First stage of Nevada algae biodiesel completed successfully
One of the most promising biofuel feedstocks in recent years has been algae. Algae is high in oil content, potentially providing much higher yields of fuel than any other current crop - as much as 100 times more than soy, for example. Researchers at the University of Nevada-Reno have been testing a pair of outdoor algae ponds to evaluate the viability of growing fuel algae in the region. The first phase was a success with algae growing in a pair of 5,000 gallon ponds even with overnight temperatures in the 20s.
The ability to grow algae in the open ponds in Nevada means that it could be much more economical than building enclosed bioreactors that might require heating and pumping. Professor John Cushman has been collaborating with Enegis, LLC and Bebout and Associates and the school could share in any profits derived from new patents that come out of this research. The first batch of algae grew from a "starter" culture to a stable equilibrium in less than three weeks. The team are moving forward with developing robust algae species that can thrive in the salty water of the region.
[Source: Nevada News]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
meme 12:01PM (1/28/2009)
Yeah, that's just what we need: big, open ponds in Nevada.
Now we just need to build a second Colorado River...
Reply
diffrunt 12:12PM (1/28/2009)
What usually happens:::::::::::it will escape into the atlantic, pacific & all the waterways in between!
Reply
ronEbear 12:23PM (1/28/2009)
Not if the algae is grown in man-made structures manufactured for holding massive amounts of water, what are those things called again? I can`t put my finger on the word, you know, people swim in them during the summer, they`re not usually connected to rivers or lakes. Oh well, I might never think of the word.
Kid Dynamic 1:21PM (1/28/2009)
@ronEbear --
I think the fear isn't so much the water leaking from one source into another (although, you know, that's always a possibility considering how all man-made containers eventually break).
The more likely scenario is the algae being transmitted by animals and birds. Once "a robust algae species that can thrive in the salty water of the region" gets released into the environment, it could be a real nightmare to contain it.
As an example, here in Portland we've been struggling against the spread of English ivy for years. People originally planted it for decorative purposes. It's now technically illegal to do that, but it's already here, so there's not a lot we can do to remove it completely. It thrives in our environment and there are no natural predators, so it's killing our forests. We have to go tree-by-tree and strip it off. There are a lot of trees here. It's a pain.
Is there a good chance that this algae will be harmless when released into the environment? Yes. But it would be a really good idea to have an off switch just in case.
DRoseDARs 8:59AM (1/29/2009)
Except most of Nevada is in the Great Basin. Google it.
John 1:41PM (1/28/2009)
Reasonable concerns about invasive algae. However, the species being used at UNR requires 86 degree water, year-round, to live. It cannot survive anywhere outside the tropics. UNR's process uses geothermal heat to grow the algae in Nevada. Cheers!
Reply
Kid Dynamic 1:48PM (1/28/2009)
John, can you point us to any information on that? The news article only says "University researchers have harvested their first outdoor cold-weather crop of algae ...". I'd be interested to know more about their processes.
BoomBoom 4:40PM (1/28/2009)
John,
The article specifically says the algae survived nights down to 20 degrees. This seems to contradict your unsupported statement about requiring 86 degree water. Are they heating the water so that it doesn't drop below 86 degrees even when the air temp is 20?
John 7:51AM (1/29/2009)
You can pick up additional bits and pieces of the story from other sources, including radio and TV interviews with the lead investigator at UNR (Google it and you can find all sorts of stuff...). They are heating the pond to "simulate" the use of geothermal water for the same purpose. The algae species they are growing requires consistent high temperatures.
Cheers.
pelzauto 2:00PM (1/28/2009)
Looks like a great idea if I can wrap my head around having large open ponds located where evaporation occurs so readily...and limited supplies of water.
The guy pictured sure seems happy, and darn 'robust' himself.
Reply
John 8:06AM (1/29/2009)
Pel- Nevada has lots of water... most is just not potable. As you know, algae grow in almost every conceivable aquatic environment, hot to cold, salt to fresh water and everything in between. The trick is picking a species that matches what you have.
Evaporation is an issue, but it is somewhat mitigated by the fact that an algae crop can mature in 2 to 3 weeks. At that point, the ponds are emptied and then refilled for the next crop.
gorr 2:45PM (1/28/2009)
Im sure that it will be better to use photo bio-reactors for industrial production. Temperature, lighting, fecal feeding and co2 injection can be better controlled. The output is each day or even 2 time a day. let's say you produce 1000 gallon a day then the machine operate 7/7 24/24 with few manpower for a lot of added value. That can replace all toxic petrol.
Reply
John 8:16AM (1/29/2009)
Gorr- Photobioreactors have great advantages over open ponds in a lot of ways. But, they are VERY capital intensive and have their own unique problems including overheating and even contamination issues. While open ponds may need to be heated in non-tropical regions, bioreactors often need to be cooled. Both require a significant energy input.
I believe both ponds and bioreactors will ultimately find their own niche.
Roland 3:46PM (1/28/2009)
Umm -- concern for water supply, leaks, infestation of uncontrolled algae-- you would think the experts and engineers would account for all this.
And in return society is getting a clean potent biofuel much more efficiently and in faster timing than the use of thousands and thousands of acres of land, millions of acre-feet of water and slower growing aspects a "fuel or food" biofuel item such as corn or soybean has to comsume to get the same result.
I say "Nevada keep up the good work and research".
Reply
Max 7:21PM (1/28/2009)
Roland, while I agree with you that the benefits of this biofuel will offset its pitfalls, nothing man makes is free of errors.
Every single toxic substance man has made eventually leaked out into the environment. Nuclear power plants exploded, leaked, contaminated ground water, chemical plants burned down, leaked etc... It's the same for algae, it requires water and will probably be produced near a source of water, and one day or another, have no doubt about it: Something will happen.
Kid Dynamic 7:23PM (1/28/2009)
I absolutely agree with you.
I wasn't trying to downplay the successes of this group, or the obvious potential that algae production has to revitalize our locally-produced fuel industry (while also, hopefully, reducing CO2). I'm all in favor of further developments with this technology, as well as cellulosic ethanol and any other technologies that we come up with that can be self-sustaining, carbon neutral or carbon negative, and return more energy than is spent (unlike corn ethanol).
But nothing's perfect, and we're discussing the relative merits or, um, demerits of this concept. Bioengineering a hardy strain of algae for fuel production isn't the holy grail -- like all technology, we need to make sure we're considering all the contingencies.
I know that this discussion is probably also being had in the boardrooms and workshops of the schools and companies involved. But that doesn't mean we can't also talk about it here.
PA 11:53PM (1/29/2009)
I think they will settle on circular, concrete structures like they use at wastewater plants. They are already pre-designed. No water / contaminants would likely escape. They can be covered easily with some sort of screening to keep out birds / etc. And they can't cost that much to build.
Almost certainly the best way forward.
Reply
Mike Hippenhammer 1:55PM (1/29/2009)
I have heard of research about DNA strains of algae and DNA strains do not spread more than 50 miles from its' origin.
Reply
gorr 11:07AM (1/29/2009)
Just imagine fuels produced loccally without polution, with less transport on the roads, without emission at refinery process and done by multiple producers not in a big cartel so with some competition for the retail price and a lot of depolution of sewage water and cleaning the output of industrial chimneys that expel co2 like coal power plants.
This is a big change, some direct competition for petrol. This algae can be transformed in foods for animals too.
Reply
Scott 2:35PM (1/29/2009)
Regarding the 'rule' that this plant's growth is restricted to 86 degrees temperatures. Few, if any organisms have such rigid environmental requirements. This organism has a inter-generation lifespan measured in minutes. How quickly will it naturally select itself for a much wider range of tolerable temperature ranges? I can essentially guarantee you that Mother Nature will not follow that '86 degree rule' for very long.
Reply