Race to algae-based biodiesel heats up

Can the lowly algae ease a growing food-versus-fuel debate?

A growing number of start-ups are betting against the dominant biofuel crops--corn and soy--and looking to sidestep the backlash against biofuels, which are being blamed in part for higher food prices and deforestation around the world.

Bioreactors used to grow algae for use as fuel and animal feed.

(Credit: PetroAlgae)

Melbourne, Fla.-based PetroAlgae says that it hopes to test a commercial system as early as next year.

The company licensed strains of freshwater algae bred by Arizona State University and is developing the bioreactors and harvesting methods to grow the algae at large scale, said Fred Tennant, PetroAlgae's vice president of business development.

The algae harvested from open-pond farms can be converted to oil that can be refined into biodiesel. The remaining material can be sold as high-protein animal feed, Tennant said.

Because algae needs a source of carbon dioxide to grow, PetroAlgae is seeking to set up joint ventures with electric utilities looking to reduce their carbon emissions.

"The laws that are being debated right now will change a power company's life. They will have to have a lot more renewable energy and get rid of CO2," Tennant said. "Any power company in the world will be happy to pay us to take their CO2 away."

There are several other companies pursuing a similar path to PetroAlgae.

GreenFuel Technologies ran a multi-year program with Arizona Public Service to grow algae and is said to be close to closing a large algae biodiesel production deal in Europe.

Solayzme is using fermentation, rather than photosynthesis, to grow algae oil that can be tuned for different purposes, such as jet fuel or edible oils.

Another company, LiveFuels has said that it has a target of producing 100 million gallons by 2010 using genetic manipulation.

Great green hope for biodiesel
These companies are pursuing algae because its potential as a fuel is so promising: it's a non-food crop, removes large amounts of carbon dioxide from the air, and grows fast.

Algae has a relatively high energy density compared to soybeans, which means more soy on more land needs to be planted for the same amount of fuel yield.

"What's happening is there has been more focus recently on the food-versus-fuel debate, more focus on the price of feedstock, and more understanding that using an agricultural-based crop as a fuel is not sustainable," said Michael Weaver, the CEO and co-founder of Seattle-area algae start-up Bionavitas. "We're seeing that reflected in the marketplace."

Similarly, many biofuels companies are trying to develop methods for making ethanol from wood chips, grasses, or agricultural wastes, rather than corn.

But for all of algae's promise, the technology to make fuel still remains experimental. And the biggest challenge facing any biofuel company is cost, say algae company executives.

"Anybody can grow algae if cost is no object. Lots of algae companies have done a great job, but the system doesn't look like a massively scalable system," said PetroAlgae's Tennant.

PetroAlgae needs to have its farms located in sunny, hot places to speed up the drying process; their tiny algae strains are 98 percent water.

An aerial view of a open-pond algae farm being used by PetroAlgae.

(Credit: PetroAlgae)

He said the company envisions its pond farms will be deployed across 1 to 10 acres at a site that generates a lot of carbon dioxide.

Growing pains
As with most new technologies, early entrants have had their glitches. In its Arizona Power pilot test, GreenFuel Technologies found that its bioreactors produced too much algae and that the cost of harvesting it was high.

Algae also needs a lot of water to grow, so producers need to develop systems to recycle their water and find a suitable place to grow their crop.

Another key technical problem is that traditional bioreactors--shaped as tubes or plastic bags--ultimately hit a wall in terms of how much light they let in, said Weaver of Bionavitas, which is developing equipment to address "self shading."

"If you have a series of tubes or plastic bags on the desert floor or wherever, you are still limited by the amount of photons that get in from the sun to create more algae. When the algae gets slightly dense, it starts blocking its own light," he said.

Rising prices of traditional soybeans, which is what most biodiesel is made of today, is helping spur more research into algae. The price of soybean oil has more than doubled in the last two years, prompting some refineries to shut down operations.

In the meantime, there's a wide range of predictions for when algae will make a dent commercially.

"There are varying guesses as to when that will becoming commercially available--from a couple of years out to several years out," said a representative for the National Biodiesel Board.

[touchhacker]

wow this really is an amazing fuel. the possibilities are endless.

Also check out my site at www.touchhacker.com I hope to start one on biodiesel

[michel_platini]

I think that <a href="http://www.circlebio.com/algae_biodiesel_photobioreactors.htm">algae biodiesel</a> is the next big thing in alternative energy.

[michel_platini]

I think that algae biodiesel is the next big thing in alternative energy.

[Kif2009]

great article on the subject! as a biologist, the idea of making energy from plants is something that has intrigued me. one thing i had not considered, was investing in these companies to help make it a reality. I read a great algae piece the other day on just that topic, i hope you find it valuable: http://cleanenergysector.com/2008/08/27/investing-in-algae-biofuels/

Kif Johnson

[MdM1000]

I don't think either the US government or oil companies wants to find a fossil oil substitute. Since the 1950's we possess a proprietary special biomass conversion that converts any kind of biomass into a biofuel similar to fossil oil crude, ready to be refined in a standard oil refinery into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, residuals, lubricants, paraffins and asphalt. What Mother Nature took million of years to do, our process can do it in a half day work. The process discoverer met in Washington, DC with President Carter in the late 1970's to discuss the biomass conversion with him. The President named Mr. Hamilton Jordan as a Point Man to secured meetings with members of the government and private industry to promote the technology. We met with officials and provided Biofuel Samples as crude oil and derivatives as gasoline, diesel, residual oils as No 6 residual fuel oil, boiler diesel and gas turbine fuel to the laboratories of the US Dept. of Energy, Exxon Oil Corp, SOHIO Oil Corp, US Dept. of Agriculture and Florida Power & Light Co. Their laboratories reports from our samples showed that "The samples are mostly hydrocarbon compounds in nature, rich in paraffins and olefins and low in aromatic compounds. In a complex mixture of hydrocarbon compounds, fatty acids and aldehydes, rich in alkanes, alkenes and alkynes. The normal saturated hydrocarbons from C-10 through C-22 are present, but C-13 through C-17 are the most predominant and their are low in ash sulfur content. These samples may provide an alternate source of fuel, but would require extensive refining prior to use. The refining process to produce alternate fuels therefore would not be radically different from those used to refine from coal and shale distillates". The low oil price ($9-$13 Barrel) and low yield feed stocks doomed the project from the beginning.
Since the past several years we contacted officials from the US Government at the White House, Congress, US Dept. of Energy, private industry and all mayor oil companies about our technology by using algae oil as feed stock with no avail. As per today's date there is not in the public domain biomass technology as our, after all the billion of dollars spent by private industry, academia, US and foreign governments in the research for the pursuit of the formula to produce a biofuel oil similar to fossil oil from biomass when the White House, US Dept of Energy and ExxonMobil Oil Corp. had previous knowledge about our biomass conversion technology since the late 1970's. I believed that there is no need to throw good money to re-discover the wheel when the wheel and the better mouse trap are already discovered. We will keep on fighting in promoting our technology to the end.

[algaecake]

Algae is the only viable feedstock for the production of biofuels. Unfortunately for America, Implementing the acknowledgement that bio fuels will play a major role in the maintenance and improvement of community lifestyles has been complex and slow process. As of now, the costs of biodiesel production from Corn oil, soybean oil and palm oil are beyond the financial model for success and would not exist without millions of dollars coming from government funding. The truth is that bio fuels require aggressive agricultural efforts that compete in negative manner with the consumers that are supposed to benefit from energy alternatives. The remedy for success of biofuels is algae.

An algae crop grows the fastest, uses the least land, and does not compete with existing foodstocks. This remedy is available today! We are not talking about a raceway or pond systems. We are talking about Algae grown under controlled conditions in a bioreactor environment designed to take advantage of the advanced grow cycle of algae species. Under controlled conditions in a bioreactor environment an algae species can multiply up to 16 times in one day and mature in 3 to 5 days. After maturity resultant algae paste is processed into both vegetable oil for fuel and dried algae cake for foodstock. Algae bioreactor systems produce over 160 times more product than pond or raceway systems. In addition to the production of oil and cake, algae bioreactors consume CO2 and emit oxygen in large quantities. Micro-algae are in fact the largest consumer of CO2 on the planet and offer a strong advantage to operating energy plants seeking to sequester CO2 to lessen their environmental impact.

Algaecake Technologies Corporation has received a positive evaluation of our algae propagation technology conducted by three University professors stating that our technology is a novel approach to algae production. We have also made major progress toward positioning ourselves to take advantage of current provisions and incentives offered by the U.S. government to reduce and sequester CO2 emissions. We invite your suggestions and thoughts on what might interest you in supporting of our ventures. www.algaecake.com