Seaweed & Microalgae as Biofuels  

Fifty years ago Massachusetts Institute of Technology
started experimenting with biofuels from algae.  Now the
technology is leaping ahead with major players, including
Bill Gates, investing in this new hope for the future.   With
oil prices being high biofuel from algae has become a
competitive commodity.  

Microalgae takes its energy directly from sunlight by
photosynthesis, and uses carbon dioxide in the process.
Not only is algae grown in ponds outside but now the
processes exist for growing in large hanging pods or vertical tubes on the kitchen shelf!   

The big macroalgae can also be used as a biofuel source,
and the Japanese have a plan for an sea farm off Yamatotai in the Sea of Japan.  See full article below.

 Algae Powered School Bus
 A Chicago chemistry teacher and his class of 140 students  managed to produce enough algae biodiesel to drive a Volkswagen Vanagon  to the Sears Tower from Al Raby School for Community and Environment on the West Side. And if a class of chemistry students can make it happen, then the rest of the world can’t be far behind.
Full article here
Biofuel -  A Definition

"A solid, liquid, or gaseous fuel obtained from relatively recently lifeless biological material that is different from fossil fuels, which are derived from long-dead biological material. Many biofuels are biodegradable.

First-generation biofuels are made from sugar, starch, vegetable oil, or animal fats using conventional technology.

The basic feedstocks for the production of first-generation biofuels are often grains, which yield starch that is fermented into bioethanol, or seeds, which are pressed to yield vegetable oil that can be used in biodiesel.

Second-generation biofuels use biomass to liquid technology, including cellulosic biofuels from nonfood crops, including waste biomass, the
stalks of wheat, corn, or wood. These biofuels are inherently more efficient than firstgeneration technologies because they use more of the plant to produce fuel. They are also known as “advanced biofuels.”

Third-generation biofuels are derived from algae. They are also known as “advanced biofuels.”

Definition courtesy of NDRC,  Cultivating Clean Energy,
the Promise of Algae Biofuel,  Oct, 2009, click to download

Bioreator Diagram from Coskata

Coskata's plant has big commercial implications. The company claims that its cellulosic ethanol will be cheaper than petroleum (no word on how much cheaper), and that the fuel cuts greenhouse gases by 96% and uses half as much water as standard gasoline. And since GM wants more than half of its cars to be E-85 capable by 2012, Coskata already has a major built-in customer--no surprise, then, that GM is backing the company along with cellulosic ethanol start-up Mascoma.
 See Costaka news article below

 




Bio-reator Diagram
 
Latest News

Eco Pods have arrived, Skyscraper to grow bio-fuel
algae on its  outer walls?

A new high-rise building in Boston USA may be
the future home of a bunch of green slime. Plans
to turn the building into a vertical urban farm are
moving ahead with the intended crop to be biofuel
algae. Potatoes would be cooler, but hey,
whatever works.

The project is going to be called Eco-Pod and
confirms that we finally live in the future, where a
bunch of detachable pods grow algae and act as
incubators for scientists to study the production of
biofuel. They also plan to include parks and gardens,
because people like wandering through slime fields,
especially if they're modular.

Read full article here: 

http://www.asylum.co.uk/2009/10/08/skyscra...

 

Biofuel Harvested from Seaweed

CHILE - US company Bio Architecture Lab, which is a pioneer in the application of synthetic biology and enzyme design for the development of biofuels and renewable chemicals from aquafarmed, native macroalgae, has launched a subsidiary in Chile.

BAL Chile has started cultivating 100 hectares of seaweed on the island of Chiloé.

http://www.thefishsite.com/fishnews/11275/biofuel
-harvested-from-seaweed
ENERGY-MEXICO: Big Plans for Ethanol from Algae
 By Verónica Díaz Favela*
 

MEXICO CITY, Dec 4 (IPS/IFEJ) - The Mexican company BioFields will begin production in 2014 of an algae-based biofuel at a site 300 kilometres from its border with the United States, which is likely to be its biggest customer.
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=49539



http://www.biofuelsdigest.com/blog2/2009/11/04/missouri-researchers
-persist-with-vision-of-growing-algae-in-abandoned-mines-despite-skeptics/

Abandoned Mine Shafts to Grow Algae Fuel

In Missouri, a research team at the Missouri University of Science and Technology is investigating the use of abandoned mines for algal fuel production. The group said that, with added LED lights, they can avoid the contamination and evaporation problems that affect open pond raceway systems.

The team says they are shifting the infrastructure investment,  which they say represent 47 percent of the cost of algal fuel production systems, from
 “pavements to investing in lighting systems,” according to a NYT report.
The group said they are investigating geothermal sources of energy to
provide power to the system for the LED lighting system




Rory MacPhee Castle Beach Falmouth 2009
 



Seaweed Farm hold promise for Biofuel Production

A group of researchers from Tokyo University (Marine Science and Technology), Mitsubishi Research Institute, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and several other private-sector firms envision a 10,000 square kilometer seaweed farm at Yamatotai, a shallow fishing area in the middle of the Sea of Japan. The researchers estimate that the farm will produce about 20 million kiloliters of bio-ethanol per year. This is equal to one third of Japanese fuel consumption per year.

http://www.blogonsmog.com/motor-monday/seaweed-farms-hold-promise-for-biofuel-production.html

Algae Photobioreactor



 Step-by-illustrated-step on how to
 build an algae photobioreactor.

 Click Here to Buy Now

(A bit pricey!! but I would like a copy - VJLH)

http://www.growing-algae.com/algae-photobioreactor.html?
gclid=CKWnwrGV-50CFU0B4wodTCXipQ

GM-Backed Coskata Breaks Ground on Feedstock-Flexible
Ethanol Facility



What if we could quickly and cheaply make ethanol using any cellulosic feed-stock, including wood chips and construction waste? That's exactly what Coskata claims it can do with its new semi-commercial flex ethanol facility, launched last week in Madison, Pennsylvania.  The company, backed financially by an unspecified amount of cash from GM, claims that its modular facility is the first commercially viable, flex feedstock ethanol facility to be built. The plant practically churns out on-demand ethanol--it only a few minutes for the facility to turn feedstock into the substance.

 
 
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