algae growth

Classify & Monitor Algal Growth with FlowCAM Auto-Imaging System

Biofuel- and Biotech Companies , , 0 Comment

Fluid Imaging Technologies, Inc. was founded in 1999 as a spinoff from Bigelow Laboratory for Oceanographic Sciences in Boothbay Harbor, Maine, and has grown every year since. The company’s business thrust is best stated by our mission statement:

Fluid Imaging Technologies Mission Statement:

Fluid Imaging Technologies, Inc. will provide innovative imaging-based particle analysis products and services on a global scale with a world-class commitment to customer service, quality and value.

Fluid Imaging Headquarters in Yarmouth, ME.

Since our founding, we have been the world-leader in particle analysis instrumentation based upon digital imaging technology. Our flagship product, FlowCAM®, was the first imaging particle analyzer on the market, and continues to lead the way in hardware innovations. Our particle analysis software, VisualSpreadsheet©, was the first particle analysis software to use sophisticated statistical pattern  recognition algorithms for automatically characterizing different particle types in a heterogeneous solution.

In April of 2007, we outgrew our original offices in Edgecomb, ME and moved to our current location in Yarmouth, ME. Located just 20 minutes from Downtown Portland (Maine’s largest city) and the airport, the current location houses our entire production, laboratory and office spaces.

Source: http://www.fluidimaging.com/about-us-overview.htm

Is Algae Worse than Corn for Biofuels?

General Algae News , , , , 0 Comment

algae-growth-ponds-biofuel

ALGAE FOOTPRINT: Researchers find that algae is a bigger energy hog than other biofuel sources.

Growing algae for use in biofuels has a greater environmental impact than sources such as corn, switch grass and canola, researchers found in the first life-cycle assessment of algae growth.

Interest in algae-based biofuels has blossomed in the past year, sparking major investments from Exxon Mobil Corp. and Dow Chemical Co., and it has gained steam on Capitol Hill, as well. But the nascent industry has major environmental hurdles to overcome before ramping up production, according to research published this week in Environmental Science and Technology.

“What we found was sort of surprising,” said Andres Clarens, a civil and environmental engineering professor at the University of Virginia and lead author of the paper. “We started doing this with as much optimism as everybody else.”

Read the whole article here ( Source ): http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=algae-biofuel-growth-environmental-impact