Algae fuel

Algae fuel, also called algal fuel, oilgae or third generation biofuel, is a biofuel from algae. Compared with second generation biofuels, algae are high-yield high-cost (30 times more energy per acre than terrestrial crops) feedstocks to produce biofuels.

Nowadays they cost $5–10/kg and there is active research to reduce both capital and operating costs of production so that it is commercially viable.

Algal fuels do not impact fresh water resources.

With the record oil price increases since 2003, competing demands between foods and other biofuel sources and the world food crisis, there is much interest in algaculture (farming algae) for making vegetable oil, biodiesel, bioethanol, biogasoline, biomethanol, biobutanol and other biofuels.

The production of biofuels to replace oil and natural gas is in active development, focusing on the use of cheap organic matter (usually cellulose, agricultural and sewage waste) in the efficient production of liquid and gas biofuels which yield high net energy gain. One advantage of many biofuels over most other fuel types is that they are biodegradable, and so relatively harmless to the environment if spilled.

The United States Department of Energy estimates that if algae fuel replaced all the petroleum fuel in the United States, it would require 15,000 square miles (38,849 square kilometers), which is a few thousand square miles larger than Maryland, or 1.3 Belgiums. This is less than 1/7th the area of corn harvested in the United States in 2000.

Biodiesel production
Currently most research into efficient algal-oil production is being done in the private sector, but if predictions from small scale production experiments bear out that using algae to produce biodiesel may be the only viable method by which to produce enough automotive fuel to replace current world diesel usage.

Microalgae have much faster growth-rates than terrestrial crops. The per unit area yield of oil from algae is estimated to be from between 5,000 to 20,000 gallons per acre, per year (4.6 to 18.4 l/m2 per year); this is 7 to 30 times greater than the next best crop, Chinese tallow (699 gallons).

Algae can also grow on marginal lands, such as in desert areas where the groundwater is saline.

The difficulties in efficient biodiesel production from algae lie in finding an algal strain with a high lipid content and fast growth rate that isn't too difficult to harvest, and a cost-effective cultivation system (ie, type of photobioreactor) that is best suited to that strain.

Another obstacle preventing widespread mass production of algae for biofuel production has been the equipment and structures needed to begin growing algae in large quantities. Diversified Energy Corporation have avoided this problem by taking a different approach, and growing the algae in thin walled polyethylene tubing called Algae Biotape, similar to conventional drip irrigation tubing, which can be incorporated into a normal agricultural environment.

Open-pond systems for the most part have been given up for the cultivation of algae with high-oil content. Many believe that a major flaw of the Aquatic Species Program was the decision to focus their efforts exclusively on open-ponds; this makes the entire effort dependent upon the hardiness of the strain chosen, requiring it to be unnecessarily resilient in order to withstand wide swings in temperature and pH, and competition from invasive algae and bacteria. Open systems using a monoculture are also vulnerable to viral infection. The energy that a high-oil strain invests into the production of oil is energy that is not invested into the production of proteins or carbohydrates, usually resulting in the species being less hardy, or having a slower growth rate. Algal species with a lower oil content, not having to divert their energies away from growth, have an easier time in the harsher conditions of an open system.

Some open sewage ponds trial production has been done in Marlborough, New Zealand.

In a closed system (not exposed to open air) there is not the problem of contamination by other organisms blown in by the air. The problem for a closed system is finding a cheap source of sterile carbon dioxide (CO2). Several experimenters have found the CO2 from a smokestack works well for growing algae. Some experts think that algae farming for biofuels will have to be done next to power plants, where they can also help soak up the pollution, to be economical.

A feasibility study using marine microalgae in a photobioreactor is being done by The International Research Consortium on Continental Margins at the International University Bremen.

Research into algae for the mass-production of oil is mainly focused on microalgae; organisms capable of photosynthesis that are less than 2 mm in diameter, including the diatoms and cyanobacteria; as opposed to macroalgae, e.g. seaweed. However, some research is being done into using seaweeds for biofuels, probably due to the high availability of this resource. This preference towards microalgae is due largely to its less complex structure, fast growth rate, and high oil content (for some species). Some commercial interests into large scale algal-cultivation systems are looking to tie in to existing infrastructures, such as coal power plants or sewage treatment facilities. This approach not only provides the raw materials for the system, such as CO2 and nutrients; but it changes those wastes into resources.

In November 8, 2006, Green Star Products announced it had signed an agreement with De Beers Fuel Limited of South Africa (but no relation to the diamond cartel) to build 90 biodiesel reactors with algae as raw material. Each of the biodiesel reactors will be capable of producing 10 million gallons of biodiesel each year for a total production capacity of 900,000,000 gallons per year when operating at full capacity, which is 4 times greater than the entire U.S. output in 2006. Also, GreenFuel Technologies Corporation has delivered a bioreactor to De Beers Fuel. Doubts have been expressed about Green Star's expertise in biodiesel technology. Green Star's president did however answer questions in an online interview with WallSt.net where he claimed that the South African biodiesel production has exceeded the original expectations. People who paid De Beers Fuel for franchises have nothing to show for their investment. GreenFuel has terminated its licensing agreement with De Beers Fuel owing to “nonperformance” and requested that the company remove any reference to the agreement from its website.

Aquaflow Bionomic Corporation of New Zealand announced that it has produced its first sample of homegrown bio-diesel fuel with algae sourced from local sewerage ponds.

The Department of Environmental Science at Ateneo de Manila University in the Philippines, is working on producing biofuel from algae, using a local species of algae.

PetroSun has announced it has begun 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 USgal million of algal oil and 110 lb million of biomass per year off a series of saltwater ponds spanning 1100 acre. 20 acre of those acres will be reserved for the experimental production of a renewable JP8 jet-fuel.

Biobutanol
Butanol can be made from algae (called Solalgal Fuel) or diatoms using only a solar powered biorefinery. This fuel has a couple of mpg more than petrogasoline (petroleum gasoline).

Biogasoline
Biogasoline can be produced from algae.

Methane
Through the use of algaculture grown organisms and cultures, various polymeric materials can be broken down into methane.

SVO
The algal-oil feedstock that is used to produce biodiesel can also be used for fuel directly as "Straight Vegetable Oil", (SVO). The benefit of using the oil in this manner is that it doesn't require the additional energy needed for transesterification, (processing the oil with an alcohol and a catalyst to produce biodiesel). The drawback is that it does require modifications to a normal diesel engine. Transesterified biodiesel can be run in an unmodified modern diesel engine, provided the engine is designed to use ultra-low sulfur diesel, which, as of 2006, is the new diesel fuel standard in the United States.

Hydrocracking to traditional transport fuels
Vegetable oil can be used as feedstock for an oil refinery where methods like hydrocracking or hydrogenation can be used to transform the vegetable oil into standard fuels like gasoline and diesel.

Canada

 * International Energy, Inc (OTCBB: IENI.OB)

New Zealand

 * Aquaflow Bionomic Corporation (ABC). : Boeing and Air New Zealand announced a joint project with Aquaflow Bionomic to develop algae jet fuel.

USA
There are diverse companies developing biofuels from algae:
 * Aurora BioFuels
 * Blue Marble Energy
 * Diversified Energy Corporation.
 * Global Green Solutions
 * GreenerBioEnergy
 * GreenFuel Technologies Corporation
 * Imperium Renewables, former Seattle Biodiesel, LLC.
 * Inventure Chemical
 * Kai BioEnergy Corp.
 * Live Fuels, Inc.
 * PetroSun and Algae BioFuels Inc., wholly-owned subsidiary.
 * Solazyme, Inc.
 * Shell and HR BioPetroleum
 * Solix Biofuels
 * Virgin Green Fund
 * Algoil Industries, Inc.
 * Valcent Products

Algal strains

 * Biofuel applications of botryococcene
 * Chlorella
 * Gracilaria.
 * Sargassum, with 10 times the output volume of gracilaria.

Nutrients
One good source of micronutrients for algae is azomite, a silica clay, chemically a hydrated sodium calcium aluminosilicate (HSCAS). It is a natural volcanic ash (rhyolitic tuff breccia) sourced from Utah.

Another possible source is sewer treatment effluent, full of nutrients and discarded every day.

News

 * First Algae Biodiesel Plant Goes Online: April 1, 2008.
 * A Promising Oil Alternative: Algae Energy (The Washington Post)
 * German scientists see use for algae in biofuels.
 * Biodiesel production to begin soon.
 * Pond-Powered Biofuels: Turning Algae into America's New Energy (Popular Mechanics).
 * Solazyme hopes to begin mass-producing Soladiesel at a competitive price within three years.

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