algae

After its successful launch of the first commercial scale algae biodiesel plant in the U.S., PetroSun is setting its sights on a new partnership to develop an algae biofuel facility in China.

Solazyme announced today that it has produced the world’s first algae-based jet fuel. The product passed all testing specifications for Aviation Turbine Fuel— which means that the aviation kerosene has passed all the major hurdles to creating a jet fuel that is compatible with the current commercial and military infrastructure.

Solazyme’s novel biofuel production method involves growing algae in the absence of light. In nature, algae use light to make sugar and then make oil from that sugar. Solazyme skips the light part and just feeds their algae sugar to get them to make oil.

Wonder what you'll be putting in your tank in a few years? Is combustible urine on the horizon? Nope, but fuel from algae is.

Algae based biofuels. You've probably heard the term tossed around. But have you ever really understood what it means, what the implications are, and if it has even the slightest chance to be a viable large scale player in supplying for our fuel needs? For many of you, I'm imagining the answer is no. I was quite fuzzy about it all too. Until today.

BEIJING (Reuters) - A massive algae bloom that threatened the Olympic Games sailing venue at the Chinese coastal resort of Qingdao has now almost been cleared, state media reported on Wednesday. The picturesque seaside city in northern China's Shandong province had been...

-Diamond Galaxy

The current rate at which biofuels are falling out of favor is largely founded on biased ideologies, which have been shaped by widespread political and corporate agenda-pushing from all sides of the fence.

On the heels of a breakthrough which the company claims will make algae oil farming a true competitor to petroleum, OriginOil has filed two patents that may make the production of fuel products from algae incredibly cheap and easy in the near future.

Across the U.S., researchers, startup companies and investors are exploring the potential of creating large amounts of green, renewable fuel from the humblest of sources: algae. If you think the energy/food potential for hemp is underutilized, wait’ll you get a gander at algae. This little microorganism really packs a punch.

Not all biofuels are created equal, as the chart above illustrates (click the image to see full size). It’s one of the best depictions I’ve seen of how each biofuel feedstock has completely different impacts on overall greenhouse gas emissions, water and pesticide use, and the energy required to produce the fuel.

Turning plants such as corn, soybeans and sunflowers into fuel uses much more energy than the resulting ethanol or biodiesel generated, according to a Cornell University and University of California-Berkeley study. The World desperately needs a liquid fuel replacement for oil in the near future, but producing ethanol or biodiesel from plant biomass is the wrong way to do it, because you use more energy to produce them than you get out from the combustion of these product.

It looks like Solazyme will be making algal biodiesel for the US military, after a test-drive demonstrated the fuel’s superior cold-weather properties when compared to commercially-available biodiesel. Former Director of Central Intelligence and Under-Secretary of the Navy R. James Woolsey tested the fuel himself by driving to the Worldwide Energy Conference & Trade Show in an unmodified 2008 Ford F450 fueled by 100% algal biodiesel.

A Wisconsin cheese producer has a way with whey.

Algae has been making the news a lot lately, and is a fairly new topic in environmental circles.

Let's take a step back for a moment and talk about why algae is interesting and important.

All it takes is a smokestack spewing CO2, and some algae. Read all about it.

Look at comparisons of algae to corn and soy bean productions

 

Scientists at U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory are working to chemically manipulate algae for production of the next generation of renewable fuels, Hydrogen Gas.

 

PetroSun has announced it will begin operation of its commercial algae-to-biofuels facility on April 1st, 2008. The facility, located in Rio Hondo Texas, will produce an estimated 4.4 million gallons of algal oil and 110 million lbs. of biomass per year off a series of saltwater ponds spanning 1,100 acres.

Burning 100 million tons of our primary food for fuel is unsustainable and wastes non-renewable resources, especially water. Growing massive amounts of corn represents ecological suicide as it drains trillions of gallons of non-replenishable groundwater, spikes food and fuel prices, decimates food exports and threatens millions with starvation from a food cascade.

PetroSun, Inc recently announced that it would begin operations at it's 1,100 acre algae to biofuels farm near Harlingen, Texas on April 1, 2008.

In a brief conversation with Harrison Dillon, President and CEO of Solazyme, I was able to learn that Solazyme is going to combine cellulosic ethanol and algae biodiesel production technology, which they think provides a more positive energy balance than either one alone. Solazyme will be buying sugar, including cellulosically-derived sugar produced by cellulosic ethanol companies, to feed to their algae.

Solazyme, Inc., a synthetic biology company unleashing the power of aquatic microbes to create clean and scalable solutions for biofuel, industrial chemical, and health and wellness markets, reveals the first algae-derived biodiesel fuel (Soladiesel) to have undergone road testing by successfully powering a factory-standard automobile for long distances under typical driving conditions. The car and fuel will make their public debuts at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival, where they are also featured in Fields of Fuel, Josh Tickell's documentary about renewable fuels.

Chevron is partnering up with the South San Franciscan company Solazyme to accelerate its research into algae derived biofuels. Solazyme has already developed a process to extract oil from algae that can then be turned into biodiesel. This agreement is on the heels of Chevron's October deal with the Department of Energy's Renewable Energy Laboratory to develop jet fuel and other transportation fuels from algae.

Just a few hours ago, the world’s first pair of cars to run on algae biodiesel were announced at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival [picture to be uploaded]. The cars were prominently displayed outside the world premier of Fields of Fuel, Josh Tickell’s stunning new documentary on biodiesel and the state of a world dependent on petroleum.

While biofuel energy methods that use corn and soybeans may be a step ahead at the moment, generating energy from algae may provide a more efficient alternative in the long run. At least, some companies - such as Aquaflow Bionomic Corporation in New Zealand - are hoping so.The company says that the green pond scum could generate 30 times more energy per acre of land than other biofuels, and grow at a much faster rate.

Not too long ago, I spoke with Valcent Products Inc. CEO and Principal scientist Glen Kertz about his company’s Vertigro bioreactor system.

Converting algae oil into biodiesel uses the same process that turns vegetable oils into biodiesel. But the cost of producing algae oil is hard to pin down because nobody’s running the process start to finish.  An algae farm could be located almost anywhere. It wouldn’t require converting cropland from food production to energy production. It could use sea water. And algae can gobble up pollutants from sewage and power plants.

Glen Kertz talks about his Vertigro bioreactor system and the promise that algae brings to the sustainable biofuels table.We also discuss the merits of symbiotic polycropping over monocropping feedstocks, carbon sequestration, the physics of a vertical-growth system versus traditional pond systems and the big question…can Vertigro scale?

Let’s suppose aliens would come to Earth and treat us like some kind of bacteria. How would it be if you’re to be transformed genetically into a battery, and used every day for somebody to light their bathroom?

If you think algae is just that green grime that dirties up your pool, think again: it’s also a surprisingly viable source for biofuel.