Wisconsin students look to lake to create algae collection system

In Wisconsin, undergraduate researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Stout looked into creating a prototype of an algae collection system. Using a pump, the system would take in water from Lake Menomin. The water would go through an electro-coagulator that would create bubbles to push the algae to the top of a collection box. The algae then would be brushed off the top and placed into a collection area, and the clean water would return to the lake.

Although algae-derived fuel, so far, has not been competitive with fossil-based fuels, if it is collected from a lake to help clean it without the cost of growing the algae, the fuel could cost less to produce, students surmised.