More on the concepts behind biodiesel made from algae
Like the nascent hydrogen economy, the biodiesel industry is trying to figure out the best way to move forward. Corn and soy are two of the main feedstocks right now but they're not the most promising for long-term use. As Imperium Renewables president John Plaza told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, these bridge feedstocks need to be used now so we can get a handle on how best to make and use biodiesel. One of the candidates for highly efficient biodiesel production in the coming decades is, of course, algae. GreenFuel just sent its algae-in-the-smokestack to a South African company, and the numbers that Plaza gave for algae biodiesel efficacy mean it only makes sense for us to head in the direction of the little green creatures as soon as it's feasible:
- Soy = 40 or 50 gallons of oil per acre per year
- Brassicas = 100-150 gallons per acre per year
- Palm = about 650 gallons per acre per year
- Algae = perhaps 10,000 gallons per acre per year (algae can be harvested every two weeks instead of once a year)
[Source: Robert McClure / Seattle Post-Intelligencer]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Tim 11:30AM (11/23/2006)
Algae makes sense. Since it is supported by water it does not waste time and solar energy to build a support structure. This obviously makes it the most efficient renewable source. It also does not deplete the land or require rotation. Grown in an oval channel, one set of fixed equipment can circulate the water for very efficient crop handling from seeding through harvesting. Algae gobbles up Co2 and gives out Oxygen. In order to free ourselves from petroleum addiction, we need to replace it with B100 bio-diesel and VegOil ASAP.
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Tony Belding 11:44AM (11/23/2006)
I've been interested in algae ever since the UNH Biodiesel Group made their pitch for it. My biggest concern is how expensive the infrastructure might be to cultivate the algae. The production per acre is great, but if you have to cover those acres with expensive and high-maintenance sealed "bioreactor" chambers then it's a problem. Another concern is how to efficiently process the algae and refine the oils out of it. I'm glad somebody is actively working on algae, because these kinds of problems are meant to be solved.
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Toni 1:27PM (11/23/2006)
I think algae is very promising. Check out http://www.aurorabiofuels.com for example. They use algae that's been bioengineered to further increase yields.
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Tony Belding 11:39AM (11/25/2006)
Tim, I once felt, like you, that algae-derived biodiesel was The Answer. I've since learned a few things that tempered my enthusiasm. You describe an open-raceway pond, which is the most cost-effective way of cultivating algae -- if you don't care what kind of algae you get. Unfortunately, most wild strains don't produce oil in the quantities we need. To keep algal "weeds" from colonizing the system, you have to create a closed system. That drives up the costs hugely. What formerly looked like a pond begins looking more like an industrial complex.
The other things I've learned are. . . That electric cars are advancing a lot, electrical storage devices (batteries and supercapacitors) are advancing, and that there is the potential for a near-term breakthrough in nuclear fusion (re: Dr. Bussard's recent presentation on Google). When I look toward the future I see biofuels playing a role, but I don't see it as a "magic bullet" to solve all our problems. I see it as one technology among several that, used together, will get us away from fossil fuels.
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Tim 2:02PM (11/23/2006)
Tony- So you're telling me that this algae can't be grown by the average farmer? The only answer to personal energy freedom is decentralized local power generation. Diesel Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEV) that can run for over 60 miles on electricity (home solar or wind produced) and then run on simple, pure, high energy, home grown, carbon neutral, raw, filtered, 100% VegOil is the answer. There are too many dangerous chemicals and waste pollutants in B100 production. VegOil is the high calorie solar fuel that was Rudolf Diesel’s original dream. GM has had this Hybrid technology for years, http://www.autoworld.com/news/GMC/Series_Hybrid.htm, but they “pulled the plug” when their majority (59%) stockholders http://www.ev1.org/gmoil.htm discovered it “wasn’t profitable” to release us from our petroleum addiction. The Hydrogen Economy is a stall and a ruse!!! Hydrogen is a terribly inefficient and dangerous way to store, transport and consume energy! The energy monopolies know this. They simply want to exchange our Petroleum Addiction for a Hydrogen Addiction! Fuel that contains ANY petroleum is designed specifically to keep us addicted!!! We are currently producing plenty of cheap, clean, safe electricity from off peak solar, wind, hydro, tide, wave and even nuclear and coal (for now). Local co-ops can process the VegOil and sell it at local fuel stations. Competition among thousands of co-op producers nationally will increase the supply and quality while it lowers retail prices. With Veggie-Diesel PHEV-60s we can break our addiction to petroleum NOW. We can free our farmers from our tax charity NOW. With clean, pure VegOil, we no longer have to be subject to the whims of the energy monopolies who want to exploit us or the religious zealots who want to kill us. All the technologies are in place right now! HAPPY DAYS!
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henry buehler 3:15AM (11/24/2006)
photo bio reactor
idea for industrial scale
photo bio reactor
with temporal compression
1x light 3x darkness
3 seconds light, 9 seconds darkness, repeat
or faster
algae from pure culture to enclosed ponds to photo
bio reactor
photo bio reactor would be an enclosed funnel
with a spiral raceway on inside
with conduit for distributing light to raceway
steps in raceway for mixing exaust gas with fluid medium and algae
exaust gas from seprate power or process plant
light source would be sun, heilostats, concave miror
one solar furnace for three photo bio reactors
( how fast can solar furnace melt 1/2" steel plate ?)
fast moving mirror would direct light to each of
three in turn
algae is harvested at bottom of funnel
medium is replinished and pumped back to ponds
is De Beers getting this
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Jimmy 1:31AM (11/30/2006)
Just a follow up.. it seems the South African company has obtained land for the algae biodiesel plant. See http://www.motoring.co.za/index.php?fArticleId=3566349&fSectionId=751&fSetId=381
The story also states they will produce both biodiesel and ethanol from algae.
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