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Algaculture is the term we use for the activity of farming alge. Algae can be used for making vegetable oil, biodiesel fuel, bioethanol, biogasoline, and a whole host of other intriging things that can be burned up inside an internal combustion engine. Algae fuel, also called algal fuels, have some attractive characteristics: they do not affect fresh water resources, they can be produced using both ocean and wastewater, and are biodegradable. Algal based fuels are relatively harmless to the environment if spilled. At the present time algae cost more per pound than more common biofuel crops but it can yield over 30 times more energy per acre than other! The US Department of Energy estimates that if algae fuel replaced all the petroleum fuel in the country it would require about 15,000 square miles, bigger than the state of Maryland. Sounds huge, but this is less than 10% of the area of corn harvested in the nation.
Big oil firms are joining academics, new start-ups and the U.S. government in committing resources to further studying its potential. Unlike first generation biofuels, algae has the potential to produce thousands of gallons of oil per acre and because it grows in water, it does not compete with agriculture for cropland. The best part is that because algae are photosynthetic organisms, they feed on carbon dioxide, thus they work to remove at least some C02 from our atmosphere.
"We’re looking at developing advanced biofuels that don’t materially impact the food or feed supplies, and algae is one that we think holds a tremendous amount of promise," says Jeffrey Jacobs, vice president of Chevron Technology Ventures' biofuels and hydrogen business unit.
In October 2007, Chevron oil announced a collaborative research and development agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Laboratory to study and advance technology to produce liquid transportation fuels using of all things algae. Chevron and Renewable Laboratory scientists are trying to identify and develop algae strains that can be economically grown, harvested and processed into finished transportation fuels. Al Gore will like that.
“We’re reasonably confident, given the technology that exists today, that we can convert algae oils and lipids into transportation products that are compatible not only with existing infrastructure, but with existing vehicles on the road today,” added Jacobs.
In addition to its work with the lab, Chevron is also a direct investor in Solazyme, a well-funded start-up firm that uses algae to create biodiesel fuel. In January 2008, Solazyme and Chevron announced a biodiesel feedstock development and testing agreement.
Meanwhile, Over At Conoco...
"Algae is one of a group of potential feedstocks that ConocoPhillips is investigating as a part of a larger biofuels program,” says Nancy Turner, a spokeswoman for ConocoPhillips. “Algae biomass is an attractive feedstock because it does not compete with the food supply and has the potential of being produced efficiently, compared to conventional feedstocks.”
What Does British Petroleum Say About This?
In February 2007, BP joined forces with University of California, Berkeley, the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to research and develop technology to produce biofuels, and yes that includes those made from algae. The collaboration formed the Energy Biosciences Institute and BP will support the Institute with a ten-year, $500-million grant. How about that?
And Over At Exxon?
Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson told the media that his company was bypassing first-generation biofuels - such as corn-based ethanol, and instead is researching advanced biofuels.
“Our initial analysis suggests that with much further R&D, it may be possible that new algae and biomass conversion technologies could play a role in transportation fuel supplies, while reducing greenhouse-gas and land-use impacts as compared to first-generation biofuels,” quoted Tillerson.
Chevron Oil
"In 2007 the U.S. consumed 140 billion gallons of gasoline, so when you talk about scale, getting algae oil to matter means producing billions of gallons,” says a company spokesman. “The only people on the planet who have the infrastructure, the experience and the balance sheets to break the market with billions of gallons of liquid biofuels are the major oil companies and the national oil companies.”
Despite all the promise, we are probably about 20 years away from having the ability to replace crude oil with algae.
To the owners of aquariums, algae is annoying, but it also could very well be the answer to our problems of air pollution, global warming, and energy independence. In addition to its ability to breed rapidly, algae has two lesser-known properties. First, algae can absorb waste gases such as carbon dioxide. Second, once algae is infused with carbon, it can be dried and burned instead of or along with coal to produce a clearner form of energy. Unlike black coal which is the result of a process that requires bacterial decay, geothermal pressure, and millions of years, biomass algae can be made almost instantly using a little smog, some water, and lots of sunlight.
A "bioreactor" is an eight-foot-high set of clear tubes made of high impact plastic and fashioned into a triangle. Inside these clear tubes, CO2 laden waste emissions from a power plant's exhaust can be mixed with specially designed algae cultures and sunlight. Through natural photosynthesis, the algae will grow in volume while absorbing the carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and other pollutants. The chemical reaction traps the carbon in the algae and gives off oxygen and nitrogen, which by itself is a normal component of air. Finally, heat from the power plant itself can be used to help dry the algae soup so that the result would be a flaky coal-like solid that can be recycled and used as fuel in place of natural gas, oil, or coal.
''It's a very promising technology," says Barry Worthington, director of the United States Energy Association, a nonprofit educational group of energy research organizations and corporations.
''I don't see any reason why technically it won't work," Worthington says. ''I don't see where there is the critical failure in upsizing it."
All That Glitters Is Not Green
''This is not a silver bullet" that will solve all the world's energy problems, cautions Peter Thoren, the firm's executive vice president. ''This is a new system that people will have to get comfortable with."
''You need the sun to make the miracle," he says. And the sun's strength and reliability vary widely in different parts of the world.
The Bottom Line
Algae are among the fastest growing plants in the world, and about 50 percent of their weight is oil. That lipid oil can be used to make biodiesel for cars, trucks, and airplanes.
Using algae as an alternative fuel is not a new idea. The U.S. Department of Energy studied it for about 18 years, from 1978 to 1996. But according to Al Darzins of the DOE's National Renewable Energy Lab, in 1996 the feds decided that algae oil could never compete economically with fossil fuels. But, the price of oil per barrel in back in 1996 was about 20 dollars.
The price of a barrel of oil in 1996? About 20 bucks!
The most common commercial use of algae today? It is as a health food drink, sold as "Spirulina."
About The Author:
Wertheim Communications LLC as well as for Mooker.Com