The future of biofuel may lie in one word: algae. The tiny primitive plants can produce a lot of oil in a little space. Solix Biofuels has a pilot plant in the New Belgium Brewing Company in Fort Collins, Colo., that uses the excess carbon dioxide from beer making to feed algae growing in indoor tanks. Global Green Solutions has a test facility in
El Paso, Tex., that grows algae in tall, thin, sunlit bioreactors.
One company prefers to stay in the dark, however. Solazyme in South San Francisco leases the vast fermentors used in industrial processes to grow specially tailored strains of algae in the dark. The algae swim in a bath of sugar water that delivers the sustenance they need to produce copious quantities of oil. The company can select different types of algae and alter the conditions they grow in to produce various oils that can be turned into diesel fuel, plastics or other products. “Some strains come from a swamp in Africa; some strains come from a high-altitude snowfield in South America,” says Harrison Dillon, a microbiologist and co-founder.
The firm has already produced thousands of gallons of oil, though not at “commercial economics,” as Dillon puts it. Notably, the company car, a diesel Jeep, runs on the stuff. And the U.S. military and the American Society for Testing and Materials have certified the diesel for a broad range of vehicles; the company plans to open its first dedicated production facility later this year. Dillon says refining production and scaling up processes will allow Solazyme to make algal oil a feedstock for diesel fuel that will cost only $2 per gallon. Because sunlight is not needed, improvements are easier to come by, he maintains. Solazyme may be the algae company furthest along in producing different oils at commercial volumes, which could potentially be used in everything from jets to kitchens. “My birthday cake was made with oil from algae: no butter, no oil, no eggs,” Dillon notes. “And it was delicious.”
Note: This article was originally printed with the title, "Dark Horse: Oil from Algae".
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15 Comments
Add CommentVery good news indeed. Will it be pôssible to stop the folly of growing food for oil and could we stop poisonning the oceans, rivers and streams
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thiswith phosphore coming from intensive agricultural practices that chokes our waters with blue algaes and could we, on an industrial basis, havest those algaes to make fuel. ?
No. "The algae swim in a bath of sugar water that delivers the sustenance they need to produce copious quantities of oil"
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThere are probably numerous ways to grow plants that can be put to produce biofuel, without competing with the food chain. I have no doubt that a some of these production processes will prove to be competitive.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisGene engineering will help. Good news to break up the OPEC cartel !
You noticed that, too, eh? Grow corn to make sugar to feed algae to make oil. Even though oil is created by the ton daily from decaying plant matter on the ocean floors. Or did you all think that natural oil creation just stopped one day 100 million years ago?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisInteresting remark. Do you have any proof or report ?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIf I read rightly, this process, although it can produce oil directly, still needs sugar to feed it. So we enter the same old vicious circle : Where do we get the sugar from? To be green we would at least need second generation biomass processes which are closed systems anyway. But it is refreshing to see interesting new research being done all the same, as only this will provide future solutions.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAfter an in depth economic (energy and financial budgets) examination of oil's potential as a viable business product for the past three years, it's abundantly clear that at this point in time that there is an order of magnitude difference between the costs of producing and processing algae oil into a storable and salable fuel - and the price of equivalent petroleum products - and that was at petroleum's peak prices this past year. Until a more economically viable technology comes along for producing and processing algae into fuels - we are a long, long way from using it in any practical way for fuels. If you think differently, you haven't noticed that none of the algae oil development press releases include any details regarding costs and market pricing - and you haven't personally examined the technologies (energy and financial costs) available adequately. There is a very good reason for the lack of economic transparency regarding algae oil fuel development - it isn't economically viable with any current technologies and to say so would impede development monies. Take away gov. grants and you will see the entire endeavor fade away - just as it has after every energy crisis, since the 1930's when scientist first started examining algae for fuel production. Once again we have workable technologies - but not economically viable technologies. Until they can compete economically with the real costs of petroleum don't expect to see competitively priced algae oil fuels at you local service station.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAfter an in depth economic (energy and financial budgets) examination of oil's potential as a viable business product for the past three years, it's abundantly clear that at this point in time that there is an order of magnitude difference between the costs of producing and processing algae oil into a storable and salable fuel - and the price of equivalent petroleum products - and that was at petroleum's peak prices this past year. Until a more economically viable technology comes along for producing and processing algae into fuels - we are a long, long way from using it in any practical way for fuels. If you think differently, you haven't noticed that none of the algae oil development press releases include any details regarding costs and market pricing - and you haven't personally examined the technologies (energy and financial costs) available adequately. There is a very good reason for the lack of economic transparency regarding algae oil fuel development - it isn't economically viable with any current technologies and to say so would impede development monies. Take away gov. grants and you will see the entire endeavor fade away - just as it has after every energy crisis, since the 1930's when scientist first started examining algae for fuel production. Once again we have workable technologies - but not economically viable technologies. Until they can compete economically with the real costs of petroleum don't expect to see competitively priced algae oil fuels at you local service station.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWaste to energy is probably the best solution for the near term. However, the long term develpment of algae for oil production is definitely going to be viable and in the long term be cost efficient compared to petroleum products as it is scaled up. We (www.originoil.com) have some systems that already make oil collection energy and cost efficient. What is left to develop are the large-scale growing systems.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe use of marine algae do not compete with food, productive land, or fresh water uses for us humans, and I think that this is the best direction for the highest and best use of this new science.
Jay Dubinsky
OriginOil
Renewable BioProducts Ltd
At $2 per gallon, it is still more expensive than gasoline made from fossil fuels. However, the fact that this contributes in reducing CO2; means it is Green. The million dollar question, however is what happens to the algae after the oil has been extracted? What is the amount energy required to grow the algae and run the plants? These questions are vital for the life cycle analysis and the overall "Sustainability " of the process- which is the whole idea of biofuels and sustainable energy technologies.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAt $2 per gallon, it is still more expensive than gasoline made from fossil fuels. However, the fact that this contributes in reducing CO2; means that though it is Green, it still leaves some questions. The million dollar question, however is what happens to the algae after the oil has been extracted? What is the amount energy required to grow the algae and run the plants? These questions are vital for the life cycle analysis and the overall "Sustainability " of the process- which is the whole idea of biofuels and sustainable energy technologies.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisBemgba Nyakuma
Delft University of Technology,
Delft, The Netherlands
which bio fuel will lead in future?? ethanol,bio gas,bio diesel from plant and algae??? do you have a answer????
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWhich bio fuel will lead in future? Ethanol, Bio gas, Bio diesel from Algae,plant?????? Do you have any idea?????
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisYes you are right......algal fuel is quite in question because its gorwth rate is much higher than bacteria.......and sustainability of the process is also difficult........where as in cse of bio gas it is not........
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisGrowing algae is like any crop it requires nutrient inputs, sunlight and temperature control. The best algae for oil are not the ones that occur naturally and blow in the wind. This means continual contamination in an open system.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIdeally you'd grow algae on the Atacama desert on the coast of Chile (always warm and cheap land too). Close to upwelling current with nutrients. Pump (with wind mills) the sea water through filters to remove any existing algae. Seed your cultivated algae variety (being grown in a closed environment) into the sea water. The water will run through long channels so that the holding time that can be controlled to remove the algae at it's ideal age for maximum oil production. Filter out the algae, extract the oil and pump it into barges close to shore. The algae after extraction can be sun dried and used for animal feed.