Biodiesel
Dow Chemical teams up with start-up to create Algae-based Biofuels
by John Muir on Jun.29, 2009, under Biodiesel, Clean Coal
A quick follow-up on my June 15th post. Matthew Wald, of the New York Times reported that Dow Chemical and start-up Algenol Biofuels have teamed up to create ethanol from Algae growing in salt-water. Dow is interested in finding an alternative to natural gas for plastic production. The article discusses options for placing algae bio-reactors next to coal power plants which should clean up the coal and help to produce very pure CO2 that can be used for plastic production.
Read the full article: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/29/business/energy-environment/29biofuel.html
How viable is algae as a fuel source?
by John Muir on Jun.15, 2009, under Biodiesel, Renewable Energy
I was curious to learn a little more about the state algae as a sustainable source for bio-diesel. I’d heard it was very efficient source of oil, especially compared to agricultural mainstays like corn and soybeans. I’d also heard claims that it could grow in places less desirable than Iowa such as raw sewage or even space.
A few things I did learn:
Problems
There are some challenges using algae as a economically viable fuel source. Here is a quick summary of what I found:
From: http://www.oilgae.com/blog/2006/10/three-big-problems-with-algae.html
- Energy intensive to harvest
- Naturally occurring (less-oil rich) species of algae will crowd out preferred species in open-pond systems
- Cost of mitigating potential ground-water contamination
- In a open pond design, since only the top 1/4 in of water in a pond will receive enough light, algea production, like any other land based crop, is limited by surface area.
- Optimum production requires consitent tempatures. Even sun-rich locations like New Mexico had problems due to low night-time temperatures.
- Lab cultures did not always grow in outside ponds.
Promise
