Algae: 'The ultimate in renewable energy'

[Apoptosis]

Algae: 'The ultimate in renewable energy'

Texas may be best known for "Big Oil." But the oil that could some day make a dent in the country's use of fossil fuels is small. Microscopic, in fact: algae. Literally and figuratively, this is green fuel.
art.algae.jpg

Plant physiologist Glen Kertz believes algae can some day be competitive as a source for biofuel.

"Algae is the ultimate in renewable energy," Glen Kertz, president and CEO of Valcent Products, told CNN while conducting a tour of his algae greenhouse on the outskirts of El Paso.

Kertz, a plant physiologist and entrepreneur, holds about 20 patents. And he is psyched about the potential algae holds, both as an energy source and as a way to deal with global warming.

Pretty crazy idea!

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/science/04 ... index.html

[stopthekilling77]

crazy but in a good way! didn't know half of their weight is oil O.o

awesome!

[bubba]

can produce about 100,000 gallons of algae oil a year per acre, compared to about 30 gallons per acre from corn; 50 gallons from soybeans.

Now that is pile of biofuel . I wonder how much fuel can be made from that 100,000 gal.

[Methious]

That might explain why so much oil is found drilling in the oceans.

[T-Shirt]

This will be the best choice of any of the bio-fuels, why waste huge areas of food cropland to make very little net energy, when you can harvest the sunlight energy via alage in a relitively small space and still grow fairly cheap food too.

[Sapientun]

Too bad it's patented, which might hinder the speed of how this new energy is researched

[T-Shirt]

Too bad it's patented, which might hinder the speed of how this new energy is researched

I don't think so.
almost all new technology is patented, what this company plans to sell is licenses to use it, so they only make money if many other companies are willing to invest, build, and operate these algae farms.
Sure the license cost adds some to the end product cost, but probably alot less then the R&D on switch grass does to that product, plus (if it works as they say) the yield (total energy out after energy,fertilizer, refining, etc.) is more than 10x the yield per acre from corn.

[dgood]

That's so cool, can't believe I haven't heard of this before.

[butterfly_bh]

It's cool ..

[T-Shirt]

I went to the companies website and read more about it. Once they dry the alage and extract the oil (using supersaturated CO2) whats left is a 25%protien, 25% high quality carbohyrate meal prefect for animal feed or even to suplement human diets. this whole system has alot of potential. it will be interesting to see how the test farm does later this year.

[vicaphit]

A quarter of the byproducts are useable as livestock food? Thats great!