Vertigro Produces Biofuel From Algae Oil Extracts
By now, I think most of us have heard whisperings about a new form of energy derived from algae. But what you may not know is that this is not a new concept.
The U.S. Department of Energy researched algae production from 1978 to 1996 until the Feds determined that algae oil could never compete economically with fossil fuels. Considering the current price and demand for oil, times have certainly changed.
One company (from oil-based Texas) that is making big waves in this renewed fight is Valcent Products, Inc., who teamed up with Global Green Solutions to launch a joint venture called Vertigro Products, Inc. According to Glen Kertz, President and CEO of Valcent, “algae is the ultimate in renewable energy.” Instead of using ponds, like most energy research and development projects have used, Valcent uses a closed, high density vertical bioreactor system, growing the algae in long rows of moving plastic bags.
Glen says that “by going vertical, you can get a lot more surface area to expose cells to the sunlight. It keeps the algae hanging in the sunlight just long enough to pick up the solar energy they need to produce and go through photosynthesis.”
Once the algae has been produced, an oil is extracted and refined into a cost-effective, non-polluting diesel biofuel. This algae derived fuel can be an energy efficient replacement for fossil fuels and can be used in any diesel powered vehicle or machinery.
Although using algae as an alternative fuel source is not a new idea, there is still a lot to be learned about this technology. According to Valcent research scientist Aga Pinowska, there are about 65,000 known algae species, with perhaps hundreds of thousands still to be identified. A major part of their research is focused on determining what type of algae produces what type of fuel. “One species may be best suited for jet fuel, while the oil content of another may be more efficient for truck diesel.”
As global warming threats become more serious due to the destructive impact of greenhouse gases, the high price of fossil fuels and the political issues regarding the availability and accessibility of the supply are driving the market demand for alternative fuels.
Other uses for the Vertigro system include a revolutionary High Density Vertical Growth (HDVG) system that can grow vegetables.
For information on more companies bringing algae to our fuel tanks click here
Source: CNN.com
Very COOL!. Using food sources for fuel is silly. I like the fact that they went verticle. The article didn’t mention any timeframe to market though….
Holy shit that is some serious looking lettuce. I am keeping my fingers crossed for this technology. You know how many catfish ponds there are in the south, that could grow algae, or already are!
No kidding wetlander, this technology has great potential to take up less square footage than any other out there. Ponds are still a good method but verticle growing can work in so many different places.
Yes… and yes again…
I would like to hear how many calories of combustion energy
come from a unit of this algae material..
Is it P-R-A-C-T-I-C-A-L yet?
Wouldn’t this fuel “burn” and yield CO2?
If so, we may have solved the supply problem,
but there would be no rebalance of greenhouse gasses…
Marcus,
Burning the biofuel extracted from algae would indeed release CO2 into the atmosphere. However the production and growth of the algae pulls CO2 out of the atmosphere offsetting the impact of the released CO2 .
There becomes a balance between combustion(release of CO2) and photosynthesis(use of CO2). This is markedly different than burning fossil fuels which releases CO2(100 million year old CO2) during combustion.
Algae will not be an end all solution to our increasing atmospheric CO2 problem but it could be the beginning of a fairly sustainable way to make biofuel.
Ben
They expect this to be commercially viable and on the market by 2010.
Wetlander and Johnny
Pond aren’t a great source for algae because of the potential for contamination and having to filter out just to be left with algae. Also, the yeild is lower, in the range of 4,000 to 15,000 gallons of oil per acre per year. With ponds rather than closed systems it’s likely to be toward the lower end of the range and more costly to refine. Valcent and Global Green claim they can get upwards of 100,000 gallons per acre per year because of the closed system and vertical layout. I’m waiting to see if this proves to be true.
Warren,
Yes, this is practical. As for calories, I can’t answer that for you but it is 2% less fuel efficient than petro diesel which is 30-40% more fuel efficient than gasoline. It can be run in any proportion mix with diesel and pure in todays diesel engines with minor modifications at a fraction of the cost of petroleum. Of course they won’t pass much of the savings on to us until the production of algae starts being enough to affect the price of oil overall.
Algaeboy,
To go a bit futher with your discussion of CO2, forcefeeding CO2 to algae increases it’s growth rate by 30 times. It is a great way of sequestering CO2 from coal plants, Depending on other factors affecting growth rate such as sunshine, temperature and amount of light the absorption of CO2 ranges from 50-90%. it also absorbs sulfur and NO2. The EPA has determined that the CO2 released back into the atmosphere by burning algae biodiesel is less than 70% of that of gasoline. Thus if it obsorbs no sulfur it emits none when burned unlike petroleum products.
For anybody interested, you might wish to read up on the economics of algae as a fuel. it’s based on the work of Michael Briggs from the University of New Hampshire Biodiesel Group. It shows how with conventional methods we might be able to achieve costs for algae oil as low as $18.56/barrel with production levels at 15,000 gallons per acre per year. If the claims of Vertigro are correct and 100,000 gallons can be acheived imagine how low that price can be. Here’s the link for that analysis.
http://www.americanenergyindependence.com/biodiesel.html