Algae-Biofuel Revisited…Again
Not really in the ‘zone’ today I’m afraid, but I did want to make mention of some noteworthy tidbits. This morning I came across another interesting article about using algae to produce biofuel.
In case you hadn’t noticed, this is a topic I find really fascinating!
Anyway, here are some exerpts:
FORT COLLINS - Colorado State University and Solix Biofuels, Inc., a Boulder-based start-up company, are working in partnership to develop technology to mass-produce algae that create oil that can be converted into biodiesel fuel.
Officials from Solix and CSU announced the partnership today at a presentation held at CSU’s Engines and Energy Conversion Laboratory just north of downtown Fort Collins. Also attending were officials from the city of Fort Collins and New Belgium Brewing Co., which will house the first large-scale, 350-foot-long algae-growing bioreactor.
Bryan Willson, laboratory director, said experiments with small-scale algae bioreactors have shown the potential to commercialize the technology designed by Jim Sears, founder of Solix.
…
Sears said the technology promises to be much more potent in its productivity than corn or other biomass sources of alternative fuel.
“Algae are the fastest-growing organisms on the planet, and can produce 100 times more oil per acre than conventional soil-tilled crops that are now being grown for biofuel use,” he said.
Solix officials said widespread construction of algae “bioranches” could eventually meet the U.S. demand for diesel fuel - about 4 million barrels a day - by growing algae on otherwise vacant land next to power plants and ethanol plants. Those plants produce carbon dioxide, which the algae can turn into oil, keeping it out of the atmosphere.
“I hope this is the start of a new crop that will impact and help meet energy needs worldwide,” Sears said.
Sears estimated it would require about 4 million acres to offset 25 percent of the 60 billion gallons of diesel fuel consumed in the U.S. each year. He said an estimated 100,000 technicians would ultimately be needed to tend the bioreactors, creating new jobs in rural parts of the nation.
Technorati Tags: biofuel, biodiesel, ethanol, algae, green fuels, alternative energy, Solix Biofuels, green power, bioreactor, fuel
Written by Bentley on December 8th, 2006 with
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