MARYSVILLE, Ohio — Scientists and researchers are working inside a central Ohio lab at Algaeventure Systems. They are hoping to unlock the secrets of algae as they run tests in tanks and do examinations under microscopes.
Scientists have studied the harmful algal bloom at Grand Lake St. Marys and have an exciting proposal.
“Could we flip that lake from, in essence, a bad algae to a good algae? In the lab we’ve been able to do that,” said Algaeventure Systems CEO Ross Youngs.
Algaeventure Systems offers a chance to people who live at the lake. Youngs and his colleagues have been developing this technology for the last few years.
“Our primary technology is water solid separation on a microscopic scale,” Youngs said.
In fact, the equipment and machines they have created are already being sold to companies interested in harvesting the algae and turning it into a reusable product.
“You could be potentially producing foods or feeds,” Youngs added. “You could be producing fertilizers, chemicals, and potentially plastics.”
He said this new technology is just the tip of the iceberg.
“Algae technologies is going to explode onto the future before people even know it,” he said.
Algaeventure Systems is currently overseeing a $25,000 pilot project in Grand Lake St. Marys, funded by the Ohio Department of Agriculture.
It is hoped the 2.5 acre study will demonstrate the company’s ability to turn harmful blue green algae into non-toxic algae by adding silica (sand).