Is watching algae separate a little like watching grass grow?

Readers of Machine Design might recall one of our recent articles in which we described a new way of automating the process of getting oil out of algae for use in biofuels. OriginOil, the folks who came up with this process, have put out a new video that actually shows the algae oil separating from the biomass. You can watch it here:

http://www.originoil.com/

For readers who didn't read our original article, what you see in the video is a result of OriginOil's microwave-based separation process. In a nutshell, they put the oil-bearing algae in what amounts to a special microwave oven to crack it open and release the oil. Separating the oil this way is much more energy efficient than doing so mechanically with presses and so forth. You can find more details in our original article:

http://machinedesign.com/article/algae-automation-0303