Containment and facility systems for offshore porous floating bioreactors that contain algae water slurries in saltwater environments. A containment system may include a containment boom system, a containment silt curtain system, a containment marineworks system, or a combination thereof. Facility systems include an offshore porous floating bioreactor in fluid communication with at least an onshore algae harvesting system. Algae cultivation may occur at an onshore algae cultivation system or within a porous floating bioreactor, and algae lipid production occurs within a porous floating bioreactor. The lipid induced algae is received by the onshore algae harvesting system for further processing.

Apparatuses including offshore porous floating bioreactors for containing algae water slurries in a saltwater environment. The porous floating bioreactors include a top portion and a bottom portion. At least a portion of the top portion is composed of a first transparent material and at least a portion of the bottom portion is porous. The offshore porous floating bioreactors may be deployed in a saltwater environment to facilitate one or both of cultivation or lipid induction of an algae water slurry contained therein.

Cultivation systems including a cultivation substrate configured to promote seaweed holdfast formation and seaweed attachment are disclosed. The cultivation systems may include one or more of a nutrient phase, an adhesive, a bioactive agent, a liquid containing phase. The cultivation substrates may be patterned. The cultivation systems may specifically retain and viably maintain specific seaweed species such as dulse, kelp and nori.

A method of cultivating algal cells of an algae belonging to a class selected from Chlorophyceae, Euglenophyceae, Bacillariophyceae and Haptophyceae includes: irradiating the algal cells with an artificial light having a ratio of (i) photon flux density in a wavelength range of 520-630 nm to (ii) photosynthetic photon flux density, that is 65% or more; and measuring a cell size of the algal cells. Irradiation and non-irradiation of the algal cells with the artificial light are switched, or the photon flux density in the wavelength range of 520-630 nm is changed, according to the measured cell size.

According to present disclosure, there is disclosed an algae growth and cultivation system that provides a cost-efficient means of producing algae biomass as feedstock for algae-based products, such as, fertilizer, feed, biofuel manufacture, and desirably impacts, nutrient recovery from waste streams for valued byproducts production, recycle water, and alternative/renewable energy production. The system as discussed herein is an integrated systems approach to wastewater treatment, algal strains selection for byproducts production, and recycle of algal biomass-processing waste or additional algae harvested as feedstock for products such as fertilizer production. Embodiments of a system as discussed herein present an economically viable algae production system and process that allows algae-derived products such as fertilizer, feed, biofuels, etc. to compete with non-organic or petroleum products in the marketplace.

The invention relates to the cultivation of unicellular red algae (URA) for producing biomass for the production of products of interest, such as dry biomass or compounds or mixtures of compounds of interest extracted from the biomass produced, particularly food pigments or colouring agents. The invention more particularly relates to the industrial production of said biomass, which must satisfy an economic equilibrium of profitability, with both an increase in productivity (quantity of biomass and of compounds of interest in the biomass) and an economically acceptable production cost.

Floating ponds for the cultivation of algae are disclosed. The floating ponds consist of a buoyant framework, a liner, a culture, and a mooring system. Submersible floating ponds are disclosed with a buoyant framework built from tubes that may be filled or partially filled with, for example, air, or water, or the surrounding water, or the culture, and thereby the present invention provides a framework in which the buoyancy may be modulated. Use of submerging lines and spools are disclosed to control the orientation and depth of the floating pond during submersion.

Provided herein are methods for the production of high density cultures of algae as well as nutritional supplements from such cultures and the use of such cultures to produce therapeutic proteins.

The present invention addresses to the production of an organomineral fertilizer consisting of a mineral matrix, drilling gravel and an organic matrix, algae biomass. Algae are cultivated using drilling gravel suspended in the culture medium together with their ability to grow by absorbing CO.sub.2, and, in the case of cyanobacteria, they fix atmospheric nitrogen in their biomass. The gravel provides a set of additional nutrients present in its composition to the conventional nutritional chemical compounds for algae. In this way, the gravel can be mixed with the culture medium in the cultivation of algae, generating the organic matrix to be formulated and commercialized in the national and international agricultural market as an organomineral fertilizer, and, in the case originating from the organic matrix of cyanobacteria, there is the enrichment with nitrogen obtained biologically, without the high energy expenditure typical of traditional synthetic nitrogen fertilizers. In this way, the present invention enables the disposal with a minimum of environmental impact and constitutes a satisfactory solution for the disposal of gravel for oil E&P.

A system for growing algae includes a pivot arm pivotally coupled to a pivot connection positioned in a pond containing water and algae, and a mixing device coupled to the pivot arm and extending into the pond to mix the water and the algae as the pivot arm rotates.