Algae BioDiesel News
Bumped into a great article from the New York Times titled Venture Capitalists Want to Put Some Algae in Your Tank. Every time I've looked at this particular solution to producing biofuels its been positive. The article mentions a couple of companies that you may like to read more about (Green Fuel Technologies Corporation and Live Fuels Inc.) It also refers to a new report on the U.S. Department of Energy's Aquatic Species Program. I have not had a chance to read this report fully but it's 300+ pages dedicated to making BioDiesel from algae.
Labels: biodiesel, biofuel, renewable energy
2 Comments:
Thanks for the article...it is heartening to see algae getting a lot of publicity, something I feel they deserve.
I co-ordinate Oilgae, a site that explores use of algae as a feedstock for biodiesel, and I can say with some amount of confidence based on my researches that algae appear to be one of the most qualified candidates for biodiesel production.
While the math certainly appears to favor algae, there are a number of issues to be overcome. These have to do with (1) choosing optimal algal strains, (2) issues faced in cultivation and harvesting (believe me there are some serious bottlenecks here), and (3) cost-effective methods to extract oil and transform it into biodiesel.
So yes, there is still a long way to go before it can be proven with certainty that algal biodiesel can be cost-effective on a large scale, but it is gratifying to see brilliant minds (not to forget VC money) getting into this field. And with institutes like MIT (Boston) getting into the act, I'm optimistic most of the above-mentioned issues will be overcome.
Time will tell if algae are our future source of energy, but for now, they certainly appear to have many of the qualifications required for the same.
Narsi from Oilgae - Oil from Algae
The simple concept of oil from algae can create a whole new industry. I have yet to see a company make money from growing algae and selling hydrocarbons, which to me means this industry has not even begun.
At this stage we should look to hobbyists. To enable our hobbyists provide kits, like:
- Modular self contained apparatus used to produce algae, the equivilant of a tank of gas per week.
- Parts and instructions to process algae into feul.
At this point I would like to know how big an installation needs to be in order to produce the equivilant of an average North American family's oil consumption. It would be interesting to contrast this with how much oil from algae could be grown from a residential integrated roof top algae production / thermal water heater system.
I took a look at Oilgae and commend you for collecting and presenting so much information on the topic.
ecacofonix I could not find your contact information, can you send me a message?
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