Biodiesel from Algae

There are a couple of web sites talking about using algae to produce biodiesel. In particular:

http://www.unh.edu/p2/biodiesel/article_alge.html

The key point is that using traditional crops like soya yield about 1.5 tons of diesel per hectare. To provide the UK with its current road transport (petrol / gasoline plus diesel) consumption would need 250,000km2 of planted land, which is about the land area of the UK. I'm sure better techniques / crops could boost the yield, but not sufficiently.

Trials of algae biodiesel seem to imply 150 tons per hectare. This makes it feasible - perhaps not for the UK, but countries with cheap sunny land (i.e Deserts) could become major producers. For example, 2,500km2 in Namibia or Mauritania might be able to provide 37.5 million tons pa (=750,000 barrels per day) at a competitive price. Especially if sea water can be used. (The website is focused on the US South West Deserts).

Can anybody qualify the above figures?

Any body know what commercialisation activities are going on? Are Governments looking at this?

Governments seem to like hydrogen and plant biodiesel, so their judgement is suspect. Creating large a biodiesel industry in Africa could help reduce both global warming and African poverty, which were the two main aims of the G8 summit.

[arno]

Pumping sea water into a desert would require a HUGE amont of energy.

Why do that while most desert have underground saline aquifers ? While
freshwater aquifers are scarse and precious, saline aquifers, although theorically non-renewable, are infinite for any forssenable need.

To get a high yelds (like those 150 tons/ha), algae must be feed with CO2. A nitrogen (i mean, fixed nitrogen, urea for instance) feedstck can further boost the growth rate.

For CO2, just take exhaust gas from anyting that burn fuel, and dissolve it the water.

For nitrogen, one can use wastewater. Atfer all, algae often grow "spontaneously" in decantation ponds in wastewater plants.

Perharps we could use pools the the sea (near the coast for obvious pratical reasons), separated from the exterior with plastic films?

Good article. Nobody knows how accurate the various estimates are but you'll get a whole range of opinion, mostly wrong. What's needed is a fair size pilot operation in the desert to study these questions and learn how
feasible bio-algae is for energy production. The problem is who is going to do it and pay for it. The logical choice would be the energy companies like big oil. However, these guys are making record profits with the high price of oil and gas so they arn't likely to want to spent on unknown alternatives, why should they? I think that in the early stages, government should fund it and let contracts to accomplish it much like they do with NASA and space. This is infinitely more important than nonsense like growing turnip seeds on the space station that the government presently spends billions on. It needs a concerted, large scale push and public desire to solve our energy crisis and help to get free of the middle east at the same time. Congress should allocate a modest amount of funds for the DOE to get started on this research as soon as possible. I hope they do.

I got this email from the author of that report, thought it might be of interest to you guys:

1. I am in no way advocating growing algae in deserts. As I mention in the article, that was taken as a purely hypothetical example to show the scale of land required, since most people have no idea how big 10,000 square miles really is (so by showing how much of a particular region it is, it puts it in perspective). Growing in a desert is not an ideal approach.

2. Our approach is developing systems for growing high oil algaes on
wastestreams distributed around the country/globe (i.e. everywhere that
you have a nutrient dense wastestream - farm animal waste, sewage, etc.. In addition to producing biodiesel, you can recover the nutrients from the algae (which they uptake from the waste), to be re-used as fertilizer, creating essentially a nutrient recycling system).

3. There are a few groups working on various algal biodiesel approaches in the US (two companies, and our collaboration, made up of four
universities). We're focusing on getting everything developed before
starting any full-scale pilot plants or beginning commercialization. The
challenge is that there is virtually no federal funding for biofuels
research anymore, and most companies are only interested in technology
that's already commercial-ready. THis is making getting funding to
continue the work difficult, and slowing everything. We're hoping to have
our systems ready for full-scale testing in three years or so, but that
will be dependent on funding.

Regards,
Mike

[eclipse]

I'm sorry friends, I had a "good peak oil week" last week when I learned about this algae problem but the Energy Production Ratio does not seem to be good. I mean, I hope they have something here, but I am not optimistic. Why?

Again, Ted Trainer, author of "The Simpler Way" website and a leading permaculture author, has refuted most biofuels here.

http://socialwork.arts.unsw.edu.au/t...5.Liquids.html

His work on algae is particularly devastating to the report above that initially lowered my "Mad Max Index". Right now, I think I'm back up to 50% probability of a Mad Max Meltdown unless world government's turn around overnight and say,
"Right — this is an emergency, and every major city of the world is now going to be reformed in design along the www.ecocitybuilders.com design principles so that we can SURVIVE!"

Otherwise, there will be a cataclysmic systems collapse somewhere in our highly oil dependent matrix. We EAT FOSSIL FUELS!
http://www.fromthewilderness.com/fre...ating_oil.html

Please, please, take peak oil seriously. I don't there are any SCALABLE solutions in time... unless governments IMMEDIATELY switch us into a war time economy mode.

EG: * all our car manufacturing companies over to making Solar Chimney's, Solar PV, Wind Turbines, trams & other light rail, rail, etc.
* All our toy factories & other superflous rubbish factories over to making components that support the above industries.
* All our BIGGEST interstate highways converted into train or tramways.
* Local renewable agriculture with the "one way nutrient cycle" closed and the sewerage processed and returned to the soil. (Maybe skimming a little algae off the top as per this thread, or a little methane for energy as well.)

The only solution is MASSIVE energy efficiency programs which basically imply the end of "business as usual" and the complete redesign of our cities and entire civilization. I thoroughly recommend reading the entire article (all chapters) of

RENEWABLE ENERGY - WHAT ARE THE LIMITS?

http://socialwork.arts.unsw.edu.au/t...LE-ENERGY.html

Then you will have a good grounding to understand the necessity of ecocity designs... or retrofitting the suburbs for sustainability.

http://socialwork.arts.unsw.edu.au/tsw/

This is not just some hippie tree hugger sociologist... serious scientists in the Australian CSIRO are also inviting permaculture experts in to manage the energy descent.

http://www.bml.csiro.au/SNnewsletter...lity%20Network

Read update 49, "Retrofitting the suburbs for sustainability"

Thank you for your time. If you wish to meet other peakniks try www.postcarbon.org... there might just be a peak oil meeting near you for campaigning. And remember, you can always print out and put up one of my free posters. They do work! Eventually all the tabs go... and even if people don't go home and read about peak oil on the net that night, the idea is at least SEEDED there.

Forget global warming for now! I know that sounds heretical... but www.peakoil.net wrote a report that basically the process cannot continue because there are not enough fossil fuels left!

THE USE OF ALL FOSSIL FUELS WILL PEAK THIS CENTURY AND BEGIN TO DECLINE. (Coal in the USA may peak by about 2035.)

GEOLOGICAL LIMITS WILL FORCE US INTO A CRASH KYOTO PROTOCOL. Forget campaigning for Kyoto... nature will force us to comply soon enough.

ENERGY DECLINE IS THE CRISIS!

We will be facing peak oil, peak gas, peak coal, peak zinc, copper and aluminium and a host of other rarer metals this century. There are just too many people using too many resources too quickly.

This is the century of "peak resources", period!

In about 150 to 200 years we will largely be in a renewable civilization because every non-renewable resource will be consumed. (Except maybe iron ore from which we make steel... there's STACKS of iron ore left. Gotta build those wind turbines & solar chimney's somehow hey?)

That is, if civilization itself survives this century! The next few decades!

Stop worrying about global warming, and put up a peak oil poster today.

[bruce]

Energy giant Royal Dutch Shell is to invest in a new plant in Hawaii to grow marine algae that can be turned into biofuel.

Europe's largest oil company believes it can start producing commercial quantities of the fuel after about two years, and sees EU countries as a key market.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/mai...cnshell112.xml

Originally Posted by bruce

Energy giant Royal Dutch Shell is to invest in a new plant in Hawaii to grow marine algae that can be turned into biofuel.

Europe's largest oil company believes it can start producing commercial quantities of the fuel after about two years, and sees EU countries as a key market.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/mai...cnshell112.xml

This seems like such a great idea. There must be something wrong with it.

[NeuroPathic]

Originally Posted by eclipse

I'm sorry friends, I had a "good peak oil week" last week when I learned about this algae problem but the Energy Production Ratio does not seem to be good. I mean, I hope they have something here, but I am not optimistic. Why?

Again, Ted Trainer, author of "The Simpler Way" website and a leading permaculture author, has refuted most biofuels here.

http://socialwork.arts.unsw.edu.au/t...5.Liquids.html

His work on algae is particularly devastating to the report above that initially lowered my "Mad Max Index". Right now, I think I'm back up to 50% probability of a Mad Max Meltdown unless world government's turn around overnight and say,
"Right — this is an emergency, and every major city of the world is now going to be reformed in design along the www.ecocitybuilders.com design principles so that we can SURVIVE!"

Otherwise, there will be a cataclysmic systems collapse somewhere in our highly oil dependent matrix. We EAT FOSSIL FUELS!
http://www.fromthewilderness.com/fre...ating_oil.html

Please, please, take peak oil seriously. I don't there are any SCALABLE solutions in time... unless governments IMMEDIATELY switch us into a war time economy mode.

EG: * all our car manufacturing companies over to making Solar Chimney's, Solar PV, Wind Turbines, trams & other light rail, rail, etc.
* All our toy factories & other superflous rubbish factories over to making components that support the above industries.
* All our BIGGEST interstate highways converted into train or tramways.
* Local renewable agriculture with the "one way nutrient cycle" closed and the sewerage processed and returned to the soil. (Maybe skimming a little algae off the top as per this thread, or a little methane for energy as well.)

The only solution is MASSIVE energy efficiency programs which basically imply the end of "business as usual" and the complete redesign of our cities and entire civilization. I thoroughly recommend reading the entire article (all chapters) of

RENEWABLE ENERGY - WHAT ARE THE LIMITS?

http://socialwork.arts.unsw.edu.au/t...LE-ENERGY.html

Then you will have a good grounding to understand the necessity of ecocity designs... or retrofitting the suburbs for sustainability.

http://socialwork.arts.unsw.edu.au/tsw/

This is not just some hippie tree hugger sociologist... serious scientists in the Australian CSIRO are also inviting permaculture experts in to manage the energy descent.

http://www.bml.csiro.au/SNnewsletter...lity%20Network

Read update 49, "Retrofitting the suburbs for sustainability"

Thank you for your time. If you wish to meet other peakniks try www.postcarbon.org... there might just be a peak oil meeting near you for campaigning. And remember, you can always print out and put up one of my free posters. They do work! Eventually all the tabs go... and even if people don't go home and read about peak oil on the net that night, the idea is at least SEEDED there.

Forget global warming for now! I know that sounds heretical... but www.peakoil.net wrote a report that basically the process cannot continue because there are not enough fossil fuels left!

THE USE OF ALL FOSSIL FUELS WILL PEAK THIS CENTURY AND BEGIN TO DECLINE. (Coal in the USA may peak by about 2035.)

GEOLOGICAL LIMITS WILL FORCE US INTO A CRASH KYOTO PROTOCOL. Forget campaigning for Kyoto... nature will force us to comply soon enough.

ENERGY DECLINE IS THE CRISIS!

We will be facing peak oil, peak gas, peak coal, peak zinc, copper and aluminium and a host of other rarer metals this century. There are just too many people using too many resources too quickly.

This is the century of "peak resources", period!

In about 150 to 200 years we will largely be in a renewable civilization because every non-renewable resource will be consumed. (Except maybe iron ore from which we make steel... there's STACKS of iron ore left. Gotta build those wind turbines & solar chimney's somehow hey?)

That is, if civilization itself survives this century! The next few decades!

Stop worrying about global warming, and put up a peak oil poster today.

Very good post

Tragically, the truth of our problems lies within the fact that whole 'Industrial Revolution' was 'Thee Environmental Apocalypse' itself(it never should have been in the first place).
*That said, 'Recovering to Regionalism' as quickly as possible is clearly part of the answer, but we know that is not going to happen in todays world.
Trust between Nations does not exist, and as soon as the U.S. were to withdraw its global tentacles(militarily and economically), we would be in circumstances practically 'Alien' to what we've been indoctrinated into, and this emasculation from our 'true nature', leaves us horribly impotent in dealing with matters(though we are not totally rendered ineffectual at surviving- its just going to be really trying on us).

Anyway, if the U.S. were to do this(just 'withdraw' to Regionalism), we could end up setting ourselves up as 'Prey' for other Militarized Nations who would see this as an opportunity.
Of course, if we 'Suddenly' just did this, that would pretty much freak out the whole Global Community, so maybe they'd be wondering "What is wrong with the U.S., why they doing that?"
*And then with everyone's eye-brow being raised high, who knows, maybe everyone would realize there is really a serious issue of survival at stake, and Peace would come upon this planet, Co-Operation, etc.

I just hope things haven't gotten so bad, that reverting back to a Quasi-Agrarian like society, will still be feasible.

[eclipse]

The thing is I like some of the products of the industrialized world. I like TV's, fridges, the internet, modern medicine. I'm not a total hippie "back to the land for everybody" type, I'm trying to keep the best of the modern world and chuck the rubbish (like most cars!)

On the geopolitical tensions you discussed above, the best way forward that I've seen lately is called the Simultaneous Policy, or Simpol. Check out the latest poster I was putting up before the Australian Federal elections...

Cynical about elections?
(images of drought, poverty, the globe, polar bear)

Are you concerned about global issues, but feel there is no way to get government to address them? Are you worried about global warming, concerned for rainforests and saddened by biodiversity loss? Do you want to save the tigers, great apes and whales? Are you sick of politicians kow-towing to greedy corporations and giving them huge tax breaks while the poor go hungry? Are you angered by third-world poverty? How often have you heard your leaders say they can't act without putting the economy at a “competitive disadvantage”?

Yes, there has been a political log jam. But now there is a way to make your vote count on global issues. Join with tens of thousands of concerned citizens around the world who will pledge their vote to any local candidates — within reason — who sign on to the "Simultaneous Policy". Get online tonight and adopt SIMPOL, the only way to make your vote count on world issues!
“Think Global — VOTE local!”

To download this free poster, see
http://eclipsenow.blogspot.com/2007/...elections.html

For more on Simpol, see
http://www.simpol.org/

[include]

Originally Posted by bruce

Energy giant Royal Dutch Shell is to invest in a new plant in Hawaii to grow marine algae that can be turned into biofuel.

Europe's largest oil company believes it can start producing commercial quantities of the fuel after about two years, and sees EU countries as a key market.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/mai...cnshell112.xml

It's nice to see a BIG OIL company actually doing something positive for the environment. Not that Algae Biodiesel is going to save the world or anything, but it's a step away from the foreign oil dependency that we currently rely on.