Every couple of years for the past decade or so the Scape Biennial of Art in Public Space opens in Christchurch for a number of weeks showcasing “contempory art in public space” by a large and diverse group of artists from around the world. In the past they have showcased art works that have highlighted waste and/or sustainability issues and as we have showcased international waste artists before we thought it would be nice to see what has been showcased in New Zealand.

In 2006 Happy Happy by Korean artist Choi Jeong Hwa was positioned under the trees in the serene and picturesque Christchurch Botanical Gardens (lovely spot). It was an interactive piece that asked the public to bring in objects made of plastic in bright colours and attach them to a wire cage. The art was about recognising the number and types of synthetic elements in our lives, our plastic consumption and the “rapidly changing aspects of industrialised and consumer economies”. You can read more about the artwork here.

Happy Happy (2006) Choi Jeong-Hwa

Happy Happy (2006) Choi Jeong-Hwa

In 2008 Tea Mäkipää produced an artwork called Petrol Engine Memorial Park that “honours” the oil and petrol industries and the impact that they have had on the environment and human beings.  You can read more here. This artwork was in the Christchurch Art Centre and included an old car covered in vines as well as memorial plaques placed to highlight our species ability to be destructive both to ourselves, our environment and others. Not strictly a waste related artwork it still had  strong environmental, sustainable living and human survival messaging.

Tea Mäkipää, PETROL ENGINE MEMORIAL PARK: For Mouring the Oil Era and its Victims

Tea Mäkipää, PETROL ENGINE MEMORIAL PARK: For Mouring the Oil Era and its Victims

Tea Mäkipää, PETROL ENGINE MEMORIAL PARK: For Mouring the Oil Era and its Victims

Tea Mäkipää, PETROL ENGINE MEMORIAL PARK: For Mouring the Oil Era and its Victims

Tea Mäkipää, PETROL ENGINE MEMORIAL PARK: For Mouring the Oil Era and its Victims – images by Brendan Lee and copyright Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetu

Solray Energy Algae to Bio-crude oil plant

Last Friday we had the pleasure of attending the official opening of the Solray Energy Algae to Bio-Crude Oil plant at the Bromley Waste Water Treatment plant. It was a lovely warm spring day with not much of a smell, thankfully.

SIFT funded the early stage proof of concept mini trials at the Bromley Sewage Treatment plant (run by CCC) over the past three years plus the business case for algae and financial due diligence.

It was a great turn out with lots of cameras, all stakeholders, local iwi Ngai Tahu and local Councillors as well as the Hon. Gerry Brownlee (who is the Minister for Economic Development and the Minster for Energy and Resources), who officially opened the plant.

Solray Energy's Chris Bathurst with SIFT Board Member Prof. Emeritus Arthur Williamson

Chris Bathurst, the brains behind the project, said that it has taken 9 years to get to where they are today. They have successfully made crude oil from algae grown at the ponds (and started a lawn mower for Hon. Gerry Brownlee to use to prove it, see below for photo).

This project is a great example of public-private partnership in action with Solray Energy, NIWA (National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research) and the Christchurch City Council working together to make the project a success. Algae to biofuels at this scale is apparently the first in the world. The project uses NIWA’s 5ha demonstration high rate algae pond that gets CO2 pumped into it, which gets trapped and encourages algae to grow. The algae is constantly mixed so it grows in colonies and is then pumped across the road to Solray where it is  heated to above 300 degrees celsius in a super critical water reactor (SCWR), which mimics the natural process of turning it into crude oil (very similified explanation!).  To remove the algae from the bio-crude oil they use a solvent which is then recycled and the algae residue is used as fertiliser. The bio-crude oil is then separated into petrol (20%), diesel (45%) and bitumen (20%) plus a few others. The whole lifecycle is all on one site making it easier to manage and monitor.

The super critical water reactor (SCWR) is very innovative and inventive. It was designed and built in New Zealand by Solray Energy, which means NZ can reap the benefits of the technology. As well as providing a possible new way to make fuel (instead of using fossil fuels – Hon. Gerry Brownlee stated NZ uses 183,000 barrels of oil equivalent a year) this technology could also allow for small scale carbon capture and localised use of the technology. It is also a cheap and simple way to harvest the algae. NIWA Chief Executive John Morgan happily presented two vials (one of green water algae and the other bio-crude oil) to Hon. Gerry Brownlee to give to New Zealand’s Prime Minister John Key.

Algae and Bio-crude oil vials for PM John Key

Hon. Gerry Browlee with the lawnmower & NIWA's John Morgan

After getting the lawn mower to start for the cameras and Hon. Gerry Brownlee to mow some scrub on the banks of the pond the opening was formally closed by a karakia from an iwi representative from Ngai Tahu.

You can find more information about our involvement in the project here.

Bio-crude oil and fuel

Hon. Gerry Brownlee being presented the vials by NIWA's John Morgan

Solray Energy Algae to Bio-crude oil plant