As you probably know the cost of diesel fuel has gone up sharply, following gasoline. Trucks, boats, buses, and trains all use diesel. But starting in about 1999 an alternative fuel began to seriously compete – biodiesel.
Up to now, biodiesel (which is essentially vegetable oil) has been manufactured by crushing crops such as soy beans, and rape seed (canola). This new market for farm products has doubled every year since 1999 and still can’t keep up with demand.
Biodiesel, at a yearly production rate in 2007 of at least 400,000,000 gallons, is just beginning to penetrate the 60 billion gallon per year diesel market.
But the preliminary questions have been answered, and it is now proven to investors that the market is there and it is time to increase production, lower costs, and generally get serious.
Enter algae biofuel.
As farmers have been mashing the oil out of food crops, research has been quietly going on to make biodiesel from the fastest growing plant: the humble algae.
In growing algae, tanks or ponds of water are needed, and nutrients have to be applied to keep the stuff green and happy. For farmers this isn’t exactly like sprinkling seed corn over the lower 40, but for researchers it is apparently child’s play. Because of the unfamiliarity, more research had to be done in areas such as how to cost effectively extract the algae oil from the wet goop.
Now, however, water tanks are being assembled, and carefully developed strains of algae are being tried out to see how they will do.
Independent studies have demonstrated that algae is capable of producing 39 times more oil per acre than current crops. Algae biofuel contains no sulfur, is non-toxic, and very bio-degradable. Not only that, some species have oil content as high as 50% – 70%, can be grown year round, and under good conditions double their weight daily. This is exciting stuff. These tiny plants can be grown in the Nevada desert, the ‘Bad Lands’ of Arizona, and other places unsuitable for crops.
And, from what I’ve been reading, the mass production that is starting up this year that will bring the costs down and we will have an excellent replacement for a large chunk of Arab oil!
Not if big oil and big agri-business don’t own a huge chunk of production facilities. If they do, this will be hailed as a promising new technology. If not, this technology will be labeled futuristic, impractical, or both.
Comment by wryly — October 4, 2007 @ 7:53 am
wryly, the thing that ticks me off about cynics like you is that sometimes you are correct.
Thanks for the comment. Grimmy
Comment by grimgold — October 4, 2007 @ 4:35 pm