Oilgae Blog - The Latest from the World of Algae Fuels
Extraction of Biocrude from Algae - A Top Story
You are at: Oilgae Blog.Climate change mitigation-related stories were among the top ten most read science stories from the Los Alamos National Laboratory in 2009.
Los Alamos National Laboratory team-up with Solix Biofuels Inc. to use the laboratory’s sound wave technology in optimizing production of algae-based fuel ranked as the seventh leading story for 2009.
Acoustic focusing – the use of sound waves by the Los Alamos Acoustic Flow Cytometer – is being commercialized to harvest biocrude, also known as green gold. The substance is an alternative to crude oil and can be refined into biodiesel, gasoline or even jet fuel.
More about Los Alamos National Laboratory
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Labels: Algae-Biodiesel, Algae-Fuel-Research
LSU AgCenter Explores Algae for Biofuel
You are at: Oilgae Blog.The AgCenter announced in mid-December that it had received "conditional approval" from the state Board of Regents to establish the LSU AgCenter Biofuels Research Center, and it now has "one year to get the institute up and running," said John Russin, associate vice chancellor of the LSU AgCenter.
Timber processing leaves behind tons of branches, bark and debris -- biomass -- that can be converted to biofuel. Algae aquaculture also could generate significant biomass for fuel, and has been a subject of intense research nationally and at the AgCenter, Russin said.
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Labels: Algae-Biodiesel, Algae-Fuel-Research
Collaboration Formed to Develop Fuels from Algae Oil
You are at: Oilgae Blog.Endicott Biofuels, LLC, a Houston-based, next-generation biodiesel producer, and TransAlgae, Ltd., an algal biotechnology company, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the development of algae as a potential transportation fuel and renewable chemical feedstock source.
TransAlgae’s mission is to develop commercially viable algae strains for a variety of algae biomass growth platforms in order to deliver cost effective transportation fuels as well as other non-energy applications.
For the past year, Endicott has been involved in a fully flexible feedstock development program for the production of biodiesel, which includes algae oil-to-biodiesel commercialization. Among its future development plans are technologies that provide a higher degree of freedom for algae producers in algae strain selection and algae oil extraction for the production of biofuels.
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Labels: Algae-Biodiesel, Algae-Energy-Companies, Algae-Strains
Solix Produces Biofuel from Algae Oil in Demo Plant
You are at: Oilgae Blog.Fort Collins, Colo.-based Solix Biofuels is producing a steady stream of algae-based biofuel from its six-month old demonstration facility, CEO Doug Henston told the Cleantech Group.
Solix, which developed a process using photo-bioreactors to make algae-based biofuel and chemicals, is sending the biofuel to potential partners for testing, Henston said.
Solix’s Web site says the facility has a peak production capacity of 3,000 gallons per acre, per year of algal oil. Microalgae can be harvested every five to seven days during the peak growth season, according to Solix.
Henston said Solix plans to expand the production of Coyote Gulch if it can access more CO2 and wastewater.
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Labels: Algae-Biodiesel, Algae-Energy-Companies
Saudi Arabia to Capture CO2 using Algae
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Saudi Arabia first disclosed plans for the carbon injection project in October, but Mr al Naimi detailed a longer-term strategy noting that the eventual goal was to tie carbon capture with the kingdom’s interest in producing biofuels from algae.
“We are looking at capturing carbon dioxide, injecting it in sea water, creating algae and hopefully producing two things: ethanol – you might be surprised by our interest in ethanol – and food products,” he said.
Producing fuel from algae has become a priority of researchers across the world, including major oil companies such as ExxonMobil. But experts say scientists still need to induce each unit of algae to absorb more carbon dioxide and produce more oils to make algae a commercially viable source of energy.
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Labels: Algae-Biodiesel, Algae-Carbon-Capture, Algae-CO2-Capture
Biodiesel from Algae Used During United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Conference
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UOP LLC, a Honeywell company, announced that its Ecofining process technology was used to convert second-generation, renewable feedstocks to green diesel fuel that will power vehicles at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Conference (UNFCCC) in Copenhagen, Denmark.
UOP's process technology converted oil from algae provided by Solazyme, a renewable oil company, to green diesel, which will be utilized during the Driving the Future showcase organized by Denmark's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. A Mercedes Benz E-Class Sedan, an unmodified, factory-standard diesel vehicle, will be powered by unblended (B100) green diesel for the duration of the event.
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Labels: Algae-Biodiesel, Algae-CO2-Capture, Algae-Energy-Companies
The Chesapeake Algae Project - ChAP
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The College of William and Mary and its Virginia Institute of Marine Science have formed a collaborative research initiative to investigate a promising new technology to produce biofuel from the algae growing naturally in rivers and the Chesapeake Bay.
The enterprise, called ChAP—the Chesapeake Algae Project—is an integrated research approach to algae-based energy production and environmental remediation. It includes a number of corporate partners, notably StatoilHydro, a Norwegian energy company. StatoilHydro has seeded the enterprise with an initial $3 million investment.
Labels: Algae-Biodiesel, Algae-Cultivation-Sewage
U.S. Navy Tries Marine Algae for Fuel
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U.S. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus promises a greener fleet using 50 percent less fossil fuel by 2020.
In a speech Wednesday to the San Diego Military Advisory Council, Mabus said even Navy planes may soon run on fuel produced from biological sources, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported.
The Navy is turning to the ocean for biofuel, with a plan to convert marine algae. The F/A-18 Hornet, which runs on biofuel, is scheduled to be part of a carrier wing within three years and to become a standard fighter by 2016.
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Labels: Algae-Biodiesel, Algae-Fuel-Research
Five Technologies That Could Change Everything
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I read an interesting article by Michael Totty in The Wall Street Journal entitled "Five Technologies That Could Change Everything". In this article he lists five new technologies like space-based solar power, carbon capture & storage, next generation biofuels such as cellulosic ethanol and algae biofuel that has the potential to change the world.
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Labels: Algae-Biodiesel
Old Dominion University (ODU) Studying to Convert Algae to Biofuel
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Several partners are proposing to develop a $50 million algae farm on city-owned land where the slimy, aquatic growth would be converted into biodiesel fuel and other forms of alternative energy.
Much of the proposal, however, hinges on federal stimulus money from the U.S. Department of Energy. ODU and its partners are asking for $46 million from a $100 million pool set aside by the Obama administration for advancing algae-to-biodiesel technology.
A decision about the funding is expected as soon as next month, and by the end of the year at the latest, project sponsors said.The Virginia Beach proposal includes three private companies that are committing money and support for the bigger farm, and involves researchers from ODU, George Washington University, Jacksonville State University, the University of Michigan and South Dakota State University, according to a prospectus.
Pat Hatcher, a professor leading the initiative said “There’s a lot of interest in this technology, and we have lots of avenues open to us.”
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Labels: Algae-Biodiesel, Algae-Energy-Companies, Algae-Energy-Investments, Algae-Fuel-Research
Blue Sun Energy Believes Algae as the Next Energy Powerhouse
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Blue Sun Energy is working on a project, funded by a federal grant, to find a way to turn the seaweed into a high quality jet biofuel.
"It's probably still several years away before we're going to get to that point," explained Steve Bond, Blue Sun Energy's marketing manager.
The idea of making biodiesel out of algae is not revolutionary, but finding the production process that makes it affordable can make a big difference.
"Algae costs $20 a gallon to produce right now, which is not feasible for regular use. Our goal is to get it under $2 a gallon. We think that's feasible to do," Bond said.
Biodiesel can actually be made from a variety of products from vegetable oil to animal fat. Currently, Blue Sun Energy uses high quality virgin oil from soybean and canola. The company says algae and another option, camolina oil, are both attractive options because they require little water, can be grown during the winter season and are not food crops. Still, even without the advances expected with algae and seaweed, the company says their biodiesels are already greener and more versatile than other biodiesels on the market.
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Labels: Algae-Biodiesel, Algae-Energy-Companies
Scotland's Whisky Distilleries Use Algae to Capture Carbon
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The Glenturret Distillery in Perthshire will use the ground-breaking system to turn fumes generated by whisky production into biodiesel.
David Van Alstyne, head of Scottish Bioenergy, said: "A couple of years ago the idea of using algae as carbon recycler sounded absurd but with the support of Shell, Edrington Group and the Scottish Environmental Technology Network we have built Britain's first pilot scale bioreactor."
Green MSP Robin Harper officially switched on the bioreactor, which could have implications for others in the industry.
He said: "This project is tremendously exciting, and I hope that it will be thoroughly successful.
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Labels: Algae-Biodiesel, Algae-CO2-Capture, Algae-Energy-Companies
Virginia Institute of Marine Science Receives $3 Million to Turn Algae into Biodiesel
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Virginia Institute of Marine Science is the recipient of $3 million — seed money from StatoilHydro, a Norwegian energy company — to convert algae from the York River into biodiesel fuel. The plan is to cut the amount of harmful nutrients, such as phosphorus and nitrogen, entering the Chesapeake Bay and create an alternative source of energy.
"What we really want to do is turn pollution into fuel," said J. Emmett Duffy, a VIMS professor leading the program.
VIMS will pump water from the river near its Gloucester Point campus onto a large conveyor belt. A plastic screen on the belt will trap the nutrients while the water is recycled back into the river.
The nutrients, which sit on the belt for at least a week, turn into algae before researchers harvest and store it. From there, researchers take the algae into a lab where oils are extracted and converted into biodiesel.
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Labels: Algae-Biodiesel, Algae-Energy-Investments, Algae-Fuel-Research
Duke and ENN Group to Work on Carbon-Capturing Algae
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Power company Duke Energy Corp. said Wednesday that it has struck its second deal in just over a month with a large Chinese power company to develop sources of low-carbon energy.
Duke and ENN Group say ideas for potential development between the two include commercial solar projects, coal-based clean energy, biofuels, natural gas, smart grid, energy efficiency and carbon-capturing algae.
China and the U.S. are No. 1 and 2 when it comes to greenhouse gas emissions. The countries account for 40 percent of the world's total emissions. Both also heavily count on coal to drive their economies, with Duke using coal to generate about two-thirds of its electricity.
Jim Rogers, Duke's chairman, president and CEO, said if U.S. and Chinese companies can strike deals to work on climate change, then maybe it can lead to bigger solutions being reached by the governments of both countries. But he said the deals "mean nothing if they don't produce real projects, real solutions and are profitable."
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Labels: Algae-Biodiesel, Algae-CO2-Capture
Second Algae Biofuel Summit in India - A Great Success
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Organisers of the Second Algae Biofuel Summit 2009 in New Delhi (India) held during the second week of September are very satisfied with the outcome of the event, which was attended by researchers, scientists, entrepreneurs and industry delegates from over 20 Indian states and 12 countries across the globe.
Mr. Saxena said that his organization is currently working on various innovative projects in the sector. One full session at the summit is devoted to discuss the technology to convert carbon dioxide emissions into fuel using algae, non-potable water and sunlight. Another important area focused is the treatment of waste water using algae. It is now possible to link the production of algae-based fuel with an inexpensive method of sewage treatment.
Mr. Saxena concluded that companies all over the world are talking of commercializing algae biofuels within five to ten years. Growdiesel’s mission is to establish the world's first commercial scale integrated biofuel farm in India with the support of India's Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.
Source: Renewable Energy Magazine
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Labels: Algae-Biodiesel, Algae-Energy-Companies
Diatoms Solar Panel - A Biofuel Producing Solar Panel
You are at: Oilgae Blog.T. V. Ramachandra, a professor of ecological sciences at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) is working on the project of creating biological solar panel with IISc researchers Durga Mahapatra and Karthick Balasubramanian, along with Richard Gordon, a radiology professor at the University of Manitoba in Winnepeg.
The researchers propose creating a biological solar panel, which will contain diatoms instead of photovoltaic cells. Diatoms would float about in a nutrient-rich water solution and produce oil when exposed to sunlight. Diatoms already secrete silica by exocytosis—a biological process by which cells direct secreted material outside the cell walls. If diatoms could be made to similarly secrete the oil they produce, then it could be easily harvested. (Because the oil is used as a reserve nutrient—like fat—diatoms have evolved no mechanism to secrete it.)
Ramachandra insists an advantage of the diatom solar panel is that it can be created and maintained with equipment and methods that are inexpensive. This is different from photovoltaic solar panels, which require sophisticated fabrication facilities. In tropical countries like India with an abundance of sunlight, biofuel-producing solar panels containing local diatoms could be placed in every village. Investigation has shown that diatom oil can be used as biofuel without further processing, says Ramachandra. A further advantage is that diatoms consume carbon dioxide, so the diatom solar panels would be very sustainable.
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Virginia Tech Researcher Grows Algae Using Glycerol
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The rise in biodiesel production over the last decade means that the market can no longer absorb all the extra glycerol. Biodiesel producers must find alternative means for disposing of crude glycerol, which is prohibitively expensive to purify for industry use. Wen and his colleagues have developed a novel fermentation process using microalgae to produce omega-3 fatty acids from crude glycerol
"We have shown that it is possible to use the crude glycerol byproduct from the biodiesel industry as a carbon source for microalgae that produce omega-3 fatty acids," said Wen, who added that the impurities in crude glycerol may actually be beneficial to algal growth. "After thorough chemical analysis, we have also shown that the algae biomass composition has the same quality as the commercial algae product."After growing the algae in the crude glycerol, researchers can use it as an animal feed. This mimics a process in nature in which fish, the most common source of omega-3 fatty acid for humans, eat the algae and then retain the healthful compounds in their bodies. Humans who consume the fish in turn consume the omega 3s. Fish-derived products such as fish oil are an inexpensive alternative, but the taste has deterred widespread use.
Wen has partnered with Steven Craig, senior research scientist at Virginia Cobia Farms, to use crude glycerol-derived algae as a fish feed. "The results so far have been promising," Wen said. "The fish fed the algae had significant amounts of omega-3 fatty acids."
He and Audrey McElroy, associate professor of animal and poultry sciences, are now trying to determine whether the algae would work as a chicken feed. Kumar Mallikarjunan, associate professor of biological systems engineering, is also working with Wen to determine the fate of omega 3s after they enter the food supply. Researchers do not yet know whether oxidation would have a major impact on omega-3 fatty acids stored in cheese, for example.
Funding for this research has come from the Virginia Agricultural Council, U.S. Poultry and Egg Association, Fats and Proteins Research Foundation, Virginia Sea Grant, and Virginia Commercial Fisheries and Shellfish Technologies.
Wen presented his paper, "Production of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid from biodiesel-waste glycerol by microalgal fermentation (AGFD 272)," as a part of a session sponsored by the ACS Division of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
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Labels: Algae-Biodiesel, Algae-Cultivation
Anti-methane Feed for Cattle: Marine Algae
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That started JCU nutritionist Dr Tony Parker and marine scientist Professor Rocky de Nys thinking about the potential of seaweed as a low-methane fodder source—in particular the fast-growing “green tide” of algae that can be used to soak up excess nutrient in treatment of water used by aquaculture.
Some of these algae can grow at four times the rate of sugar cane on a dry matter basis.
Many aquaculture farms use seaweeds and algae to clean their ponds of the waste from fish and crustaceans. Effluent water contains nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorous, which in excess are partly responsible for the breakdown of aquatic ecosystems in the Inner Great Barrier Reef.
These are also the nutrients that the “green tide” of algae thrive on, Professor de Nys said. “At present, however, there is little incentive provided to farmers to use this bioremediation method as it means they will often be left with a huge algal biomass that they don’t know what to do with and which has little to no financial value.”
But Dr Parker believes that marine algae may offer another protein source for cattle, especially in winter when feed is scarce.
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Labels: Algae-Biodiesel, Algae-Cultivation-Marine, Algae-Methane
Solazyme to Supply 20,000 G Algae Diesel for Navy Ships
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Solazyme Inc. said that it had a contract from the Defense Department for 20,000 gallons of algae-derived diesel fuel for testing and certification that could be used in Navy ships
"The military wants new fuels that meet the old petroleum specifications and reduce carbon dramatically and can be produced domestically at the same time," said Jonathan Wolfson, CEO of Solazyme Inc.
"This is an important first step with algae oil derived alternative fuels," said Kim Huntley, director of the Defense Energy Support Center, which awarded the Solazyme contract. "Not only are we helping the Navy meet its energy security and alternative fuels objectives, this contract also demonstrates the continued successful partnering of DESC with our warfighter customers to help them meet their emergent energy needs."
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Labels: Algae-Biodiesel, Algae-Energy-Companies, Algae-Energy-Investments
AgOil International and Georgia Alternative Fuels Partners to Produce Biodiesel from Algae
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Press Release:
A St. Petersburg, FL company, AgOil International, LLC, has teamed up with a Pendergrass, GA company, Georgia Alternative Fuels, LLC (GAF), to generate a start-to-finish renewable fuel production system.
By undertaking this joint effort, they can link together their processes in sequence and deliver home-grown biodiesel that meets the ASTM fuel standard. This means their biodiesel output can serve as a replacement for petroleum diesel, in whole or in part, for cars, busses, trucks, boats, tractors, and generators.
Frank Preg, AgOil CEO regards the reliability of their system as key to commercial success, noting that “Predictable harvests with consistently high yields are essential prerequisites in achieving cost effectiveness in a mass culturing system.” Proprietary components and custom devices, a result of years of research and development, have been integrated into AgOil’s system to maintain a fully controlled microbiological growth environment in large scale culture. This approach results in faster, denser cultures, higher oil yields, smaller footprint, and overcomes the shortcomings that have caused previous endeavors to fail.
The research and development phase of AgOil’s new system has been successfully completed. This includes overall system design, testing of proprietary inventions, submission of two patent applications, culture of many strains of microalgae, production of algal oil, and methods for maximization of lipid (oil) production. Their next step is to build a pilot plant to grow and process the algae, demonstrating the full process from the test tube to the fuel-tank.
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Labels: Algae-Biodiesel, Algae-Energy-Companies
Center for Renewable and Alternative Fuel Technologies (CRAFT) Tries Algae
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Eastern officially announced its partnership with General Atomics, an energy-related company based in San Diego, in December 2008. The partnership was formed in order to undertake a new project known as the Center for Renewable and Alternative Fuel Technologies, or CRAFT. CRAFT is developing processes of converting biomass into a biodiesel fuel that could be used to run most engines.
Bruce Pratt, the chair of Eastern's Department of Agriculture, said that biomass, or plant-derived material, will be broken down to release sugars (namely glucose). These sugars will be fed to a special type of heterotrophic algae that does not require sunlight to grow. The algae will then be harvested and the oil used to create diesel fuel will be extracted.
Pratt said that CRAFT is different from other alternative fuel projects because it will not cause as much controversy.CRAFT has been researching biofuel possibilities in nearby Winchester in Clark County, according to Selby and Pratt.
The research the CRAFT team has gathered so far is to determine whether a useful biodiesel can be extracted from the algae, but if a plant is built, then the experiment will be whether the plant could mass-produce the biodiesel fuel.
General Atomics would provide the funds for the creation of the plant, Selby said. He also said that if the pilot plant is successful, then other pilot plants across the U.S. might be built in the future.
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Labels: Algae-Biodiesel, Algae-Energy-Companies
Sapphire Energy Plans a Journey in Algaeus plug-in hybrid
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In an effort to drum up attention and support for their algae-based biofuel, Sapphire Energy has announced that they will conduct a coast-to-coast journey in their “Algaeus” plug-in hybrid. Part electric hybrid, part biofuel vehicle, Sapphire claimes the Algaeus will get 150 miles per gallon from its hybrid/biofuel drivetrain.
The Algaeus will visit 10 cities, starting in San Francisco on September 8th and ending in New York City on the 18th.
This will be the first street-ready and legal algae-fueled vehicle to compete a trans-continental journey. The engine itself has not been modified in anyway, but an additional battery pack and advanced energy-management system have been added to increase the mileage.
The high-octane algae fuel is a drop-in replacement for gasoline. No engine modifications required. Using a mixture of hydrocarbons refined from “green crude”, this is a low-emission, renewable fuel. The algae is “engineered” to meet certain driving dynamics, and grown in open ponds where it is then removed from the water in a 4-15 day process. The resulting oil can be used in any petrol-powered vehicle.
The Algaeus will visit 10 cities, starting in San Francisco on September 8th and ending in New York City on the 18th.
The list of cities the Algaeus will visit:
San Fancisco, CA (September 8th)
Sacramento, CA (September 9th)
Salt Lake City, UT (September 10th)
Cheyenne, WY (September 11th)
Lincoln, NE (September 12th)
Chicago, IL (September 13th)
Detroit, MI (September 14th)
Cleveland, OH (September 15th)
Erie, PA (September 16th)
Washington DC (September 17th)
New York, NY (September 18th)
For more on Sapphire Energy check out their website.
Source: Biofuels Digest
Labels: Algae-Biodiesel, Algae-Energy-Companies, Algae-Energy-Products
A Short Film on Algae Fuel
You are at: Oilgae Blog.PSB NOVA Science features algae fuel
See: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/sciencenow/0406/02.html
It brings authoritative, innovative, and entertaining science documentaries to television.
Labels: Algae-Biodiesel
Heathgate Resources Held Talks about Algae Fuels with the State Government in South Australia
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Premier Mike Rann met for an hour yesterday with Neal Blue, the chief executive officer of General Atomics, which owns the Beverley uranium deposits in SA's Far North. Mr Rann said SA was now poised to become a national leader in refining biosynthetic fuels, with the potential to create thousands of jobs.
Mr Blue said his company was interested in developments in microalgal biofuels in SA because there was huge potential for their use in the future – especially in the aviation industry. The Federal Government recently granted $2.7 million to an SA-based consortium to develop a pilot-scale biorefinery for sustainable microalgal biofuels and added products.
The pilot project – run by the Algal Fuels Consortium which includes the SA Research and Development Institute, Flinders University and Sancon Recycling – will be located at Torrens Island.
Labels: Algae-Aviation-Fuel, Algae-Biodiesel, Algae-Energy-Investments
Benemann Calls LiveFuels 'Biofuel-from-Fish' Approach Possible
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Dr. John Benemann, one of the authors of a seminal U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory report from 1998 on biofuel from algae and an internationally-recognized bioenergy expert said he thinks LiveFuels is “in as good of shape as anybody” to make its R&D happen.
Morgenthaler-Jones said LiveFuels has been taking a different direction since 2006, growing the algae in what the company said is low-cost, saltwater ponds, feeding the algae to tiny, filter-feeding fish and other aquatic herbivores and then processing them for renewable oils and other valuable products such as omega-3 fatty acids.
The oil would then be “handed off to the petroleum guys,” Morgenthaler-Jones said.
“Fish need 1/800th of the energy of a centrifuge to process algal water,” she said, adding that as a bonus, the fish do the lipid conversion themselves.
In the near future, Morgenthaler-Jones said the company is looking to achieve 5,000 pounds of fish per acre, eventually getting to an intermediate stage of 25,000 pounds per acre. It’s unclear, she said, whether that intermediate stage would happen in Texas, or on reclaimed bayou land in Louisiana, for which the company is currently scouting.
Labels: Algae-Biodiesel, Algae-Harvesting
LiveFuels Hopes its Algae Biofuel Ready for Launch by 2010
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LiveFuels CEO Lissa Morgenthaler-Jones describes her San Carlos, Calif.-based company’s process as 'we cook them and squeeze them' for turning algae-fed fish into oil for fuel using heat and high pressure. It’s a gruesome way of harvesting pond scum than the mechanical equipment employed by other startups working on algal fuels, but it might be cheaper.
According to a spokesman for LiveFuels, which was founded in 2006 and announced the kickoff of pilot operations at a 45-acre open pond test facility in Brownsville, Texas, this week.
Some investors think LiveFuels has a good shot at making the technology and economics work. The company raised $10 million in May 2007 from David Gelbaum’s quiet Quercus Trust. At the time, LiveFuels reportedly hoped to have its biofuel ready for launch by 2010. NYT’s Green Inc. reports that the company is still trying to bring down costs, and will spend what’s left of that $10 million on additional research and development.
Labels: Algae-Biodiesel, Algae-Cultivation-Open-Pond, Algae-Energy-Companies, Algae-Energy-Investments
National Wind Solutions (NWND) Tries Algae
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US-based National Wind Solutions (NWND) has bought an undisclosed biodiesel plant in Texas for $3 million (€2.1 million) and has announced its intention to convert it to produce biodiesel from second-generation feedstock.
After successfully producing soyabean biodiesel for commercial transportation uses, the plant was mothballed by its original producers because of the high cost of soyabeans.
NWND intends to retrofit the plant with the necessary equipment to process second-generation feedstocks such as algae and jatropha into biodiesel. The company hopes that the ability to use a wide variety of feedstocks will inoculate it again price spikes in any one feedstock.
Labels: Algae-Biodiesel, Algae-Fuel-Research
Biodiesel Mandate in Oregon
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Oregon’s 2% biodiesel (B2) requirement has gone into effect as of August 5, making it the third state supporting increased reliance on the cleaner-burning, domestically produced fuel. Oregon’s biodiesel production capacity has reached five million gallons, which triggered the requirement.
Minnesota was the first state to enact a B2 requirement. In May, it was increased to B5. Washington state currently has a B2 requirement in place. Massachusetts will require diesel and home heating oil sold in the state to contain 2% biodiesel starting July 1, 2010. Pennsylvania also has a B2 requirement on the books, scheduled to be implemented January 1, 2010.
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Public Utilities Commission has Denied HECO’s Request
You are at: Oilgae Blog.The state Public Utilities Commission has denied Hawaiian Electric Co.'s request to approve a biodiesel supply contract because of the higher costs it would have passed on to consumers.
HECO sought approval for a contract with Seattle-based Imperium Services LLC. It is now seeking new bids from biofuel suppliers.
According to the contract terms, Imperium was to build a local refinery with a pipeline to supply biodiesel for HECO's newly completed, $142.3 million, 110-megawatt plant at Campbell Industrial Park. When the contract was later amended to have Imperium import biodiesel from a West Coast refinery, HECO also sought a terminaling and trucking agreement with Aloha Petroleum to transport the imported biodiesel to its generating plant. That additional contract would have incurred additional costs that HECO would have passed on to its customers.
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Labels: Algae-Biodiesel, Algae-Energy-Companies
Five Major Algae Announcements in this Week News
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Joanna Schroeder lists five major algae announcements happened this week.
1. W2 Energy, based in Canada, announced that it has completed its Sunfilter commercial scale algae bioreactor.
2. Algaeventure Systems said that it has begun receiving orders for its algae harvesting, dewatering, and drying technology. The company that has placed the order is General Atomics.
3. Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) at University of North Dakota was awarded a subcontract by SAIC to use its proprietary technology to produce jet fuel from algal oils.
4. Kent BioEnergy, based on California, announced that it is going to establish a division of the company in Charleston South Carolina, partnering with a Grant Know, a local entrepreneur.
5. Algenol Biofuels, a Florida based company, has threatened to leave the state and now they are working with CEO Paul Woods to entice his company to stay.
Source: Reuters.com
Labels: Algae-Biodiesel, Algae-Energy-Companies, Algae-Fuel-Research
Shrimp Shell Catalysts to Convert Oil to Biodiesel
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Scientists in China are reporting development of a catalyst made from shrimp shells that could transform production of biodiesel fuel into a faster, less expensive, and more environmentally friendly process.
Researcher Xinsheng Zheng and his colleagues describe development of a new catalyst produced from shrimp shells. In laboratory tests, the shrimp shell catalysts converted canola oil to biodiesel (89 percent conversion in three hours) faster and more efficiently than some conventional catalysts. The scientists also said that the new catalysts can be reused and the process minimizes waste production and pollution, .
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Green Star Products is Active in Four Green Technology
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Green Star Products, Inc., announced that it plans to expand its U.S. government technical proposal team to meet the expansion of the U.S. government $3 billion funding program for renewable energy projects.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the U.S. Department of the Treasury on July 31, 2009, announced they are now accepting applications for a program that will make direct payments in lieu of tax credits to companies that create and place in service renewable energy facilities. The two Departments estimate distributing at least $3 billion in financial support to approximately 5,000 biomass, solar, wind, and other types of renewable energy production facilities. The funding for this effort is made available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
Green Star Products together with its consortium partners are now active in four distinct green industrial applications, which are:
Algae biodiesel production
Cellulosic ethanol
Electric vehicle production
Advanced lubrication
All these industry segments are leading candidates for government funding programs.
Source: Business Wire
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Targeted Growth Engineers Algae for Oil Production
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Targeted Growth, one of the leaders in genetic research, is trying to boost the oil content. It has already created versions of cyanobacteria with 20 percent to 40 percent of their mass in lipid. Next year, it hopes to show that it can produce this type of algae in large enough quantities to support a pilot manufacturing facility. Ideally, Targeted will be able to show that its algae can produce 2,000 to 3,000 gallons of oil a year per acre and show a pathway to get to 4,000 to 6,000 gallons an acre a year.
Cyanobacteria, or blue green algae, are not incredibly oily. Only about 5 percent to 10 percent of their body mass in a natural state consists of lipids, which can be turned into biofuel, according to Margaret McCormick, general manager of the biobased materials unit at Targeted Growth. By contrast, some species of Botryococcus can achieve a lipid content of up to 70 percent to 80 percent after genetic engineering.
Source: Greentechmedia.com
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Indian and Canadian scientists are Manupulating Algae Geneticallyfor Oil
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Indian and Canadian scientists are jointly researching means to use algae to generate oil and cut down greenhouse gases.The project involves researchers from the Centre for Ecological Sciences (CES), Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and those from Canada-based Manitoba University.
But the first step, which CES researchers are involved in, is to identify which algae secrete more oil and to develop a method to genetically manipulate the identified algae to ensure they secrete more oil, according to TV Ramachandra, senior CES faculty member who is heading the IISc team in this venture.
The genetic manipulation would be done by the Manitoba University team. At the IISc lab, researchers are culturing algae to identify those yielding maximum oil.
Labels: Algae-Biodiesel, Algae-Fuel-Research, Algae-Strains
Integrated Process of Algae Cultivation and Production of Diesel Fuel from Biorenewable Feedstocks
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An interesting patent filed on Aug 18, 2008 is about "Integrated Process of Algae Cultivation and Production of Diesel Fuel from Biorenewable feedstocks"
According to the claims, the said integrated process comprises the following :
a) treating the renewable feedstock in a reaction zone by hydrogenating and deoxygenating the feedstock using at least one catalyst at reaction conditions in the presence of hydrogen to provide a reaction zone product stream comprising hydrogen, carbon dioxide, water and a paraffins having from about 8 to about 24 carbon atoms;
b) cooling the reaction zone product stream and separating to provide:
i) a gaseous component comprising at least hydrogen and carbon dioxide;
ii) a hydrocarbon product comprising the paraffins; and
iii) a water component;
c) recovering the hydrocarbon product;
d) separating the gaseous component comprising at least hydrogen and carbon dioxide into a stream comprising hydrogen and a stream comprising carbon dioxide; and
e) passing the stream comprising carbon dioxide to an algae cultivation operation and using the carbon dioxide stream to cultivate algae.
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Labels: Algae-Biodiesel, Algae-Cultivation, Algae-Patents
Algae Project Faces Difficulty in Procuring Land
You are at: Oilgae Blog.The final application for the U.S. Department of Energy loan guarantee to be used in Project Green, also known as the Saline Green Project, has been submitted, said Hunter.In his report to the board, Executive Director Roy Hunter gave updates on the projects he has been working to bring to Saline County.
The plan for Saline Green Project (SGP) has been changed slightly to delay the production of biodiesel fuel from algae until the second year of operation, Hunter said. He explained this is due to the difficulty of finding and procuring 2,500 acres of flat land.
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Labels: Algae-Biodiesel, Algae-Cultivation, Algae-Energy-Companies
Senator Murray Announces $2 Million for Clean Energy Research on Algae Biofuels
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Press Release:
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash.), a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced that she has included $2 million for clean energy algae biofuels research at Washington State University in the fiscal year 2010 Energy and Water Development Appropriations bill.
“This funding will support cutting-edge research that will create jobs and continue to position Washington state as a leader in the clean energy economy,” said Senator Patty Murray. “It provides a shot in the arm for Washington state biofuels research, and will help our country move toward cleaner and more efficient energy use.”
The WSU Algae Biofuels project is a partnership between WSU and the Seattle-based Targeted Growth Inc. It will create high-skill jobs in both Pullman and the Puget Sound area and provide researchers with the resources they need to develop new, energy-efficient algal fuel sources. Algae is a particularly promising candidate for fuel use, as its efficiency in capturing solar energy results in higher productivity per unit area than a traditional biofuel energy crop.
“Washington State University is committed to partnering with the clean-technology sector to find innovative solutions for supplying energy and improving environmental quality,” said Howard Grimes, the WSU Vice President for Research and Dean of the Graduate School. “This funding will allow our scholars and partners to apply their knowledge to solve problems and create economic opportunity in the Pacific Northwest and throughout the world.”
The funding was included in the Energy and Water Development fiscal year 2010 spending bill. Having passed the Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee today, the bill will now go to the full Appropriations Committee before going to the full Senate for consideration.
Labels: Algae-Biodiesel, Algae-Energy-Companies
China Enters Algae Energy Business in a Big Way
You are at: Oilgae Blog.China is starting to get into the bio-algae market in a big way; with Chinese innovation group ENN making large investments in algae bioreactors to help sequestrate carbon from China’s coal fired power plants.
The 24,000 employee, 4 US$billion company, is heavily involved in the energy business and developing technology to pass carbon dioxide through algae to help reduce China’s greenhouse gas emissions from their coal power plants that currently provide 70% of the electrical energy needs of the country.
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Labels: Algae-Biodiesel, Algae-Energy-Companies, Algae-Photobioreactor
US Biofuels to Produce 50 million gallon of Algae biodiesel
You are at: Oilgae Blog.US Biofuels, Inc, a CA based company is setting to launch major green fuel production with recent gains of twelve greenhouses expanding over eight acres in size. Each greenhouse will be used for the purpose of growing algae in a closed system, using the photobioreactor process for the production of Biofuel.
In addition to the operating algae plants the company already has it is also currently planning to set up undergoing negotiations with Co-op Greenhouse Inc. to acquire locations in Fresno, CA, Imperial Valley, CA, Ely, NV, and Palmdale, CA to name just a few.
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Labels: Algae-Biodiesel, Algae-Cultivation, Algae-Energy-Companies, Algae-Photobioreactor
Waltham Technologies To Grow Algae in Waste Water From Breweries
You are at: Oilgae Blog.Massachusetts-based Waltham Technologies thinks it has the potential to break into the California wine industry, cleaning its waste water and producing biodiesel with a special breed of blue-green algae.
The company thinks it could make enough biodiesel for a brewery or winery to run its process as well as some of its vehicles, depending on how much biochemical oxygen demand it has in its waste water ponds.
The companies CEO, Ryan said they plan to test their technology come September at Portsmith, N.H.-based Smuttynose Brewing. Ryan said the company's target market, to start, is going to be craft and regional breweries, generating 15,000 to 2 million barrels per year.
The company is seeking $500,000 to $600,000 to fund its initial two years of development, after which it expects to become profitable. Other than the algae waste treatment project the company is also doing lab testing and analysis .
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Labels: Algae-Biodiesel, Algae-Cultivation-Sewage, Algae-Energy-Companies
University of Antofagasta & Chilean Companies to Enter Algae Biodiesel Research
You are at: Oilgae Blog.A news article in fis.com entitled "Microalgae-based biodiesel production to begin by 2014" reveals about chile's interest in microalgae based fuel production. The University of Antofagasta and some companies in Chile are trying to commercialize microalgae based biodiesel. A total investment of $7.5 million is slated for this project.
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Labels: Algae-Biodiesel, Algae-CO2-Capture, Algae-Energy-Companies
CEHMM Algae Biofuels Project Goes Commercial
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The Center of Excellence for Hazardous Materials Management moved its Algae Biofuels Project from pilot scale to the commercial demonstration level.
This facility is located on the grounds of the New Mexico State University Agriculture Science Center south of Artesia. This phase of the project expects to be in full operation by Sep 1, producing algae that will be harvested and processed into biodiesel fuel.
The project has the potential to produce 5,000 gallons of oil per acre per year, according to Doug Lynn, executive director of CEHMM.
Related blog post:
Letter to NM Governor from CEHMM Oil from Algae Project
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Milking Diatoms for Sustainable Energy
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Along with colleagues from the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore, Dr. Richard Gordon argues in a new paper, titled "Milking Diatoms for Sustainable Energy," that diatoms – a type of algae found in oceans and lakes – could even be engineered to secrete gasoline directly.
Gordon and his scientist colleagues have a problem with the current algae-to-fuel approach, in that it relies on the harvesting of algae as they rapidly reproduce. The harvested algae are then dried – that is, killed – and put through a series of production processes.
They go on to propose a way to alter the cells of diatoms, through genetic manipulation, to "actively secrete their own oil droplets." These engineered diatoms could then be bred in a type of solar panel designed to optimize conditions for photosynthesis and oil production.
As the diatoms gain mass by converting solar energy into oil, they will reach a stage where they automatically secrete oil droplets. Those droplets would then rise to the top, making the oil fairly simple to collect. It would be "very similar to the cream that rises to the top of mammalian milk that has not been homogenized," according to the study, published this month in the journal Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research.
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Labels: Algae-Biodiesel, Algae-Fuel-Research, Algae-Oil-Extraction
Navy Tests Alternative Fuels for Jets and Ships
You are at: Oilgae Blog.A team of chemists at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., is testing alternative fuel formulas using items such as algae, weeds, animal fats and liquefied coal.
Their goal is to create an alternative version of today’s jet fuel, known as JP-5, which could be easily transported and burned by today’s fleet.
Rick Kamin, the fuels lead for the Navy Energy Coordination Office, said, The Navy is working with General Electric, which manufactures the Super Hornet’s F414 engine, to test prospective fuels. Super Hornet-maker Boeing also is helping to test whether the fuels are compatible with the plane’s existing parts.
The Navy also is working to develop alternative fuel for ships, but officials have not decided what type of ship will be the first to test it, Kamin said.
Labels: Algae-Aviation-Fuel, Algae-Biodiesel
Pike Research Report - Biofuels Markets and Technologies
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The combined global biodiesel and ethanol markets will reach $247 billion in sales by 2020, up from $76 billion in 2010, Pike Research of Boulder said Monday.
Pike Research said it anticipates three key waves of biodiesel development over the next several years:
-- Fuels based on waste greases will reach market in 2010.
-- Jatropha-based fuels will begin having a significant impact on the market in 2014. Jatropha are plants native to Latin America that produced oil used to make biofuels in other countries.
-- Algae-based biodiesel will achieve commercial availability in 2012, Pike Research predicts, and will have a larger market impact beginning in 2016.
Know more about the report here
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The Welsh Assembly Government Supports Algae
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The Welsh Assembly Government (press release) is supporting a trial looking at how to use algae to feed off liquid digestate by-products from anaerobic digestion plants. It has given a £50,000 grant to community group Merlin Bio-developments to investigate the potential to further reduce the carbon footprint of AD facilities by using the liquid residues from the plants to encourage algae farming. Merlin Bio-developments said the algae could be used to capture carbon dioxide emitted from the AD process.
Currently, anaerobic digestion plants turn organic waste into bio-gas, a renewable source of energy. These plants are to play a major role in energy production in the coming years. As well as producing clean energy, the plants produce a by-product called ‘digestate’ that can be used as compost and a liquid fertiliser. The Assembly Government wants to see if extracts from the liquid element of this digestate can be used to grow algae, and potentially create a whole new market.
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Labels: Algae-Biodiesel, Algae-CO2-Capture
19th Annual EPAC Conference in Bozeman, MT
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Press Release:
19th Annual EPAC Conference in Bozeman, MT
Monday, June 29 at 1:00 p.m. speaker presentations begin with the session “Barley as a Fuel Feedstock”. Presenters will include Craig Shealy of Osage Bio Energy, Clifford Bradley, Montana Microbial Products, Butte, and Tom Blake, MSU Research Professor. This will be followed by Biofuel Projects, Opportunities & Challenges with William Hagy, Under Secretary for Rural Development, USDA, Washington DC; John Urbanchuk, Economist, LECG, Pennsylvania. Yellowstone National Park Ranger, Jim Evanoff will then speak to Fuel Performance, Park use of Biofuels and the Clean Cities Program.
Tuesday July 30, the conference includes sessions that build on research and development of the innovative use of distillers grains. Presentations will expand discussion of distillers grains for medical and food use that was presented at the 2008 conference as well as present additional research currently being done on the beneficial value of biofuels coproducts. A biodiesel fuel session will follow with presentations from Joe Jobe, Executive Director of the National Biodiesel Board, and Camelina for Biodiesel with Alice Pilgeram, MSU Researcher and Biofuel Impact and Update for Montana by Howard Haines, MT DEQ.
The final conference session includes presentations on Biomass Energy through Anaerobic Digester, Algae Biofuel, Conversion and Advanced harvest and Collection of Biomass and Advanced Integrated Biofuels with animal production.
Conference sponsors include Abengoa Bioenergy, CHS, Fagen, Inc. KATZEN International, National Biodiesel Board, Montana Department of Environmental Quality, Montana Wheat & Barley committee and Prime Biosolutions.
For additional information and/or to register the 19th Annual EPAC Biofuel Conference, visit www.ethanolmt.org.
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Labels: Algae-Biodiesel
Algaewheel to Build Algae System to process Town Wastewater
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Last month, the Reynolds Town Council approved a plan by Indianapolis-based algaewheel Inc. to build a special system using algae to process the town's wastewater.
After passing through a series of filters, wastewater will flow through the wheels. The algae, simple organisms that use photosynthesis to turn sunlight into energy, will feed on nutrients in the wastewater. After passing through filters and a disinfection system, the treated wastewaster exits the plant.
This is an excellent approach to derive energy from waste. The process will create gas and oil, which can be burned to help power the facility, Thieneman said. The Reynolds facility, the largest one of its kind so far produced by the company, will be able to handle 90,000 gallons of wastewater per day, Thieneman said.
The company is paying for construction and plans to use the facility as an example for future such plants, Thieneman said.By the way, have you subscribed to the Oilgae Blog?; How about joining the Oilgae mailing list?; and our forum to discuss on with others?
Labels: Algae-Biodiesel, Algae-Cultivation-Sewage, Algae-Energy-Companies
Solazyme's Soladiesel Undergoes Field Testing
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Solazyme said it recently raised $57 million to enable its march toward commercializing its technology.New investors include VantagePoint Partners and undisclosed companies that do business in the markets Solazyme is targeting, Solzyme said.
Solazyme is not only developing fuels for the transportation market, from cars to jets, it also wants to sell to the cosmetic and food industries.
The new funding would enable Solazyme to boost its production and attract customers. The company is developing ways to turn its algal oil into diesel and jet fuel. The first product is branded Soladiesel, which has been undergoing field testing, the company said.
Harrison Dillon, chief technology officer said previously that the company was primarily interested in selling the algal oil to companies that would then process the oil into transportation fuel or other products. But if the company were to enter the fuel-making market itself, then biodiesel is the likely product, he added.
Solazyme could find more immediate market opportunities in the selling its algal oil to cosmetic and edible oil makers.
Related blogs:
Harrison Dillon of Solazyme weighs in on the hurdles of Algae Fuel
Solazyme Taps Public Policy Veteran David Isaacs for SVP of Government Relations Role
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Texas Researchers are Working on Saltwater Algae for Biofuel Production
Texas researchers are working to transform algae fuel into a commercially competitive process. Both Texas A&M and the University of Texas at Austin are deeply involved in algae research, and private corporations in Texas also are exploring its potential. Texas A&M is producing oil-rich algae at a test facility just west of Pecos.
At the test facility near Pecos, researchers are growing algae in raceway ponds. Bob Avant, bio-energy program director for Texas AgriLife Research said researchers are working with saltwater algae that have a higher oil content than that found in freshwater varieties. And there are other advantages. If the saltwater algae find their way into a freshwater lake or stream, they're unlikely to survive and create problems for native species.
Periodically, a portion of the algae in a raceway is removed to be processed. Deprived of nutrients, the algae is basically stressed out, which causes it to produce more oil. The cell walls of the algae are broken down to extract the oil.
Researchers in Pecos are using centrifuges for that presently, but Avant said that new techniques need to be developed to make that process more economical.
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Algebra of Algae to Biodiesel and Co2 Sequestration
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Here is yet another research effort for Algae Co2 Sequestration. Environment Research Web has published an interesting blog entitled "Algebra of Algae to Biodiesel". This article compares the algae biodiesel production and CO2 emmision in US.
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Labels: Algae-Biodiesel, Algae-CO2-Capture
Residential-sized biofuel unit in California
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California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger joined San Diego-based GreenHouse on the steps of the State Capitol as E-Fuel Corp. unveiled the final production model of the revolutionary E-Fuel MicroFueler, a portable micro-refinery fuel system for consumer use. The State of California's Department of General Services is also exploring a pilot program to test the MicroFueler with its flex-fuel vehicles.
The E-Fuel distribution system produces organic fuel by using carbohydrate waste products found in brewery waste, algae and cellulose. Using semiconductor technology, the appliance-sized units are pump-stations and ethanol distillers that can be installed at residences by the GreenHouse distribution team.
Each MicroFueler requires three kilowatts of electricity to produce a gallon of Efuel100, in turn one gallon of Efuel100 will generate up to 23 kilowatts of power. The system's proponents claim the ethanol generated will play an integral part in reducing California greenhouse gas emissions.
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Labels: Algae-Biodiesel, Algae-Energy-Products
Renewed World Energies Uses Algae to Capture CO2
You are at: Oilgae Blog.RWE will be building its first facility in Georgetown County, South Carolina. South Carolina is where RWE’s oil processing plant and algae bioreactors will be located. The company grows several different strains of algae and has a “proprietary automated harvesting technology.”
Besides growing the algae, RWE recently announced a process that captures the CO2 and nitrous oxide from smokestacks to grow algae. In essence, the company is using the pollution generated from power plants and industrial smokestacks to grow clean energy products thereby killing two birds with one stone. I think this will be a fantastic idea of Co2 Sequestration as well as producing energy.
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Labels: Algae-Biodiesel, Algae-CO2-Capture, Algae-Energy-Companies
Raffaello Garofalo says Algae byproducts Will Reduce the Cost of Algae Fuel
You are at: Oilgae Blog.Research into algae-made biofuels has been active in the last 3 to 5 years, but it would take another 10 to 15 years to turn laboratory experiments into industrial-scale production, said Raffaello Garofalo, executive director of the European Algae Biomass Association.
Making biodiesel from algae costs at least 10 to 30 times more than making traditional biofuels at present, he said.
But extracting value from by-products, which can be used in animal feed or pharmaceutical industries, would help bring down overall price and make algae fuel competitive with traditional fuels faster, he said, adding that he saw a competitive price level at about $500 to $550 per tonne of biodiesel.
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Labels: Algae-Biodiesel, Algae-Energy-Companies, Algae-Meal
OriginOil attends Southern California Investment Association's Conference.
You are at: Oilgae Blog.Southern California Investment Association, Inc (SCIA) is organising "Beat the June Gloom Conference" Saturday June 6th, 2009 at the Hilton Hotel, Irvine, CA. SCIA National Small Cap Syndicate is a comprehensive national organization developed to facilitate stock support and capital formation for small and emerging-growth companies.
The companies attending this conference include:
1. Bond Laboratories
2. International Fuel Technology
3. Newport Digital Technologies
4. Only Nature's Finest and
5. OriginOil, Inc.
Source
www.SCIAconference.com
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Labels: Algae-Biodiesel, Algae-Energy-Companies
Virgin Galactic is Constructing Spaceships running on Algae Fuels
You are at: Oilgae Blog.Virgin Galactic, a subsidiary of the Virgin Group, is constructing space ships that are designed to run in part on alternative fuels.
Over the past few months, pilots have conducted several test flights of the space-launch vehicle Eve. Eve's jet engines will run on kerosene initially but are also capable of running on butanol, a biofuel that can be made from algae.
‘The [carbon] cost of us putting someone into space will be less than flying to London and back on a commercial plane,’ Richard Branson, owner of Virgin Group, says.
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Labels: Algae-Biodiesel, Algae-Fuel-Research
University of Georgia Researchers are Studing Algae
You are at: Oilgae Blog.University of Georgia engineers are searching for non-food crops that can be used to make alternative fuels.
The oilseed radish is one crop that could be used to produce biodiesel in Georgia, said Dan Geller, a biological engineer with the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.
The economic evaluation showed the oilseed radish had potential to be an economically viable crop for Georgia, McKissick said. But more research is needed to determine the yield and costs of producing the crop.
College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences researchers in University of Georgia are also studying the use of algae, switchgrass and sunflower as oil sources for biodiesel production.
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Labels: Algae-Biodiesel, Algae-Cultivation
Odessa Public Development Authority to Build Algae Pond for Biodiesel
You are at: Oilgae Blog.Odessa Public development authority will build an infrastucture to serve an industrial park dedicated to innovative green business. The anchor tenant N.W Industrial service that lease the facility from OPDA for a green waste composting facility, a food waste anaerobic digester and lgae ponds. the composting facility will produce high grade compost, the anaerobic digester will produce 3MW of renewable energy and algae ponds will provide oil feedstock for the odessa biodiesel facility.
This project is known to create 40 direct green collar job.
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Labels: Algae-Biodiesel, Algae-Fuel-Research
Sebastien Remy-Airbus's Expert on Biofuels Compares Algae and Yeast
You are at: Oilgae Blog.Mr Remy said algae still remained the holy grail for biofuel researchers because potential yields were outstanding, relative to all other sources. He said algae could probably be grown in coastal areas but yeast might be better for heavily populated areas away from the sea.
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Labels: Algae-Aviation-Fuel, Algae-Biodiesel
Bio Blend fuels Inc. is working on Algae Biodiesel
You are at: Oilgae Blog.American Fuel Blending Systems offers its first Bio-Diesel Blending Station. This unit is a portable, above ground and self contained dispensing system that live blends Bio-Diesel and regular Diesel into B20, B50, and B99 products. The blend can also be programmed to suit individual needs as well. Units are also available for ethanol blending.
The bio diesel is supplied by Bio Blend fuels Inc. The Bio Blend Fuels plant opened in May of this year. Currently the plant can produce up to 2.6 million gallons of ASTM quality fuel. Future plans call for operation of three shifts and increasing the production capacity of the proprietary manufacturing method for a capacity total of up to 5.2 million gallons a year. Fuel is primarily produced from waste streams such as bacon grease, choice white grease or tallow.
Bio Blend Fuels is working on a system that will grow and harvest algae for bio diesel production in their in house field testing laboratory.
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Labels: Algae-Biodiesel, Algae-Energy-Companies
University of Coimbra Researchers Identify Six Oil-producing Algae
You are at: Oilgae Blog.A team of researchers from the faculty of science and technology of the University of Coimbra is attempting to produce biodiesel on a commercial scale from microscopic algae. They have identified six micro-algae which have massive potential for biodiesel production. One strain is already being tested in a high-capacity bioreactor which handles large quantities of oil for conversion to biodiesel. In the next few months, the researchers will test five other strains with high oil content. At the same time, they will optimise the large-scale production process, in order to bring this new technology to market. The minimum objective of the project is to produce an average of 90,000 litres per hectare per year.
Source: Environmental expert.com
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Labels: Algae-Biodiesel, Algae-Fuel-Research, Algae-Strains
Algae CO2 Capture in Coal Power Station
You are at: Oilgae Blog.Loy Yang Power has signed a memorandum of understanding with MBD Energy, a private Melbourne company whose algae-based technology will allow the brown-coal power station to cut its emissions of carbon dioxide.
The technology provides an alternative to carbon capture and sequestration for all coal-fired power stations in Australia, and can also be used by other big emitters such as mining plants or cement factories.
Under the deal, a $2.1 million display plant will be built next to Loy Yang by the end of the year. If successful, the second phase would involve a $23 million pilot plant in 2011, leading to the construction of a $300 million demonstration plant in 2013.
MBD's process involves capturing flue gasses, including carbon dioxide, from the power station and injecting them into circulating waste water to produce oil-rich algae. The process also purifies the waste water.
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Labels: Algae-Biodiesel, Algae-CO2-Capture, Algae-Cultivation-Sewage, Algae-Meal
GPRE and Bioprocessalgae LLC Complete $2.1 Million Grant for Algae Pilot Project
You are at: Oilgae Blog.Press release:
Green Plains Renewable Energy, Inc. and BioProcessAlgae LLC have executed a grant award agreement with the Iowa Office of Energy Independence for a $2.1 million research and development grant from the Iowa Power Fund to build an algae pilot project at Green Plains’ ethanol plant in Shenandoah, Iowa.
The Iowa Power Fund grant provides matching funds to install a series of photobioreactor units at Green Plains’ Shenandoah ethanol plant. Water, heat and carbon dioxide will be recycled from the ethanol manufacturing process to support continuous algae production. The grant provides funding through the end of the first quarter of calendar year 2010 with installation of the pilot project expected in the third quarter of 2009.
“BioProcessAlgae and its technology partners have made significant progress in the engineering, design and development of photobioreactor systems for algae production,” said Kevin Lynch, Chief Executive Officer of BioProcessAlgae. “The project will give us the opportunity to test our systems on a larger scale. This is a very important step toward system commercialization of algae technology.”
“The Shenandoah algae project is an opportunity to help the environment, the ethanol industry and the Iowa economy,” Becker stated. “Green Plains is committed to the advancement of next generation technologies and we appreciate the vision and assistance of Iowa Governor Chet Culver and the Iowa Office of Energy Independence in the development of this project.”
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Related blogs:
Iowa Approves $2 Million for Algae Fuel Project
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Labels: Algae-Biodiesel, Algae-Energy-Companies, Algae-Photobioreactor
Genifuel Gasifies Algae to Get Natural Gas
You are at: Oilgae Blog.Genifuel wants to turn the pond scum into natural gas. The company is using catalytic hydrothermal gasification to create natural gas out of algae in a quick and efficient manner. It has obtained license from Pacific Northwest National Labs for its technology.
Genifuel claims that its gasification process has advantages over processes used by companies that turn algae into liquid fuels. Algae fuel producers have to separate water from algae to make fuel, Genifuel's process allows algae to go in wet.
To read more about catalytic gasification of wet biomass see Elliott's original paper
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Labels: Algae-Biodiesel, Algae-Energy-Companies, Algae-Energy-Products
First economical process to turn Algae Oil to Biodiesel - Ben Wen
You are at: Oilgae Blog.Ben Wen is the lead researcher and vice president of United Environment and Energy LLC, Horseheads, N.Y. According to him, “This is the first economical way to produce biodiesel from algae oil. It costs much less than conventional processes because you would need a much smaller factory, there are no water disposal costs, and the process is considerably faster.”
They are using a proprietary solid catalyst developed in their laboratory. Solid catalyst have several advantages over liquid catalyst like, they can be utilized repeatedly, a continuous flowing production of biodiesel can be maintained and there is no need for neutralization.
Wen explains that the solid catalyst continuous flow method can be tailored into mobile units so that smaller companies wouldn’t have to construct plants and the military could use the process in the field.
According to him, his firm is currently conducting a pilot program for the process with a production capacity of nearly 1 million gallons of algae biodiesel per year. Depending upon the size of the machinery and the plant, he said it is possible that a company can produce up to 50 million gallons of algae biodiesel every year.
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Labels: Algae-Biodiesel, Algae-Energy-Companies
Terrafinity catalyst for high FFA feedstock - Wake Forest University
You are at: Oilgae Blog.Researchers at Wake Forest University seem to have a formula for a catalyst that could lower the cost of producing biodiesel enough so that it could provide 5 percent of the nation's needs.
Researchers are developing an inexpensive method for converting the free fatty acids into biodiesel with a yield greater than 98 percent in less than 15 minutes. The catalyst can be produced for 11 cents a gram in the laboratory, although Lachgar,a chemistry professor at the university, said that the per-gram cost will be significantly reduced in a commercial setting.
The initial build-out cost for the project is about $85,000 -- $70,000 for a building large enough to handle production and $15,000 for the equipment and safety features. Researchers are pursuing grants and eventually plan to pitch their technology to energy companies, such as Duke Energy Corp.
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Labels: Algae-Biodiesel
Sapphires Carbon Calculation for Algae Cultivation
You are at: Oilgae Blog.Although the company uses energy to transport CO2 and water to its algae-production facilities in the New Mexico desert and to transport fuels they produce Zenk said, Sapphire's lifecycle emissions are two-thirds to three-quarters less than those of producing standard diesel.
Raytheon Co., National Energy Technology Laboratory, and other companies are also looking into the reuse of CO2 emissions for algae production.
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Labels: Algae-Biodiesel, Algae-CO2-Capture, Algae-Energy-Companies
San diego research Institutes, Biotechs to collaborate on Algae Biofuel
leaders of the region's scientific, academic, biotechnology and political communities announced that they were forming the San Diego Center for Algae Biotechnology, or SD-CAB, to capitalize on this expertise.
Ponds circulated water filled with growing algae at a research facility in the Imperial Valley. (Jim Demattia)
Working together, the groups hope to attract much-needed money from federal and state governments to foster commercialization of algal fuel and other products.
“We already have a collaborative community of scientists and entrepreneurs that gave rise to a thriving biotechnology cluster in San Diego,” said Marye Anne Fox, chancellor of the University of California San Diego. “Now we want to focus on building a segment of that community to create biofuel and other products out of algae.”
The center, which will be virtual and not require a building, should help attract grants and other resources to the region, Fox said.
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Labels: Algae-Biodiesel, Algae-Energy-Companies, Algae-Fuel-Research
California Trusts Algae for GHG Emission Reduction
Today, the Air Resources Board adopted a regulation that will implement Governor Schwarzenegger's Low Carbon Fuel Standard calling for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from California's transportation fuels by ten percent by 2020. The new regulation is aimed at diversifying the variety of fuels used for transportation. It will boost the market for alternative-fuel vehicles and achieve 16 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emission reductions by 2020
"The new standard means we can begin to break our century-old dependence on petroleum and provide California with greater energy security" said ARB Chairman Mary D. Nichols. "The drive to force the market toward greater use of alternative fuels will be a boon to the state's economy and public health - it reduces air pollution, creates new jobs and continues California's leadership in the fight against global warming."
According to ARB analyses, to produce the more than 1.5 billion gallons of biofuels needed, over 25 new biofuel facilities will have to be built and will create more than 3,000 new jobs, mostly in the state's rural areas. Production of fuels within the state will also keep consumer dollars local by reducing the need to make fuel purchases from beyond its borders.
Seeking to enhance private sector and federal investment into alternative fuel production and distribution, California is also providing funding to assist in the early development and deployment of the most promising low-carbon fuels. The Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program, AB 118 (Nunez, 2007), managed by the California Energy Commission, will provide approximately $120 million dollars per year over seven years to deploy the cleanest fuels and vehicles.
Regulators expect the new generation of fuels to come from the development of technology that uses algae, wood, agricultural waste such as straw, common invasive weeds such as switchgrass, and even from municipal solid waste.
The standard is also expected to drive the availability of plug-in hybrid, battery electric and fuel-cell powered cars while promoting investment in electric charging stations and hydrogen fueling stations.
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Labels: Algae-Biodiesel, Algae-CO2-Capture, Algae-Energy-Investments
Algae-to-Fuel Research Enjoys Resurgence at NREL
You are at: Oilgae Blog.Today, NREL has resumed that work, while putting a greater emphasis on understanding their basic biology. When these microalgae are starved of the nutrients they need, their lipid content can increase as much as 60%.
NREL and Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX) are working under a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) in which NREL is boosting microalgae's productivity. Chevron anticipates using the resulting oil as a feedstock for renewable transportation fuels.
But not every strain contains all the qualities required to produce algae fuel--growing fast, growing fat and tolerating a wide variety of conditions.
And, different strains have evolved under different conditions in different locales. It's unlikely, Darzins says, that one strain would be used nationwide because of regional differences in climate and water.
"We've only begun to scratch the surface," Darzins said. "We need to understand the lipid pathways and what regulates their lipid production and growth."
Currently NREL's algae experiments are limited to 1-liter flasks under fluorescent light. When renovations to the greenhouse at the Field Test Laboratory Building are completed, algae strains can be tested in 75 gallon batches under natural light conditions, which can be 10 times more intensive than artificial lighting.
"Some strains that look good now may not maximize photosynthesis when we scale up or expose them to natural light," Darzins said.
Within a few years, Darzins hopes to complete construction of new outdoor ponds behind the FTLB that will test algae strains, production systems and harvesting methods at scales up to 100 acres.
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Labels: Algae-Biodiesel, Algae-Fuel-Research
Defense Officials Take Active Interest in Green Energy
You are at: Oilgae Blog.Alan R. Shaffer, director of defense research and engineering at the Pentagon, acknowledges that $300 million - although a lot of money - is a modest sum to invest in alternative energy.
But, Shaffer told The Post, the money will help speed up work already under way. In one project, the Pentagon is developing lightweight photo-voltaic mats that can draw solar power to run equipment. In another, officials are working on mobile mini-refineries that turn waste generated in the field - recyclables and plain old garbage - into biodiesel.
Other ventures, such as converting algae into a type of jet fuel and refining hybrid engines for use by military vehicles, also hold promise. Officials say some efforts, such as improving the application of spray-foam insulation for tents in Iraq, have already proven successful, saving millions of dollars in energy costs.
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Labels: Algae-Biodiesel, Algae-Energy-Investments
Innovation Fuels Working on Algae and pennycress Recently Receives BQ-9000 Accreditation
You are at: Oilgae Blog.Innovation Fuels currently operates integrated biorefineries within the United States at strategic port locations including New York Harbor and Port of Milwaukee that provide for the supply to regional customers and a network of international partners. Innovation Fuels is also dedicated toward creating green jobs including more than thirty (30) local green jobs at its New York Harbor biorefinery in Newark, NJ.
Biodiesel is produced by chemically reacting alcohol with vegetable oils, fats, or greases. Using innovative, proprietary production technology, Innovation Fuels biodiesel is the highest quality at the lowest cost to its customers. The company is also working toward the development of next generation feedstocks including pennycress and algae - all crops that don't divert resources away from feeding people.
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Labels: Algae-Biodiesel, Algae-Energy-Companies
Air Force Explores Algae & Corn Husks to Power Aircraft
You are at: Oilgae Blog.Air Force and airline officials said they want to develop alternative types of fuel to decrease their dependence on foreign oil. As part of that effort, three types of Air Force aircraft — the B-1, B-52 and C-17 — are certified to fly on a mixture of 50 percent conventional fuel and either 50 percent coal or 50 percent natural gas.
The Air Force has also flown B-2s, KC-135s, F-15s, F-22s as well as T-38 trainers on the 50-50 blends, and those aircraft are in the process of being certified to use those fuels, said Gary Strasburg, Air Force chief of environmental public affairs. Officials from the other branches could not be reached for comment.
"Developing these kinds of fuels from items that are available in the United States makes us less vulnerable," Strasburg said. "We have a goal of having all aircraft in the Air Force certified to be able to fly on a 50-50 blend of synthetic fuel by 2011."
But the military is also exploring the potential of using biofuels, which can be derived from plants, corn husks and algae. The Pentagon is working with the civilian airline industry as part of the Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative, Strasburg said.
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Labels: Algae-Aviation-Fuel, Algae-Biodiesel, Algae-Energy-Companies
Canadian government funds eight carbon-capture technology projects
You are at: Oilgae Blog.The federal government has put up $140 million for eight projects aimed at refining and proving carbon capture and storage technology.
The Great Plains Synfuels plant in North Dakota pipes its CO2 to the Estevan oilfield, where it is injected into the ground to create pressure that will allow the extraction of more oil.
Ken Caldeira, a climate scientist with the Carnegie Institution in Stanford, Calif., said - the problem with this technology is that liquefying coal, then burning the synthetic oil that results, emits 25 to 50 per cent more CO2 per energy unit than petroleum does.
Scientists have known for a while now that some strains of algae can be converted to biodiesel fuel, but the process was slow and expensive.
Now they’ve found that a particular metal oxide can be the catalyst for quicker, cheaper conversion of the algae.
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Labels: Algae-Biodiesel, Algae-CO2-Capture, Algae-Energy-Investments
Powerful Ideas: Wringing Oil from Algae
You are at: Oilgae Blog.Currently, there are two main strategies for growing algae: open ponds or closed bioreactors. Ponds are cheaper, but there's a danger of unwanted species blowing in.
In either case, one of the difficult steps is separating the tiny organisms from the water. Ohio-based AlgaeVenture Systems announced a new way to "dewater" algae using capillary action rather than centrifuges.
"We have demonstrated a truly disruptive technology that reduces [the dewatering] cost by more than 99 percent - from $875 per ton to $1.92 per ton," said Ross Youngs, CEO of Univenture, parent corporation of AlgaeVenture Systems, in a press release.
Once the algae is dry, the oil can be extracted using mechanical or chemical crushing, Byrne explained. It could then be burned as is, but some chemical processing is usually done to make it into biodiesel or jet fuel.
For this last step, United Environment and Energy (UEE) in Horseheads, N.Y., has developed a solid catalyst that can drive the chemical reactions without generating as much waste as do current methods that rely on liquid catalysts.
"No water is used in our process so that no waste water is produced," said Ben Wen of UEE, who presented the new method at last week's American Chemical Society meeting.
And because the solid catalyst can be used over and over, the production of biodiesel can be more continuous.
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Labels: Algae-Biodiesel, Algae-Cultivation, Algae-Fuel-Research
Lipid Productivity Of Algae Grown On Dairy Wastewater As A Possible Feedstock For Biodiesel
You are at: Oilgae Blog.An excellent document on using dairy waste water as a effort to produce energy from waste- "LIPID PRODUCTIVITY OF ALGAE GROWN ON DAIRY WASTEWATER AS A POSSIBLE FEEDSTOCK FOR BIODIESEL" byCalifornia Polytechnic University.
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Labels: Algae-Biodiesel, Algae-Cultivation, Algae-Cultivation-Sewage
Cheaper way of Making Biodiesel from Algae
You are at: Oilgae Blog.Chemists reported development of what they termed the first economical, eco-friendly process to convert algae oil into biodiesel fuel — a discovery they predict could one day lead to U.S. independence from petroleum as a fuel.
The study was presented recently at the 237th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society.One of the problems with current methods for producing biodiesel from algae oil is the processing cost, and the New York researchers say their innovative process is at least 40 percent cheaper than that of others now being used. Supply will not be a problem: There is a limitless amount of algae growing in oceans, lakes, and rivers, throughout the world.
Another benefit from the "continuously flowing fixed-bed" method to create algae biodiesel, they add, is that there is no waste water produced to cause pollution.
A key advantage of this new process, he says, is that it uses a proprietary solid catalyst developed at his company instead of liquid catalysts used by other scientists today. First, the solid catalyst can be used over and over. Second, it allows the continuously flowing production of biodiesel, compared to the method using a liquid catalyst.
That process is slower because workers need to take at least a half hour after producing each batch to create more biodiesel. They need to purify the biodiesel by neutralizing the base catalyst by adding acid. No such action is needed to treat the solid catalyst, Wen explains.
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Labels: Algae-Biodiesel, Algae-Energy-Products
APS to Bury C02, Run Experimental Algae-biofuel Plants
You are at: Oilgae Blog.APS has also experimented with capturing carbon to grow algae at their Redhawk natural gas power plant near the Palo Verde nuclear plant. The algae then produced biofuel which fueled company vehicles, however a planned large-scale demonstration of algae capture at the Four-Corners Power Plant by the Greenfuels Corporation was halted. The hope was that either biofuel for external use or some form of algae based fuel could actually power one of the Four-Corners boilers in lieu of burning some coal.
Fox said that APS will be using their own algae creation technology to capture carbon emissions, "Our first bioreactor has been operating for a few weeks and shows great promise to be a design that can be commercialized. In fact, we are building a small operation at the Redhawk plant to prove its scalability. That should be operational later this year."
Fox said that the question of how long carbon capture of some sort could extend the life of the Cholla plant "is a very complicated question and the answer has a lot to do with the cost of carbon in a carbon-regulated program and the cost of sequestration versus other technologies, including algae. I will make the assumption that if CO2 can be successfully captured and managed (either geologic sequestration or algae or something else), there will be no reason to close the plants provide we are able to meet other environmental standards and I have little doubt that we can do that now and in the future"
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Labels: Algae-Biodiesel, Algae-CO2-Capture, Algae-Cultivation
Thermo-chemical Conversion to Make Biofuels From Algae - A Reality
You are at: Oilgae Blog.The traditional method to produce biofuel from algae calls for extracting algae oil from the other biomass components and converting it via transesterification, Schideman said, but extraction methods are relatively expensive.An alternative processing method is called thermo-chemical conversion, or TCC, a chemical process that transforms organic compounds in a heated and pressurized enclosure to produce a biocrude oil
"It simulates the processes that went on in the earth when our petroleum reserves were formed. You're just doing it a lot faster," Schideman said."It's my opinion that TCC will be a very important technology in helping biofuels from algae become a reality."
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Labels: Algae-Biodiesel, Algae-Energy-Products
Indonesia and South Korea to Develop Biofuel from Seaweed
You are at: Oilgae Blog.The use of seaweed as the raw material for biofuel production is expected to draw support from environmentalists, who recently criticized the use of land-based raw materials such as palm oil, maize and sugar cane as having caused massive deforestation across Indonesia’s tropical forests.
Secretary general of Indonesia Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry Widi Agoes Pratikto and president of the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology (KITECH) Kyoung-hoan Na signed a memorandum of understanding for the biofuel development in Jakarta on Saturday, marking a joint cooperation to harness Indonesia’s abundant seaweed resources.
The agreement was signed at a meeting between chambers of commerce and industry from the two countries, and was witnessed by Indonesia’s Acting Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Sri Mulyani Indrawati and South Korea’s Knowledge Economy Minister Lee Youn-Ho.
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Labels: Algae-Biodiesel, Algae-Cultivation-Marine
Solid Catalyst to Convert Algae into Biodiesel
You are at: Oilgae Blog.United Environment & Energy, an engineering company in Horseheads, N.Y., uses a "mixed metal oxide" catalyst (a form of certain metals resistant to corrosion but reactive). chemical engineer Ben Wen and his colleagues at United have come up with a conversion process that is 40 percent cheaper than an industrial scale version of the traditional methanol and lye process . That process must also be finished by purifying the biodiesel with water to wash out left over chemicals that then linger in the water.
This new process would make biodiesel that also doesn't require the purification step, because there is no liquid catalyst mixed into the resulting fuel, Wen says. He notes that his company has made around 10 gallons of algae biodiesel this way to date, though its main interest is not in manufacturing the fuel but in selling the technology to make it to other companies. He says there are already some takers—including one that has made at least 100 gallons of the fuel and certified it to ASTM standards, a legal requirement to be sold in the U.S.—but he declined to identify any of them.
Other refining or fuel companies, such as Illinois-headquartered UOP and San Diego-based Sapphire Energy, are also aiming at producing oil and fuel alternatives from algae but have struggled to get adequate supplies of it. Wen says his company has a "stable supplier" of algae oil that he also refused to identify for competitive reasons. He adds that said supplier was not U.S.-based as environmental regulations in this country hamper use of the toxic solvents necessary to extract oil from the algae. "Algae growth is not a big problem, people know how to grow it," he says. "The big barrier is extraction."
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Labels: Algae-Biodiesel, Algae-Energy-Companies, Algae-Fuel-Research
Venice's Seaport Plans For a Power Plant Fueled By Algae
You are at: Oilgae Blog.Venice's seaport plans to become self-sufficient in its energy needs by building a power plant fueled by algae, in what would be the first facility of its kind in Italy, the port authority said.
The plant will be operative in two years and produce 40 megawatts of electricity, Venice's port authority said, adding that an emissions-free energy source would help preserve the historic lagoon city's delicate ecological balance.
In Venice, the algae will be cultivated in laboratories and put in plastic cylinders where water, carbon dioxide, and sunshine trigger photosynthesis. The resulting biomass will be treated further to produce a fuel to turn turbines.The carbon dioxide produced in the process is to be fed back to the algae, resulting in zero emissions from the plant.
The port needs about 7 megawatts to satisfy its energy needs, so the excess energy could be supplied to ships docked at the harbor, it said.
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Labels: Algae-Biodiesel, Algae-Energy-Investments, Algae-Fuel-Research
Catfish Farmers Becoming Landlords of Algae
You are at: Oilgae Blog.
The Scottsdale, Ariz.-based company wants to convert Barret's catfish ponds into an algae farm to produce alternative fuel, paying the owner of B&B Fish Farm thousands of dollars to baby-sit the new and unusual crop.
Barret and Jordan have agreed to lease their old catfish ponds to PetroSun to grow algae used in the production of biodiesel, ethanol, and livestock feed. The company plans to begin algae-to-biofuel operations after obtaining permits from the Department of Environmental Quality and other state agencies. Former catfish farm employees would help harvest the algae.
Terri Chiang, an authorized agent for PetroSun BioFuels, has been introducing the lease program to state officials and catfish farmers in Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Alabama. She said it's like an oil and gas lease.
Labels: Algae-Biodiesel, Algae-Cultivation, Algae-Cultivation-Open-Pond
PetroSun provide Algae Biodiesel for Emissions Studies
You are at: Oilgae Blog.The emissions studies conducted by Carnegie Mellon will include the investigation for scientific evidence that the emissions from the combustion of algae derived biofuels are characterized and provide a comparison of emissions to that of fossil fuel combustion. The program calls for emissions testing from several different sources.
The UCLA program, funded by a multi-year grant from the US Department of Energy, will conduct research to advance scientific knowledge of particulate emission rates and the chemical and physical properties of those particles relevant to climate. Other properties of the fuel such as nitrogen oxide emissions and organic compound speciation may also be completed.
The NextEnergy research will be conducted as part of the National Biofuel Energy Laboratory program based in Detroit, Michigan. The goal of the project will be directed at comparing the effect of biofuels on a lab scale basis, engine dynamometers and the operation of vehicles during cold weather.
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Labels: Algae-Biodiesel, Algae-CO2-Capture
Aurora's algae payoff: $50 a barrel.
You are at: Oilgae Blog.Aurora Biofuels on Wednesday said that it has completed a successful trial of growing algae for biofuels and named former Royal Dutch Shell executive Robert Walsh CEO. The company has been running a test at growing algae in two outdoor ponds--each about as big as an Olympic-size swimming pool--in Florida for the past year and a half.
Based on the results of that test, the company expects it can create a larger-scale demonstration facility that's 50 acres in size late next year, said Walsh who joined Aurora Biofuels from biofuel company LS9. The company raised $20 million last July to build that planned plant.
The biofuels industry has been hit particularly hard by the financial markets meltdown and recession. Several new technology companies are developing techniques for turning algae into fuel because it isn't food and can grow in a wide range of conditions.
The challenge, though, is making and harvesting algae at large scale at a price that's competitive with other feedstocks, such as palm oil or soybeans. Aurora Biofuels is using a combination of biotechnology and engineering techniques to bring the cost down, said Walsh.
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Labels: Algae-Biodiesel, Algae-Energy-Companies
BioCentric Energy to Unveil the Algae Pro Closed Loop Photobioreactor Solution
You are at: Oilgae Blog.BioCentric Energy Algae agreed to speak at the ALGAE WORLD 2009 in Rotterdam this April. It is at this forum that BioCentric Energy Algae will release to the world their Provisional Patent Pending Invention of their Low Cost Closed Loop "Algae Pro Photobioreactor Solution."
Quality targeted algae, grown inexpensively and exclusively in our patent pending closed loop 'Algae Pro Photobioreactor Solution,' is one fifth of the cost of our nearest competitor at $20 per square meter versus the minimum of $100 per square meter and up.
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Labels: Algae-Biodiesel, Algae-Photobioreactor
Shell Awards Prize For Scottish Bioenergy Cooperative Ventures
You are at: Oilgae Blog.Scottish Bioenergy Cooperative Ventures has been awarded the £40,000 ($57,000) Climate Change Innovation Prize from Royal Dutch Shell PLC’s Shell Springboard program. Based in St. Cyrus, Scotland, the company builds, sells and operates photobioreactors for capturing carbon dioxide emissions to grow algae feedstock for biodiesel production.
Scottish Bioenergy recently completed successfully testing a small-scale version of its photobioreactor at the Glenturret Distillery in Crieff, Scotland; the distillery was built in 1775 and the oldest working distillery in Scotland. Carbon dioxide from the distillery’s boiler exhaust was captured and percolated through the photobioreactor. The system also eliminated chemicals and copper from the waste exhaust.
The next phase of the project will be to build a photobioreactor at the distillery that’s capable of converting 20 metric tons of carbon dioxide into 6,000 liters (1,600 gallons) of biodiesel per year, according to The Edrington Group, which is backing the Scottish Bioenergy venture. The final phase will be to build a commercial-scale photobioreactor, larger than what the Glenturret Distillery can accommodate, to produce more than 1.2 metric tons of biodiesel per day.
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Labels: Algae-Biodiesel, Algae-Energy-Companies, Algae-Energy-Investments
Hemmers Thinks Algae as most Promising Source
You are at: Oilgae Blog.And while Hemmers thinks many technologies will play a role in the United States’ energy future — solar, wind, geothermal, nuclear — the most promising one in the short term is algae. By which he means algae as a source of biodiesel fuel. They would replace crude oil in the chemical industry, fit into our current energy infrastructure with the least disruption and slow greenhouse gas emissions as even cleaner sources of energy are developed.
By comparison, algae are highly efficient, grow quickly and can, best of all, be grown in vats. Hemmers says vats are important because in a vat, with the appropriate tubes and lights, you can transform algae agriculture into an industrial process for producing a highly predictable strain of algae. Maybe even more important, you can provide the perfect mix of light, nutrients and carbon dioxide to double the mass of the algae not every couple of months but every couple of hours.
There are two added bonuses to vats, Hemmers says. You can put them almost anywhere (Nevada would be good, lots of light and a decent temperature) and you can use them to capture the carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel power plants (Germany is already doing this with coal plants).
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Labels: Algae-Biodiesel, Algae-Fuel-Research
Algae Fuel: The Evolutionary Reason It Actually Works
You are at: Oilgae Blog.Everyone has heard the algae pitch by now. The rapid-growing, single-celled buggers produce an inordinate amount of oil. Approximately 30 percent of their body mass in a natural state is lipid content and genetic engineering and selective breeding can pop it up closer to 70 percent. The whole North Sea oil field was once a giant algal bloom.
Algae proponents say they will ultimately be able to get 5,000 to 10,000 gallons of oil per acre per year from algae. That’s better than cellulosic ethanol where the optimistic prognosis is 2,700 gallons. A couple of thousand square miles of desert land and you could provide all of the fuel the U.S. needs, in theory.
Solazyme says it will be in position to produce algae-based fuel that’s competitively priced in two to three years.Solix, says it costs $33 a gallon to produce algae fuel right now and that’s in optimal lab conditions.
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Labels: Algae-Biodiesel, Algae-Energy-Products
Algae a credible source says Professor Lance Schideman
You are at: Oilgae Blog.Schideman estimates producing biofuels from algae will be economically feasible within 10 years but predicts decades longer before it or any other biofuel could replace petroleum.
The University of Illinois is studying the harvesting of algae as a solution to the hypoxia problem created by algae growth in the Gulf of Mexico. And, it’s looking at carbon sequestration through algae biodiesel production.
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Labels: Algae-Biodiesel, Algae-Fuel-Research
Innovation Fuels Works on Algae, Jatropha & Pennycress
You are at: Oilgae Blog.Innovation Fuels is a leading biodiesel company with a global reach and mission to replace diesel fuel with sustainably produced biodiesel. Innovation Fuels biodiesel is the highest quality at the lowest cost to its customers. The company's is also working toward the development of next generation feedstocks including jatropha, pennycress, and algae - all crops that don't divert resources away from feeding people.
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Labels: Algae-Biodiesel, Algae-Energy-Companies
Solarvest Bioenergy Inc, receives Atlantic Innovation Fund Award
You are at: Oilgae Blog.Solarvest BioEnergy's team has demonstrated expertise in the manipulation of algae and microorganisms for industrial applications including experience with growing algae and bacteria at large scale, and experience with scaling up new technologies from the laboratory to full commercialization. As such, the company is well-positioned to deploy its skills in the development of biologically-based renewable energy. Algae have several advantages that make it the logical choice upon which to establish a renewable energy program. Algal ponds for biomass do not require arable land and can produce more fuel per acre than crop based sources. The development of biodiesel from algal oils will complement the company's progressive program for producing hydrogen from algae, another promising biofuel.
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Labels: Algae-Biodiesel, Algae-Energy-Companies
Petroalgae Grows Algae In Fellesmere
You are at: Oilgae Blog.
Since then, he said, the company has expanded from the lab to small-scale outdoor production with 35 of the company’s 100 employees.
Algae as paste. PetroAlgae workers will extract the oil
Tennant pointed to a series of vertical plastic tubes filled with clear water, light green water and darker green water, and bubbling with what he said was carbon-dioxide, the fuel for any plant.The tubes represented clean water, day-old algae and 3-day-old algae, he said.
PetroAlgae Vice President Fred Tennant says, after it sells the technology to alternate-fuel companies and they make enough oil to bring diesel prices down at filling stations.
“We’re working on a small scale of a commercial station, but big enough to show (clients) how they can take this and do it on 10,000 acres,” he said on a recent tour.
He has spent recent months flying to international board meetings to pitch the idea of growing algae — instead of corn or soybeans — to make biodiesel fuel and wean off the world’s dwindling supplies of fossil fuel.
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Labels: Algae-Biodiesel, Algae-Energy-Companies
Algae Biodiesel Costs 33$ a Gallon
You are at: Oilgae Blog.Algae biofuel startup Solix, for instance, can produce biofuel from algae right now, but it costs about $32.81 a gallon, said Bryan Wilson, a co-founder of the company and a professor at Colorado State University. The production cost is high because of the energy required to circulate gases and other materials inside the photo bioreactors where the algae grow. It also takes energy to dry out the biomass, and Solix uses far less water than other companies
By exploiting waste heat at adjacent utilities , the price can probably be brought down to $5.50 a gallon . By selling the proteins and other byproducts from the algae for pet food, the price can be brought to $3.50 a gallon in the near term.But that's still the equivalent of $150 a barrel of oil.
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Labels: Algae-Biodiesel, Algae-Energy-Companies, Algae-Energy-Cost
Solazyme Differs from its Competitors for its Algae Strains
You are at: Oilgae Blog.Dillon started Solazyme with some colleagues in 2003 , and kept a culture collection of a couple hundred Chlamydomonas strains in his own low-tech facility. "We bought the growth media, sterilized it in my kitchen, and stored it in the garage," he remembers.
They tried to grow the algae in outdoor ponds, but quickly realized that the productivity of the algae was nowhere near high enough to yield appreciable amounts of fuel. So they switched to heterotrophic species of algae, which directly consume carbon-based compounds rather than passively absorbing carbon dioxide from surrounding media.
Dillon says that he expects Solazyme to be producing algal biofuel at "demonstration levels of tens to thousands of gallons" per day by 2009, and aims to be producing its fuel products at commercial levels by 2011. "The scalability is not something that frightens me too much," he says.
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Labels: Algae-Biodiesel, Algae-Strains
Biofuels: The Next Generation - Algae
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The third generation of biofuels comes in the form of the water-based plants known as algae. The ability to transform algae into a biofuel is a burgeoning science, and could hold the future of the biofuel industry, although not without some hurdles to leap over first.
The primary downside to using algal biofuels is that they are not economical to produce, at least not with current technology. EERE says, "Based on conservative estimates, algal biofuels produced in large volumes with current technology would cost more than US$8 per gallon (in contrast to US$4 per gallon for soybean oil today)."
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Labels: Algae-Biodiesel, Algae-Cultivation, Algae-Oil-Extraction
Primafuel, Converting Algae to Green Gasoline
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Algae can be made into many useful products, including motor fuels. (Primafuel photo)Primafuel produces algae in what Iyer describes as a "low-input" process. Instead of starting with a fat or sugar that takes energy to produce, it grows algae in shallow, open ponds. The algae are "fed" sunlight, carbon dioxide and small amounts of "green" fertilizer (less than is required for growing crops).
According to Iyer, Primafuel's fertilizers are made from waste biomass, including grass clippings and woody residue. The biomass is converted into nitrogen-bearing ammonia, which is high in nitrogen. Since ammonia is usually produced from natural gas and coal, the process is a big improvement on business as usual. "We think it can help reduce the carbon intensity of all agriculture," Iyer said.
The fact that algae can make the desert bloom helps explain Primafuel's partnership with the Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research at Israel's Ben-Gurion University. "Algae research was once considered the fringe of the fringe, but finally the world has come to see its incredible potential," says Professor Sammy Boussiba of the Microalgal Biotechnology Laboratory at the Institutes.
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Labels: Algae-Biodiesel, Algae-Cultivation, Algae-Energy-Companies
Liverpool John Lennon airport Uses Algae For CO2 Sequestration
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LIVERPOOL John Lennon airport is testing a revolutionary scheme to convert harmful CO² emissions into car and aviation fuel.Airport chiefs are running a 12-month trial of new hardware designed to capture CO² emissions from passengers and workers in the terminal.
They will then be passed through a gadget containing algae, which will convert them into material capable of being made into a biofuel.
This will be used to power some of the airport’s diesel vehicles and, depending on the trial’s success, could even produce aviation-grade fuel.
Spokesman Amy Dartington said: “This is a cynical piece of spin to make the airport look greener while they are planning on extending the runway.Algae-to-biofuel technologies are still in their infancy and it is not clear how this particular piece of kit actually works.We look forward to seeing concrete results so we can see if it has made any real difference.”
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Labels: Algae-Biodiesel, Algae-CO2-Capture, Algae-Cultivation
Lynch Explains Algae Technology in SCIA Annual Meeting
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From left: Gregg Connell, Nancy Maher and Kevin Lynch sit and watch as new SCIA Vice President Dick Profit talks on behalf of new President Ron Oestmann at Monday’s annual meeting.Lynch is the CEO of BioProcess Algae and talked about the impact algae could have on Shenandoah - and the world.BioProcess is a joint venture, involving Green Plains Renewable Energy, researching the feasibility for producing oil for biofuels at the ethanol plant in Shenandoah.Lynch, of Dublin, Ireland, has been tapped to lead his company through the first phase of the local algae project, which supporters are calling one of the first of its kind.
"Shenandoah could become the Saudi Arabia of ethanol," Lynch told the crowd. "Currently the US imports substantly over 50 percent of its petroleum, from a handful of countries. In the next couple of years those countries are going to dwindle to a few countries in the Middle East and Russia."Lynch said with the oil producing possibilities of algae, the focus of oil production could shift from overseas to the United States - in particular Iowa.Lynch said although several companies worldwide are researching algae as an energy source, he believes BioProcess has the upper hand for several reasons.
He believes the technology behind their process for growing the algae and extracted its oil is superior, plus they have all the necessary components - namely water and carbon dioxide which is a byproduct of producing ethanol.Lynch also said GPRE has another valuable asset once oil production from the algae gets underway, and that is distribution.Lynch went on to say not only is the energy producing capabilities of this project exciting, but also it was also be something that helps out the environment by using excess carbon dioxide."We have a possibility or probability that CO2 is bad, and the certainty that we can do something about it," he said. "It's certainly something we should act upon."
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Labels: Algae-Biodiesel, Algae-Cultivation, Algae-Fuel-Research
Large-scale Algae-to-Biofuel Research Project in Nevada
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University researchers have harvested their first outdoor cold-weather crop of algae as part of their collaborative algae-to-biofuels project with their industry partners Enegis, LLC and Bebout and Associates.
The project, using one of two 5,000-gallon ponds at the University’s greenhouse complex on Valley Road in Reno, produced several hundred gallons of concentrated algal slurry. The algae thrived in the outdoor pond despite nighttime temperatures that fell into the low 20s.
University researchers have harvested their first outdoor cold-weather crop of algae as part of their collaborative algae-to-biofuels project Photo provided by Mark Lemos.
“We’ll be analyzing the algae for starches and lipids, the components that can be used for fuel,” said Professor John Cushman, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology.
Nevada researchers and energy producers are uniquely enabled to leverage the geothermal, high solar radiation, ample land area, and salt basins to produce algae in a scalable and economically viable manner. Use of the uncovered ponds demonstrates that algae can be grown in commercial quantities year-round, even in a temperate climate. This will preclude the need for capital-intensive bioreactors or covered ponds.
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Labels: Algae-Biodiesel, Algae-Cultivation, Algae-Fuel-Research
