Algae was an ingredient in the fuel that propelled the Navy's "Green Fleet" in July. The Navy, along with the departments of Energy and Agriculture, has committed $510 million for the development of renewable, drop-in biofuels for the military. Algae, with its ability to produce an oil that mimics the properties of crude, could easily slip into existing motors that currently run on fossil fuels, proponents say.
Lower on NAS's list of potential concerns were the consequences of accidentally releasing genetically modified algae into the environment and the effects of converting rangeland or pastureland to biofuel-making ponds.
While the report offers no surprises for commercial algae fuel producers, it is welcoming to see attention from an academic institution, said Stephen Mayfield, director of the Center for Algae Biotechnology at the University of California, San Diego. Historically, commercial companies have outspent universities and the federal government at least 10-to-1 in research of algae fuels, an inverse pattern compared with investment for other forms of biofuels.
Last year, NAS released a grim report on the future of cellulosic biofuels, finding that producers are unlikely to achieve the goals of the renewable fuel standard, which mandates that the country produce 16 billion gallons of fuel from agricultural waste, grasses and other plant sources that don't come from food crops. While that report was a "game-stopper" for the cellulosic industry, NAS doesn't shut down the possibility of an algae future, said Mayfield.
"There's nothing that's going to stop this," he said.
Reprinted from Climatewire with permission from Environment & Energy Publishing, LLC. www.eenews.net, 202-628-6500
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Add CommentWhile they may only be pumping in water that is too salty for other uses, at least the open tanks in the enclosed photo seems to indicate that they do use any rainfall that enters the system. While the "ultimate goal at Sapphire is to create a closed-loop system in which virtually no waste is released," what happens to the released waste water in the meantime? I didn't find that crucial question mentioned in the article...
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisNo matter the method of capture, bio fuel relies on solar energy & organic capture of that energy. It all boils down to energy density firstly. It simply is not there. This coupled with organic capture efficiency & parasitic energy losses & refining should tell any honest engineer that it can never be viable.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisSewer water from cities and factory farms has all the needed nutrients in excess. Both phosphorous and nitrogen. Plus, the needed water.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisHow much would it cost to pump that water to a flat desert area out of any flood threat not subject to national park zones & where the land & labour are cheap with ready access to supporting infrastructure?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIt's cleaning dirty water, that's not useable.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisSapphire recycles all its nitrogen and phosphorus leftovers so nothing is released as runoff into the environment, they provide cleaner water and some energy.
Some people just don't get the fact that we will not be able to live a good life, if everything is polluted with toxins.
They have some sort of mental issues, if the only benefit they see is $$$.
You're right, the article does state:
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this"Sapphire recycles all its nitrogen and phosphorus leftovers so nothing is released as runoff into the environment."
However, two paragraphs later is states:
"... other concerns, like the leakage of waste material, remain, said Zenk. The ultimate goal at Sapphire is to create a closed-loop system in which virtually no waste is released. The company isn't there yet"
It also states:
"Sapphire opened in August the first commercial-scale algae facility in Columbus, N.M., a Southwestern desert town that sits atop vast saltwater aquifers."
Presuming that Sapphire is pumping saltwater from the aquifers for use in algae production, I'd guess that saltwater that otherwise would have remained in storage may be released into the environment.
From this it's difficult to understand exactly what is being done at Sapphire...
And that is worrying.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThose saltwater aquifers, are plants that are pumping saltwater from the ocean to desalinize the water in order to make water and salt. The pipes are already running from the ocean to the desert, so cost for the pipping has already been done.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAs far as waste or anything that is escaping into the environment, could be coming from leaks, or ponds overflowing, or a number of other things, and not necessarily the company deliberately putting waste back into the environment. If a company is trying to become a closed loop system and is developing what is hopefully a cleaner fuel, then I doubt they would be careless with the environment.
I trust Sapphire more than I trust BP or Exxon.
The pipes you mention are fictitious - a complete fabrication!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAccording to
http://www.biofuelsdigest.com/bdigest/2012/10/02/change-the-world-sapphire-energys-green-crude-farm-illustrated/
the groundwater at the site is saline as a result of irresponsible irrigation of chili pepper and cotton fields in the 1970s. Sapphire Energy is pumping up the brackish underground water for use in its algae production facility. My best guess is that they're returning the waste back into the already ruined groundwater, but I don't find any discussion of that part of the process. At least they don't seem to be contaminating any more land...
The preceding comment was intended to be a reply to 'Levide'...
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI've got only casual interest in this topic and have not studied the details, but my initial observation that works against fuels made from algae is that we are looking for drop-in technologies for existing engines, which means lots of energy, structures, and labor are needed to turn algae oils into suitable fuels to drive our current transportation fleet, when simple, washed and dried oils from any seed plant can be used in diesel engines, but there are problems with the designs of newer diesel engines with respect to the modern fuel delivery systems that have been designed specifically for petro-based diesel fuel. If for instance, we had lower pressure injection systems, they would be flexible enough to accept unrefined oils as long as tanks and lines were heated to avoid gelling in the winter, but then the problem becomes, if one puts in regular diesel, it will pollute like an old freight train.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI'm also perplexed at the comment regarding poor energy densities of algal fuel. Last I checked, biodiesel has about the same density as gasoline. Is this agal fuel something different? Gasoline is pretty energy dense. That's one reason it's so popular as a fuel.