First algae refining plant opens in Lelystad - report

Sep 8, 2014 - The world’s first mobile algae refining plant will start operating in Lelystad, central Netherlands, on Monday, news agency ANP reported on Saturday.

The project is a joint initiative of research institute TNO and companies including Sabic, De Wit Oils, Van Wijhe Verf and Royal HaskoningDHV.

It is a pilot plant, which will explore opportunities for large-scale extraction of proteins, oils and carbohydrates from algae. Until now, this was done only in laboratories, with smaller amounts.

There are already various algae farms, but the algae grown there are now mostly processed into powders or super-foods and are used in their entirety.

What the pilot plant does is cutting up the algae to extract substances which can be used, among others, to make paints or replace raw materials which are very scarce. And they can also serve as an alternative to fish oil, a spokesperson was sited as saying.

The mobile pilot plant fits in a container and can easily be moved to different algae suppliers. The installation will stay for now at the site of Acrres in Lelystad. Acress is the national training centre for renewable energy and green commodities.

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