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.