ALGAE BIODIESEL
Algae Biofuel Summit 2008
17th-19th September, 2008, New Delhi, India
CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS
'Oil From Algae' Promises Climate Friendly Fuel; Environmentalists Remain Cautious
A liquid fuel made from plants that is chemically identical to crude oil but which does not contribute to climate change when it is burned or, unlike other biofuels, need agricultural land to produce sounds too good to be true. But a company in San Diego claims to have developed exactly that - a sustainable version of oil it calls "green crude".
Sapphire Energy uses single-celled organisms such as algae to produce a chemical mixture from which it is possible to extract fuels for cars or airplanes. When it is burned, the fuel only releases into the air the carbon dioxide absorbed by the algae during its growth, making the whole process carbon neutral.
Major investors are already opening their cheque books: Sapphire has raised a total of $50m (£25m) in venture capital in recent weeks, the highest amount ever for an algae biotech company, including a significant investment from the UK's Wellcome Trust.
Algae are seen by many experts as promising a source of green fuel in the future: ranging from single-celled organisms to large seaweeds, they are the world's most abundant form of plant life and, via photosynthesis, are extremely efficient at using sunlight and carbon dioxide from the air to make organic material such as sugars, proteins and, under the right conditions, oils.
Yusuf Chisti at Massey University in New Zealand estimates that algae could produce almost 100,000 litres of biodiesel a year per hectare of land, compared to 6,000 litres a hectare for oil palm, currently the most productive biofuel.
Audio and full story: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/jul/31
/biofuels.travelandtransport?gusrc=rss&feed=networkfront
Published on March 29th, 2008
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. Twenty of those acres will be reserved for the experimental production of a renewable JP8 jet-fuel.
Gordon LeBlanc, Jr., CEO of PetroSun, had this to say:
“Our business model has been focused on proving the commercial feasibility of the firms’ algae-to-biofuels technology during the past eighteen months. Whether we have arrived at this point in time by a superior technological approach, sheer luck or a redneck can-do attitude, the fact remains that microalgae can outperform the current feedstocks utilized for conversion to biodiesel and ethanol, yet do not impact the consumable food markets or fresh water resources.”
Microalgae have garnered considerable attention, since acre-by-acre microalgae can produce 30-100 times the oil yield of soybeans on marginal land and in brackish water. The biomass left-over from oil-pressing can either be fed to cattle as a protein supplement, or fermented into ethanol.
The big problem has been figuring out how to collect and press the algae, and in the case of open ponds, to prevent contamination by invasive species. PetroSun seems to have figured it out, and this may be the first algae biofuel plant to get off the ground.
PetroSun won’t be making fuel immediately, but plans on either building or acquiring ethanol and biodiesel production plants. They’ve conveniently located themselves in an area accessible by barge, which should make fuel distribution a snap.
An aerial view (Google maps) of the algae farms can be seen here.
This is NOT an April Fool’s joke! See the press release here.
Posts Related to Algae Biofuel and Biodiesel:
Making Algae Biodiesel at Home ... "At Last! No more collecting and filtering dirty waste oil... You can make algae biodiesel and produce your own energy…"
Making Biodiesel from Algae is not for biodiesel wussies! You're going to be treading into the biodiesel wilderness. If you're the type that loves a challenge, then keep reading...
There's no doubt, algae biodiesel is probably the most theoretical and experimental aspect of biodiesel. Some of the best minds on the planet, including Exxon-Mobil, Shell, even the Department of Defense are racing to be the first to mass produce algal biodiesel. Frankly, this is a subject you can't fake. You either got what it takes, or you don't.
Notice above the mass produce. No doubt, if you're looking to produce enough to power a 21st. century military, or replace global stocks of petrol-diesel, we're at least 2-5 years away from being able to do it.
However, being able to produce enough to eliminate heating and/or transportation costs, or even power a small business, moves from dreaming of the theoretical, into the land of the possible.
One of the big problems is there are simply no books on the subject. To get all the info you have to collect a dozen different books, from a dozen different and competing fields, some highly technical, and wade hip-deep into the land of the techno-jargon. Micro-biology, cell cultivation techniques, petro-chemical engineering... This book is undoubtedly the most authoritative publication on algae biodiesel currently in the marketplace. Over 300 copies have sold in the last two months and people are busily creating their own energy at home. Sound like fun?
This newly released work called Making Algae Biodiesel at Home is the quickest and easiest way to learn about algae biodiesel. Inside this comprehensive work you'll get over 650 pages of gold-mine info. Absolutely everything anyone interested in algae biodiesel would need. Such as...
That is just the tip of the algae-iceberg this e-book covers. The 650 page eBook is divided up into 7 comprehensive books:
Book I: Cultivating Algae:
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Why cultivate algae for biodiesel. (The answers here might surprise you.)
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Flow Chart and detailed "overview" of the algae biodiesel process
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Algae Biodiesel strains: There's over 300,000 algae strains...which one should you use?
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How to choose an algal strain in your local environment.
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Where to buy algal strains:
- Algae growth environments
- Nutrients to promote growth and reproduction
- Algal Culture Techniques
- Growth dynamics: Knowing when to harvest
- Sources of contamination
Book II: Scaling Up: Building a Fresh/Salt Water Aquarium
Book III: Scaling Up (Part II) Building an Algae Green House
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Planning an algae greenhouse
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Different kinds of green houses
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Foundation systems
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Heating/environmental systems
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Air circulation
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Watering and automatic nutrient systems
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Controllers and automation
Book IV: Scaling Up (Part III) Building an Algae Photo-Bioreactor: Want to be able to build a scalable algae photo-bioreactor for $400?
Book V: Harvesting and Oil Extraction:
Book VI: Large Scale production Concepts:
- Production in Open Ponds
- Upscaling starter cultures
- Example Lay-out of a large scale algae farm
Book VII: Making Biodiesel at Home:
- Biodiesel advantages and disadvantages
- Biodiesel Safety
- A visual overview of the mixing process
- A visual overview of the production process
- Making biodiesel in your kitchen
- Easy washing techiques
- Buy a processor or build your own?
- Building a test batch mini-processor
- And much more...
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