Can Algae Outperform Other Biofuels?

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Shrimp Farmers in Gila Bend Think Algae May Help the Solve Oil Problem

Here’s an article on the ever growing “algae revolution” where people stop chanting “drill baby, drill” and start chanting “grow baby, grow.” There are definitely upsides to algae, but do they outweigh the problems?

One group of people who say yes are the shrimp farmers in Gial Bend, AZ. Here, the newest algae project is not controlled by an army of scientists or funded with millions of dollars worth of government research grants. Rather, it's a desert shrimp farm changing with the times to produce biodiesel from algae, using some of the same algae that feed the shrimp.

With biodiesel prices at $4.81 a gallon, according to the U.S. Department of Energy, these shrimp farmers hope to produce it for less than $3 a gallon. With these small farms being capable of producing 5,000 gallons of biofuel per acre in two years, there is definitely something to be said.

Algae is transformed into biofuels by pressing the oil out of the algae and then adding lye, sodium and ethanol as a catalyst to make the fuel more pure. The lye, sodium and ethanol can be reused.

Biofuels made from algae have an advantage over biofuels made from soybeans, palm oil or corn because algae is not a source of food, growing algae does not use agriculturally fertile land and algae can be grown in treated wastewater.

FROM ALGAE TO FUEL

* Algae is turned into biofuel in a process called transesterification.

* Biofuels made from algae contain around 90 percent of the energy in regular diesel but produce less CO2.

* Some forms of algae consist of more than 50 percent oil.

* Many vehicles would not have to convert to run on biodiesel.

FUEL POTENTIAL

Biodiesel potential, according to a report from the University of New Hampshire :

* 7.5 billion gallons of biodiesel can be produced in an area of 780 square miles.

* Biofuels take advantage of solar energy because plants use photosynthesis to convert solar energy into fuel.

* Certain strains of algae are among the most photosynthetically efficient plants.

* 15,000 square miles of algae production could replace all the petroleum-based transportation fuels needed in the United States .

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Comments

10/13/2008 11:38 pm

Cris B. says:

Since last spring, I've been interested in and following stories about algae bio-fuel, facilities like PetroSun, and the cost to construct algae farms for mass production. For me, the major talking points about growing algae as a solution is that it takes advantage of solar power as the source of energy, and "algae does not use agriculturally fertile land and algae can be grown in treated waste water", as Adam mentions above. I've been very enthusiastic about this amazing fuel alternative, however, in a nut shell, here are the pros and con being discussed:

Pros*

* Low water impact
* Can grow in any climate
* Zero environmental imprint
* High oil content

Cons*

* Not yet cost-effective
* Biodiesel said to be ineffective in colder temperatures
* No infrastructure exists

*Source: http://www.search-autoparts.com/searchautoparts/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=529680

10/14/2008 9:32 am

Adam W. says:

Cris - I have a question and maybe you can answer it for me. The algae itself is carbon neutral - it takes carbon in from the air as it grows, and then when we use it as fuel that carbon is released back into the air. My question comes with home much carbon is need to grow that algae and turn it into a viable fuel. In other words, how carbon neutral is the process as a whole?

10/14/2008 10:30 am

Cris B. says:

There will still be combustion emissions, unavoidable environmental pollutants, Adam. Carbon neutral? Experts in the fields of energy and air quality will make their statements once they have a production-to-combustion analysis of the emissions.