The following is excerpted from The Evening Leader. Scroll down to see a PowerPoint presentation on the pilot project.
A standing-room only crowd packed the Celina Moose Saturday morning to hear about a pilot project that if successful, could help rid the lake of harmful algae. Ross Youngs, CEO of Algaeventure, briefed members of the Lake Improvement Association regarding the company’s pilot project to turn harmful cyanobacteria that is found in the lake into a nonthreatening species. Youngs said the plan is to turn the cyanobacteria into diatoms, which do not produce harmful toxins. The harmless algae would then be harvested for use in biofuels and other products.
“What we are talking about ultimately is flipping the toxic algae to beneficial algae,” Youngs said. “The beneficial algae are diatoms.”
Youngs said if the environment is conducive, diatoms will out-compete cyanobacteria in a given body of water. In order to thrive, diatoms need silica for food.
AlgaeVenture Pilot Project Powerpoint (click to download)