenhouse, and if there's one thing I know about bugs, it's that they love to get into open water sources. Dead bugs aren't something you want floating around in a food source. Also some way to avoid any spores or microbes from creeping in through the air intake. Like with mushrooms, you're going to want the system to be sterile and sealed to avoid contamination. Might also want to look into ways to isolate the starter algae culture from any contaminants too.
Using clear PVC pipe for the panel, tubing and even large diameter like 12" for the reservoir would keep the entire system sealed. Air intakes could use bacteria viral (BV) filters like the ones used on medical ventilators would keep the air supply clean. I also wonder if there is some antiseptic that could be kept in the algae solution without killing it to prevent microbes from colonizing.
@@MPIronmanJC iodine comes to mind. It's a sweet water algae tho
Drilling holes, the exact size of the tubing, then using silicon sealant should fix most of the algae tub issues. As for contamination, he could honestly take one of the filters from the mushroom grow bags and put it over the air intake and that would keep most stuff out.
One other improvement I think Cody should do is take a cap from one of the water bottles, and glue it into some tubing and drill a hole in it for sealed water input and output by screwing on bottles. When not in use, to keep it sealed just leave empty bottles on it.
Isn't most algae commercially grown in open concrete pools and not sealed systems?
@@oakiemouse Not when intended for human consumption, I don't think.
The "which I've kind of been planning on doing" at 19:39 made me chuckle. I admire your drive to try new things. You are an example for all scientists. I wish you the best.
nice to see you look energized and happy cody. the past year or two might've had some bumps and life wasn't all that nice to you sometimes, but it's always darkest before dawn and eternal happiness is not natural.
i want you to remember all the people you have influenced for good and have changed their lives drastically (including me), it hurt to see you in sorrow and am sure me and an insurmountable amount of people out there would help you in time of need. you are the best person on this platform and i don't say that lightly, please keep on being passionate and being you
The government replaced him that’s not cody
robocody
"glass can be pretty expensive so I'm using plastic for my prototype"
suggested video: Cody making a solid gold railroad spike
Well, he had more gold than money to buy glass tho
I don't think they accept gold just like that
it's the green puff of algae when he coughs that does it for me haha
@@duckintheheadlights7906 had you hatin 🎶🎶
0:50 lol
Cinnamon challenge 2.0
Week later: cody update: Hi guys, I'm in hospital with a fungal lung infection, but I'll be back with more videos in two weeks time, see you then *thumb up - wave*
@@paulmichaelfreedman8334 ROTFL
Cody, you look so healthy mentally and physically. I’m really happy to see you looking so well. I hope you’re feeling happier and healthier, as well 😊
He eats his greens! *baddum tsh*
I couldn't put my finger on it but you're right he has a healthy glow about him
@@whogavehimafork he just had no shadow on his face, new lights I suppose
I remember back in the 70s when this idea was first taking off (Prevention and Organic Farm and Garden magazines talked abut this back then, around 1974, I believe) and a friend and I tried growing and processing this algae that we then made muffins with and it was ok. As you said, not gourmet. But, edible. I later tried it in some borsht as the beets would over power the flavor of the algae and it worked nicely. Now that you have rekindled my thinking on this and the need for self sufficiencey, I will set up my system again. We used a waterfall runway to our fish pond and that produced a fair amount of algae. Since we were not planning on eating it raw but only in cooked foods, it did not bother us that it was fed fish waste. So, the algae grew very fast and very thick. Since the spill way was of hard wood, it clung to the wood and was easy to scrape off. Now, I will build several so when one is off to dry, the others are still going. Maximise my production and harvest ability.
sounds like a good idea
imagine if u bought into super blue green algae MLM way back then u be a multi millionaire now
@@feelinghealingfrequences7179: That requires a cooler climate than what we had in the bay area.
Nice one sir, thank you for sharing your experience. I like the double function of the hard wood spill way, very efficient and practical!
@@calebbelac8335: Thank you.
I would’ve never clicked on this vid without your positive opening/personality. Now I’m hooked
Hi Cody, Keeping ur water temp near ideal growing conditions (21C +-3C) is challenging and appears to be your determinant growth variable. Its a common issue with outdoor bioreactors. I'd suggest putting the tubes indoors and submerged in a clear thermally stable liquid (or just water) to maintain a relatively constant temp. I know that doesn't fit your theme. You could eventually use solar panels/cells/battery/LED grow lights to maintain 24hr growing and stable growing temps/conditions. Yes, that's pricy. With stable temps, You should be able to max-out your bio-reactor within 5 days.
Please check your algae variety often, like daily, and have backup virgin species on hand to start new clean reactors as needed. Back in the 2000's, when I was looking at this (for biodiesel/coal flu gas treatment/food/cattle feed source, etc), foreign or 'local' algae would be take over the bioreactor within 90 days. We simply just don't have a filter capable of 100% contaminant prevention... maybe we do now, or you could invent one? Safety tip: The foreign algae can be toxic to humans/animals. It can kill you, or destroy your kidneys, liver, ect. Also, I strongly suggest that every part of your bioreactor that is exposed to algae (storage basin/tubes/hoses/fittings) be easy to access for cleaning. Because of the foreign Algae introductions, you can expect prolonged contamination issues.
The predominant joke at the time was that anyone that could run a stable independent bioreactor for longer than 4 months would become a billionaire. I was inspired by a guy named Isaac Berzin out of MIT. His research papers are a great place to start for info on the topic. I think he ended up being funded to do a full scale project in South Africa or somewhere, I don't know him personally and it was along time ago. Any hoo, Looking good so far. I used T12 lightbulb covers from H.D. as a cheap tubes. However flexible clear PVC (UV stable) tubing's now the more common (used for product packaging) and dominant tubing material. I lost interest and stopped all this after a pear reviewed paper definitively showed all diesel fuel including biodiesel & its exhaust were carcinogenic. Hope that helps, Good luck :)
Hey, just in case you are interested, in Spain there's a research facility that uses microalgae as a way to treat waste water, use algae as an edible product and as fertilizer for crops. It uses a local strand so that they don't have to fight it and they produce an economically viable product.
The algae just grows thanks to the great amount of sunny days they have. If the algae is consumed by humans they have it in tubes, but if it's to feed insects or to be used as fertilizer they can get away with open-aired containers.
@@fantasticomanga Very cool, also Hawaii has similar program :)
@@hytecmobile its amazing to see people interested in these super plants if you want more check out azzola, duckweed, and wolffia globlosa
I'm curious about the diesel study you mention at the bottom?
Also, Solar Foods is a startup that's making the most sustainable food using algae... I guess they use a completely closed system and advanced air filters to prevent foreign algae contamination that you pointed out... Also, the fact that burning the oil it produces is carcinogenic shouldn't dampen your interest in it, after all, even without the oil it has so many other use-cases such as making food and even bio-degradable manufacturing materials (for instance, there's one company that's making flip-flops out of them).
You can use volume to your advantage here. Building a 10m2 panel 50 cm thick will be cheaper than building 20m2 at 25cm.
Obviusly its not endless but in the ocean sunlight doesnt realy deminish untill like 50 meters.
You can also add a mirror underneath to have the sun pass through the mix twice.
I would also recomend a head exchanger both to cool the selution and to heat it if it gets too cold.
If you collect enough heat of it you could heat a shower with it. Or atleast your greenhouses.
In the Gulf of Mexico it's more like 8 feet... but the mirror idea is good. It doesn't have to be a smooth specular reflector, but something vaguely reflective, or very, very white, would get more light to the algae, assuming that much light makes it through. It's also a thermal management issue. You might want more of the light to be used for heat in the winter, and during summer bounce it back. Of course with adequate power production you could rely on the active heating in the tank. I'm kinda thinking the ideal system would have the thickness of the pipe based on the occlusion of light at the bottom, and in that case, there wouldn't be enough light to worry about reflecting. How dark is the water going to get at full saturation before you harvest it? It would be interesting to see how industrial algae farms do it though.
Fr the advantage of water is it's insulation so the temperature won't fluctuate as much between day and night
Oh wow it's been a couple months since I've watched Cody regularly. When did he get absolutely YOLKED??? Dude is built like a boulder now. That algae must be treating him right!
He was always really strong he just looks so different without a beard and glasses
hes gotten really fat not really muscular, look at his neck and his chubby fingers
@@Tender_BootyStrokes ehh as a fellow chubby-strong guy, I know a layer of muscle under a bit of fluff when I see it lol. Weight moves weight.
I've never seen Cody look better than this. Nohomo.
@@Tender_BootyStrokes nah, theres definitely something under that.
It's great idea man. Im building a pond on my property for similar reasons. Will grow algae, duckweed and fish. Carp fish last all winter and if you clear the water, algae can grow under the ice even in winter. As long as you stir and airate the water somehow. Using windmill and solarpanel should work most of the year. Collect some staple food before harsh winter tho as here where I live, wintertime has 24h darkness cycle. No light, no life. It's stagnated at least. For about 1 month it's total darkness, then it's doable again. So food for at least 1 month prior is essential. Unless you have land to hunt for gain or dig for food in tunnels under the frostline.
If these were set up vertically along the northern wall of a greenhouse, they'd be useful for doing double duty as a thermal stabilizer for the internal air temperature!
and as a bonus you could use IBC totes for the storage, of both heat and algae. Though you would have to have it set up to limit the amount of heat gain while maintaining the light it receives to keep it alive.
Bump
I like your thinking OP. What do you call steam punk living that also involves lot of neat uses of algae?
@@KingOhmni Biopunk?
@@FortySixandTwo595 you're onto something
Wow man, you're looking so happy in this video, I know you've had some tough times the past few years but this is fantastic to see!
Damn, Cody. You haven't looked this pumped in years. I told you we'd all still be here when you got back :) Awesome project!
Must be the algae
thanks to the good bud :D
Last time I watched a Cody video, he looked exactly like the kind of prospector that would dig around in the mines he always used to make videos about. At the risk of sounding shallow, Cody has made immense progress on his appearance and looks fantastic. I almost didn't recognize him!
This Cody looks sooooo weird to me, like he's CGI. Or he's been replaced by a guy who sounds like him and stole his channel lol.
He reminds me of the dad from incredibles becoming uncany meme
Growing up and watching Cody go through his life with such determination, fills me with great joy. Good to see you in good spirits.
Learned so much from you over the years. From making gun powder out of urine, refining gold from spark plug dust off the road all the way to growing algae. Amazing.
Actually it was platinum (and irridium) from just the spark plugs, then another video mining platinum again but from the road dust (which actually assayed to be a viable platinum ore) 🤓
It was platinum from catalytic converters, which is why he liked the exits of bends because engines are under higher load when accelerating out of corners.
The photocell for auto on/off was a good idea. I might suggest using some insulation like for an air conditioner refrigerant line to wrap the bare hoses to protect from high heat and harsh cold. Easy, cheap modification.
man I'm back to watch this video again!!! I'm inspired to start cultivating it myself and want to offer my observation, your temps began to fall sharply when your water began sucking all that air from outside into it which then looked like it ran to your reservoir, if you could build a cap with a small hole to act as a restriction to limit the amount of air introduced into the system and still easily remove it to add water, awesome project :D
You look good Cody. A friend of mine many years ago was also hooked on algae. LOL
he looks like he's gained about 40lb due to covid. He should probably start exercising
@@1sSnippy mind your own business
its a latex mask
@@augurelite he had ligma,he's recovering
@@1sSnippy I think I know where you got that number from lol
Awesome project! Maybe you could try to give it a reflective backing so you effectively get more light in winter. Maybe a space blanket on a roll that can retract in case the algae gets to hot.
I was thinking a black backing for heat. maybe black for the winter and reflective for the summer
I love how Cody went from literally mining to larping as a mars explorer to building a fully automated algae growing system lol
Forgot mushrooms
He was larping because he was accepted as one of the people who would be the first to explore Mars years ago.
What’s Larping?
@@vladimirvikentije5202 LARPing is short for Live Action Roleplaying, which is basically like a tabletop RPG (e.g. dungeons and dragons) without the, uh, table
Mars? We can’t even land on the moon...
Im amazed. Every time I check codys chennel, I learn 500 new things. Thank you Cody!!
very interesting build.
19:00 i hope you manage to deal with that foundation damage, avoid water ingress.
This comment is too far down, I really hope he sees this before it costs him more to repair
Glad other people are spotting the crack in the foundation too.
I know right? Doesn't look good.
😬 I couldn't stop staring at that crack the whole video thinking the same thing. Maybe he could find a way to live off of consuming the mold in his basement. ;)
Slap some Flex Paste on there
Checked in to see if there was anything new I'd missed after a month or two, saw someone claiming he was sick or something so I checked his Twitter, and watched the new post appear as I was looking at the algae progress. Couldn't have been more wonderful timing.
I'd love to see an algae cooking video some day. The first thing that comes to my mind would be combining it with flour, to make something like algae bread, for example. Maybe replace the spinach in green pasta with algae? Or put some algae in pesto, or use it as a base for a soup? Or just hot water + algae to get algae tea?
It's best consumed as solid tablets. The taste is not something you'd crave. Green barley on the other hand...
@@trollmcclure1884 A lot of ingredients taste bad by themselves but can be made delicious with a little trial and error. I imagine it would be a pretty good investment of time if you plan on having that be your primary source of calories for the rest of your life.
wow that's so awesome!!!! and it has so many uses! you get oil, which you can use later, you get wood gas, which you can use later and you get charcoal which, just like the wood gas, you can use later!!!! genius!
Rather than having tubes, I would suggest using two panes of glass (or acrylic, plexi, etc) sandwiched together with a bead of silicone around the edges, with an inlet and outlet port for the media to flow through. This way, the algae can spread out through the large surface area, fill it up to the top, and then outflow back into the tank. That would greatly reduce the amount of time and energy spent on building each panel.
I've been thinking about doing something similar in the future: living off of algae, but I've been running into some problems regarding hypervitaminosis. Especially with chlorella, living off of algae alone can actually be dangerous because the vitamin and mineral content in it is so high. Just the vitamin A content in chlorella, using conservative estimates, is ten times higher than the absolute maximum considered to be safe by most medical professionals (assuming 2000 calories worth of it per day). That's not even considering how much iron, zinc, and other vitamins are in it. The effects of this can be more severe than you might think, especially if you plan to take this much daily, so I would definitely talk to a dietician or substitute caloric intake with less nutrient-dense food or algae before actually moving on with this plan.
Can't you cook it until the vitamins break down?
Raise tilapia and shrimp too.
algae is superfood
such a great food in fact, that we humans arent prepeared for it.
Vitamin A from a plant source will go out in your pee without any problem. Other vitamins could be an issue.
No one wants to live off algae, thats like eating food brick rations
Wow that algea going from the test-tube to the flaming oil on the spoon was such a great demonstration
This channel has such a good track record for me. I only see videos from Cody'sLab pop up occasionally but every single time they deliver. Absolute dynamite.
It's been fun watching Cody grow as an engineer. Compared to his older projects, he's much more mature, thinking forward, fixing mistakes and improving his design. I just love this channel so much
I was watching this on my Apple TV but came to TH-cam just to mention how good you’re looking man! I know these past few years have been difficult, but thanks for sharing your projects with us!
Noone gives a shit about your apple tv
@@NoR3m0rs3 ok
Hey Cody LOVE this project! Just a heads up, silicone isnt the best option for sealing plastic to plastic as, from my experience as a tradesperson, it has a tendency to allow water to track between the plastic after a few good sun and cold cycles, try a foodsafe cement, although even those arent too good for potable liquids after a time as most contain heavy metals, even the ones that say they don't.
Some plastics like PP and HDPE won't stick to anything but themselves. As a thermoplastic PET should be ok to weld with other thermoplastics, so that could be an alternative solution.
If the bottles are PET/PETE then the cheapest option is likely solvent welding via DMSO.
Plastic welding.
Should be ok for a prototype, right?
Or you just buy some plastic food grade tubing and don't use any silicone
This is great! I designed a panel like this 15 years ago while I was building earthships. As a way to produce shade and food.
You could also combine this with a shrimp farm since they have similar and simple requirements and eat algae directly
I want to see Cody do aquaponics. Such a cool system that uses nature as it's driving factor
Yes, however it would not be as efficient, since the shrimp also produce co2
@@woosix7735 true, but pure algae contain way too much vitamin A and other substances to live off directly.
Also the Feed Rate Conversion for shrimp really isnt bad, so even if it was just because shrimp taste good, it might still be worth jt.
@@woosix7735 the CO2 the shimp produce will be used by the algae
Much better use of it. I hate seafood but I guarantee shrimp would taste better than pondscum.
This is just awesome! I can already imagine an army of these outside chicken hole base. As for reducing the cost and areas where algae can catch, maybe use plastic sheets that you roll into a tube and the weld together ultrasonically? it would eliminate the need for any adhesive and would provide a seam parallel to the flow, making it harder for stuff to settle in.
You can also get endless plastic bags like a tube for vacuum sealing and they are strong
I’d recommend having the air in/out connected to your mushroom growing area as they also use oxygen and produce carbon dioxide.
The require oxygen to fruit!
When I was studying microbiology we got to look round a couple of sewage treatment plants. They removed the sludge for processing in an anaerobic digester that provided methane to run the site generators. One site allowed the untreated waste water to run down a long wide slope to local stream. This was in the 1980s not sure if it's still allowed.
Anyway the slope the water ran down was covered in reeds but also many tomato plants from seeds that had survived people's digestive systems. The site workers harvested the tomatoes. Given that they were irrigation was by sewage water I would have been concerned about bacteria and viruses, and would hope that the workers vaccinations against Diphtheria, Typhoid, Tetanus, Polio, Leptospirosis and Viral Hepatitis were kept up to date.
You do know what manure is?....😒RIGHT THERE BIFF TANNEN!??
*YOU DO KNOW WHAT YOUR GROCERY STORE FRUITS AND VEGETABLES ARE WATERED WITH, RIGHT BIFF!?!???😒😒🙄
In terms of processing the algae into fuel, I'm curious what a fractional distillation would produce. You'd want quite a lot of it to start so you can have long enough fractions to isolate. Since it hasn't had a chance to be processed with all the heat and pressure underground, it would likely be mostly smaller chains equivalent to Naphtha, Kerosene and Propane.
Even kerosene would be a boon. It's heavy enough to run most diesel engines with a minor retune.
Biodiesel is basically produced just by mechanically compressing the algae mush through a filter to separate oils from the solids. Some filtering and chemical processing is done to make it more suitable to engines. Distillation takes far too much energy and destroys some of the product.
@@TheAttacker732 Kerosene has more energy density than diesel it is used in jet fuel.
@@S3l3ct1ve I am aware. I'm referring to how flexible kerosene is as a fuel, able to fill in for everything from diesel to bunker oil.
@@BTheHeretic Biodiesel is not suitable for ALL applications, though. Kerosene is jet fuel. It can burn well in low oxygen, has a higher freeze point and burns cleanly in a lantern. Biodiesel can gel in cold temps and produces much more soot.
The only advantages of a biodiesel are cost and lubricity. Kerosene just can't compete with diesel when it comes to lubricating cylinder walls and valves.
Cody I want to thank you for your creativity, bold vision, and hard work- it’s inspired me to try things I never would have dreamed of without having your example to follow. Learning about biology and chemistry has been really a great adventure for me, and you’re always a source of such cool ideas! We owe you a debt of gratitude!
I always love coming back every couple months to see what you’re working on Cody. Yet another super cool project. I can’t wait to see how it goes.
Planning and problem solving on this subject is amazed me. Good job Cody 🙏🙏
It's always comforting to know in the event of an apocalypse, when I am turned into shoe leather. Cody will still be thriving in his chicken hole.
And he'll thank your spirit for providing him with shoe leather, and be sure to use every part of your carcass as nutrients in the compost.
This may be the coolest DIY project I've seen so far, and there's some stiff competition in this channel alone. I can't wait to see you go past this prototype and incorporate it into CHB!
Nice work, efficient use of materials.
Would it be possible to increase the algae's production by giving it some kind of feedstock, possibly derived from kitchen scraps and or animal waste?
I heard if he shared some of the crack he smokes with it he will be able to keep it in the sweet spot. Then he can smoke the algae and it will be stronger crack.
@@SwampyColorado420 😂😂😂
No, that's because algae make their own food. I think an euglena would be able to do that, because euglenas make their own food when they don't have any food, but when they have food they just eat it. Maybe you could compost the food waste to give the algae some minerals.
@@SwampyColorado420 What are you talking about?
He could also increase efficiency by lowering the number of times in that panel, have 3 thicker tubes instead of 9 smaller ones as it would Power wasted space.
Cody, you're a legend. I also started watching you when you were doing mining, and the level of the stuff you're doing now is mind-boggling. Great stuff!
Cody's Lab: tastes all the things so we don't have to!
Seriously, though, excellent project. I live watching the thought process and the experiments develop.
I'm always glad to see a new upload.
Refugiums were always my favorite part of my salt water reef aquariums. I love algae, so simple to grow, cultivate and utilize, and such a powerful tool when used correctly. Fantastic experiment. Great work fren.
I loved watching you take a huge bite of the algae w the dust popping out. You’re awesome cody been watching for 6 years dont plan on going anywhere.
Are you in love with him?
Cody glad to see you recycle plastic bottles and great idea, another solution is to drill a hole slightly smaller than the bottle screw neck in the bottom of the bottle then glue the screw neck and screw it into the bottom of the other bottle done this and no leaks it also creates eddy currents in the bottles. Also those plastic bottles works great in ceilings
could you explain why an eddy current might be useful in this scenario? Thanks!
Cody looks like a jock now but he still talks like the nerd we all know and love.
I remember being in high school and some of the football players were fellow nerds in science class and whatnot
Finally embraced his Aryan roots.
Hank Hill, but instead of propane it's algae
@@konigstigerhart455 What do you mean?
lost a beard, grew a neck instead
16:10 i think the temperature falling rapidly might be partially due to the radiator like design of it, after all, if your not absorbing heat from the sun then your going to just as quickly radiate heat out, especially from the exposed pipes you mentioned at 16:45, maybe put a pipe insulation sleeve over it like the ones that are used under houses on water pipes?it would definitely help retain heat on the trip to and from the panel.
you are also probably pulling in cold air from the air intake, since the air intake is under the panel it is going to be in the shake where its colder, maybe put the air intake in direct sunlight where it can also get warmed up and add heat rather than remove it.
and maybe spray the panel with something to make the ice less likely to form or slide off better on its own so you dont have to scrape it off. i hope we get to see you make improvements on it! i love watching you and your experiments!
maybe 2 layers of the clear plastic would help, kind of like 2x insulated windows, but IR would still pass through unfortunately
I'm also thinking about maybe an emergency heating coil, powered by something energy-dense, for if the main tank falls below a certain temperature
When you said that it "only does around 2%" of your calorific needs, I was immediately astonished that just 50 of these systems would - in theory- sustain you! I find that incredible, and that isn't even an unreasonable task at all. Obviously simplification will help with costs, and as low-tech a solution would be absolutely ideal to mitigate failure points as much as possible, but 50 of these PROTOTYPES is all you need*? Absolutely phenomenal really.
As soon as you set up the timer system, I could see that being an issue instantly, as the whole "what if it's cloudy/raining?" question comes up. We both came to the same solution though, so that's brilliant. A little side-project of it could be powering things off of your already in-place solar panels, where you could set up a relay to monitor how much wattage the solar panel is taking in, while also being able to power the pump and heater from it. That's a simplification right there, as it's a reasonable assumption that, if a solar panel is greater than X amount of power, then there is a good chance that it's sunny, and, therefore, providing enough light that, when absorbed by the comparatively "dark" algae, it would provide enough heat to sustain constant flow. That removes the timer and thermostat from the whole system, and, providing you have large enough tanks, the thermal energy should sustain it for extended periods of non-thermal days (remembering, of course, not to put all your eggs in one basket so to speak).
Also comrade, if he were to scale up the size, it would be a lot more productive than building more individual systems. Maintaining a small amount of large systems is probably easier than managing many small systems, and would probably simplify refinement.
I'd just like to add that for a small system like this where power is already available, you don't need a solar panel to trigger the system. A simple (cheap) photo diode would suffice.
I dont know how, but that was the most professional and stylish handling of heating a test tube ive ever seen
Ohhhh, so that's why my friend has burnt spoons in his room. He's making algae oil.
Sure xD
Your channel is an incredible resource for gaining an intuition of how things are in the world:)
What if you piped in exhaust or another source of concentrated co2 for the plants to absorb?
Dude this is incredible, you're always doing the most interesting things I'd never heard of. Can't wait to see how this goes, hope you get a good yield!
I love this so much. How did you learn to do this? You are literally that guy that could be placed almost anywhere, in any point, at time and survive. The mad scientist
This is an awesome design, looking at the thumbnail I thought it was a solar water heater or similar.
Would having a just two panes of plexi/glass just stuck near enough to each other (like a flat aquarium), with some standoffs for flow agitation, be more efficient?
I know it's supposed to be a proof of concept, but having a sun roof that doubles as a algae farm just seems awesome.
My big concern with a roof setup would be the weight of water putting a huge load on the roof trusses, that and if they did fail, you'd now have a large quantity of water ready to fall in your collapsing roof
@@macklinmollard4045 I guess I'm imagining them to be on one of those rooftop sunroofs. Being a whole other floor on top of the house means they could support greater weight.
the method of extracting oil from the algae that cody did can be done to other organic things aswell and get the same results, i did that a long time ago using dry leaves and chicken feeds and the oil i extracted is still with me, its kind of like a tar and crude oil but once its exposed to fire it ignites
"And I only poked myself about 3 times."
thanks for keeping yourself safe, cody! we love you!
Nice shave, by the way!
I find this absolutely fascinating I'm going to see about starting to experiment with this and using the algae for biofuel to power a more economically sustainable coffee shop
Never thought I would see Cody heating black tar heroin on a spoon.
You should know by now that Cody will do anything for science :D
really out of character for him huh
i guess it really can happen to anyone
Hey mom it was algae I swear.
I'm an ex addict and as soon as i saw it I'm thinking the same thing.
@@jock-of-ages73 congrats on staying sober, that's a tough battle to win. I figured the spoon would trigger a few people lol.
Cody I love how when I see your video comes out I get excited and when you talk about a project my brain goes crazy thinking about it. This panel idea is amazing. . What about 2 sheets of glass and using a strip of something to divide up into one long maze or just vertical strips. Sandwich it using silicone. You coud make the tracks wider then thick for more sun surface area.
Algae also has a lot of protein! Sometimes up to 70% by dry weight if I remember correctly. Also, are there cyanotoxins present in Chlorella that could limit the amount of algae you can eat in one day? I believe you can only eat a few grams of cyanobacteria per day due to this reason... Back when I thought I could use cyanobacteria as protein powder; my teeth were very green too :)
I thought algae isnt suitable for food because of the large amount of iodine. No idea what algae this applies to though. Only know that chlorella is sold as food supplement with typical bs promises unfortunately 😒
@@user-qx7tm5df8j it does suck... I wonder if there's a way to isolate the protein from the toxins... I know you can isolate the oil. There's a company that's doing this with algal cooking oil already
@@user-qx7tm5df8j Since he grows it himself... an iodine is a chemical element, if he doesn't put any iodine in, there wont be any "grown" (except from the seeder culture) the panel certainly wont filter iodine from the air. I don't know enough of the bio chemestry to know if iodine is an essential element to algae or just happens to be there because usually it's grown in the sea (and it gets it from the water)
However I'm quite certain that algae needs phosphor on the long run to keep working (without phosphor there is no ATP and without ATP there isn't life). So to create a cycle one would need to get the phosphor out of the urine again.. (every other essential elements H, C, N can be acquired from air)
@@georgelionon9050 He did mention he was planning a video detailing the mineral additives he introduced to the system.
@@DIYBiotech , i think the toxins are from stressful growing conditions. keep the algae happy and there will be no toxins.
Maybe you could try running the algae through Twinwall Polycarbonate Sheet? It's available in large panels. Not sure how practical eating the algae directly would be, but you could use it to feed shrimps, snails or as an addition to the diet of chickens.
I made a photobioreactor (the scientific name of the algae panel I guess?) in january of 2020 for my second year of uni, and I can tell you that your design is by far the best I have ever seen! It is SO practical and straight to the point while staying simple. I wish I had seen that video at the time...
I can't wait to see the following videos, keep up the good work!
how did u do it? lol link a picture just curious.
Wouldn't a flat panel be more optimal? It would increase the surface area that the sun interacts with algae, thus with more sunlight you would increase the overall energy absorbed by the algae in the system.
I found it interesting to see how the algae melted the snow build up on it when it started running!
Perhaps some kind of "defrost mode" would be a useful addition to the system?
It most likely was due to the heater, but perhaps it could still prove useful?
Wonderful setup and information.
I can imagine water cooled clear solar panels growing algae. Infra red absorbed for electricity and the rest for the algae. Heat disapated in summer and used to keep water warm in winter while increasing panel efficiency.
Cant wait to see what comes next.
Your cadence and passion are giving me big Bill Nye Vibes. Keep making awesome stuff!