Filtration
Martin on Apr 12th 2008
For some time now it has been possible to mechanically remove from water bits of organic matter the size of single celled plants. This technology is the foundation of several existing biofuel schemes. It is the same for the Tidal Irrigation and Electrical System. However, a TIE System has advantages over these other ideas.
A TIE System itself presents energy savings because any filtration involves the mechanical pumping of water whereas the lagoon water is flowing under tidal forces.
This technology has already been sucessfully used to collect biomass for biodiesel, ethanol and methane. Using a TIE System, which has an ever increasing economy of scale, it will be possible to generate all of these products in vast quantities. It will also be possible to return some of the carbon dioxide, that was captured in the lagoon in the form of biomass, to the open ocean where it will form a carbon dioxide sink.