Biodiesel from Algae is Here!

This possibility of attaining self sufficiency in liquid fuels, as envisioned by Michael Briggs of the University of New Hampshire Biodiesel Group, has been brought a giant step foreword by the developments of GreenFuels Technology Corporation of Cambridge, MA.

GreenFuel's algae bioreactor system produces high-quality clean air biofuels™ from algae grown using smokestack emissions. The company claims that the fuels prices are competitive with conventional fossil fuel products.  Biofuels are produced at the same time that emissions are being decreased.  Using smokestack emissions as its feedstock, a site-configurable GreenFuel installation grows a year-round 'cash crop' of commercial grade algae.  At the same time the process reduces the NOx by up to 86% and the CO2 by 40% of the smokestack emissions (2)

The system’s basic unit comprises a series of 8 foot (2.5 meter) tall bioreactors, in a unique triangle shape. The triangle legs are clear polycarbonate tubes 4 to 8 inches (10 to 20 centimeters) in diameter, through which water and algae are continuously circulated. The hypotenuse is oriented facing the sun to aid in photosynthesis, and the horizontal and vertical legs are often in the hypotenuse’s shadow.  Fluid circulation (flowing through the lit hypotenuse, then the darker legs, and back to the hypotenuse) is balanced to provide optimum light exposure to the growing algae. Flue gases are pumped into the base of each triangle, and the algae removes the NOx and CO2 as the gas makes a single pass up through the triangle. The gases are not recirculated or cycled through more than one triangle.(3)

Since August 2004, the GreenFuel team has been growing algae on the flue gases from an MIT cogeneration plant, and harvesting algae ‘crops’ daily. Algae reduce NOx day and night, regardless of weather or lighting conditions. The process is essentially an effect of the surface configuration of the algae cell walls. Even dead algae can provide significant NOx reduction, up to 70 percent. The harvested algae can be used to generate renewable biofuel products, meaning an algae-based emissions reduction system could theoretically enable a power plant to meet emerging state regulations for both CO2 reduction and renewable power generation.(4)

During tests at MIT, the hypotenuse of the triangle was exposed to flue gas with approximately 13%. CO2 content. This CO2 is assimilated by algae which have been chosen according a protocol used by NASA. It is not a question of GMOs (genetically modified organisms), but rather of algae that have habituated to growing conditions. The gas cleaned by the bioreactor exits from the top, while a fraction of the algae is drained daily. The biomass thus obtained can be used to produce biodiesel, bioplastics, or molecules of pharmaceutical interest.(5)

According to Julianne Zimmerman, of GreenFuel management, "GreenFuel is working to deploy small scale field trials in the US in 2005 and 2006; we aim to commence operation of our first full-scale installations in 2008." An energy utility in the southwestern United States plans to roll out the system more broadly later this year. (6)

The 10-person company is still in its early stages. It has secured $2.1 million in venture funding and in March hired energy industry veteran Cary Bullock as president and CEO.  GreenFuel's president Dr. Isaac Berzin admits, however, that the GreenFuel system isn’t a perfect fit for every plant.  For one, the system requires unobstructed sunlight, which translates to surface area-in the case of even moderate size plants, the system would cover acres.  But he says that a company survey indicates that about 70 percent of currently operating generating facilities have adequate land area available on their existing grounds.(6)

To further expand on possibility of attaining self sufficiency in liquid fuels the following is offered: To replace all transportation fuels in the US, we would need roughly 140 billion gallons of biodiesel.  To produce that amount of biodiesel by growing soybeans would require almost 3 billion acres or over 1 billion acres growing canola (rapeseed), at nominal yields of 48 and 127 gallons oil per acre, respectively.(7)  To produce that amount, by growing algae producing 15,000 gallons per acre, would require a land mass of roughly 9.5 million acres (almost 15,000 square miles ). To put these numbers in perspective, consider that the Sonora desert in the southwestern US comprises 120,000 square miles...450 million acres are currently used for crop farming in the US, and over 500 million acres are used as grazing land for farm animals (1).  As has been shown here it is not possible to grow enough of the more conventional crops to meet our fuel needs, but using algae it is possible. 

This example is not to be construed to mean that we have to switch all of our vehicles to diesel engines using biodiesel.  Rather through conservation using hybrids and plug-in hybrids and more mass transportation, combined with use of ethanol and biodiesel there is a plausible roadmap to attaining self sufficiency.  The Geenfuels system, the University of Wisconsin process for making alkane based biodiesel, and enzyme hydrolysis of carbohydrates in ethanol production all make producing large quantities of biofuels more likely than it was six months ago.

References:

(1) University of New Hampshire Biodiesel Group
(2) GreenFuels Technology Company 
(3) Power Engineering, November 2004, "Beta Test Set for Emission-Fighting Algae Bioreactor"
(4) Electric Light & Power, March 2005, "algae emissions reduction concept shows new promise"
(5) Biofutur no 255, May 2005, "An algae-based fuel"
(6) News.Com, May 20, 2005, "Start-up Drills for Oil in Algae"
(7) Journey to Forever, "Oil yields and characteristics".

Technocrati tags: algae, renewable energy, biodiesel

Comments

[OZ]

good article, thanks for the turn on. onward.

[J. Cole]

Thanks for the info! This looks like incredible technology.

[JesseJenkins]

This is a very promising technology! There seems to be so much good news on the biofuels front these days (using cellulose-rich parts of plant for biofuels, these guys etc) that I think we may see the end of the days of ethanol as an oversubsidized, net energy-negative, unrealistic product. Thanks for the article and thanks for a great blog. Keep it up!

[Dr Wayne Davies]

Lovely idea but costs will be significant especially capital costs which will dominate. Each m2 of sunit area produces only about 10 watts of absorbed power or about 1% of the insolation rate. The vast area of polycarbonate tubes needed cannot make fuel competitively wrt petroleum. But if we throw out the economics then anything is possible.

[DR BEENA AGARWAL]

I WANT TO KNOW DETAILED TECHNOLOGY ABOUT PRODUCTION OF BIODIESEL THROUGH BIOREACTORS .I THINK IF PLANNED PROPERLY IT WILL HAVE TO BE COST EFFECTIVE BY ANY MEANS.

[Rajesh Agrawal]

Dear sir,
We are already in production of Spirulina algae in Central India. We are interested in getting technology of growing oil containing algae and production thereof

[Tesla]

So....

How many BTU's/CC's/or amount of H2 does this device supply to offset the gas that would otherwise be burned?

Could the mixture be increased to burn more H2/H2O and less Gas?

[Jean-Pierre Lambert]

Really interesting concept, we are looking for new technology for Thailand that could be use for bio-diesel production in complement to bio diesel of palm tree.
We would appreciate to get as much information as possible.
Thank you for your future help.

[Gilbert]

Bio diesel from Jatropha Curcus is natures Substitute bio fuel. We are Manufacturers and Exporters of Bio Diesel Units in different quantities.

Bio Diesel - Jatropha curcas
Bio diesel from Jatropha Curcas is natures Substitute bio fuel. We are Manufacturers and Exporters of Bio Diesel Units in different quantities.

[2020 Institute]

I agree with the sentiment that replacing petrol diesel with biodiesel is a good thing. I remain substantially unconvinced that this algae option is a fix-all to mitigate the vast land demands of oil yielding crops. It's one thing to say 15,000 gallons per acre, its another to keep pace producing it year round. At the very minimum, it's not the pie in the sky ethanol solution one so often hears of. If I see solid proof, I'll get behind it 100%. Thanks to Green Fuels Tech Corp for sharing!

[greenunderground]

i would like to see the plans for building an algae farm and operating perameters available to anyone looking, if they are avilable now could you point me in the right direction

[James Fraser]

greenunderground: I have no information as to who would have plans or if any such plans exist. I suggest you contact Michael Briggs at the University of New Hampshire to see if he can help you. A link to his website is in the first paragraph. The site lists his email address as msbriggs@unh.edu.

[M. Peterson]

One thing to remember about the greenfuel, is that it required a concentrated CO2 source, i.e. flue gas from a power plant or similar. It won't solve all our problems, but may certianly allow us to use our resouces more efficiently.

[amazingdrx]

"it required a concentrated CO2 source"

Well it does still produce fuel without the CO 2, but it also can produce natural gas as another byproduct. This methane processed through a high temperature fuel cell/microturbine can reach 75% efficiency.

Then the CO 2 can be recycled through the algae system. This makes the solar system a backup generation source for other renewables.

When coupled with a regular coal plant it could eventually replace a lot of coal combustion that would otherwise be needed as backup.

And any facility, like a mall, large public building (the penatagon for instance?),or factory, with a lot of roof space for solar collectors could use this process for backup power when the solar electric part of the system is not generating power.

[backsmith]

We should all think about municipal decentralized systems to produce biofuels.
We should not trust corporations to make the transition any more than we would expect a middle eastern country to help us change.
they will milk their cash cow until it dies.
We should assist in this mercy killing.
There are millions and millions of acres of dessert where biofuels could be harvested, and it most likely would help cool the land.

[green entrepreneur fan]

I read about your company in one of my biz magazines. I am a big fan. I started to set up a biodiesel company by recycling large amounts of restaurant grease. However grease filtering services have locked up all of the sources in my area in contracts and buying from them would increase my cost by 2 dollars a gallon. Soy and corn is not cost effective. I was hoping you could give me some basic info and recipies for making biodiesel from algae.

[Vic Verghese]

Nice article, I had read about the work on algae-based biodiesel earlier, but this article of your yours provides more specific details about the equipments used and related details...well, what has not been spelt out explicitly is the cost of biodiesel produced from algae at a small-scale and at much larger scales...also, what are the specific strains of algae that produce good yields of oil? Are these algae growable in any part of the world? Some more details in this re would help us know to what extent such experiments are replicable across the world...

What is notable is, if it even has the theoretical possibility of replacing petroleum, why isn't there a lot more excitement in this field? After all, many wars have been ( and are being ) fought for oil...

Another page I found that provides good details about biodiesel is The Biodiesel Encyclopedia from Castor Oil Online

Vic, BPO

[Iain McClatchie]

Several of your commenters have asked about the details of using algae to produce vegetable oil or other carbohydrates that can in turn be processed into biodiesel or other biofuels.

Without reference to the economics, the whole idea is quite appealing. The economics are quite sobering, however. The essential problem is that your biofuel plant has to produce fuel in $/gallon competition with folks who just pump the stuff out of the ground. It's impossible to beat the economics of simply pumping a nearly finished good unless you include the relative costs of securing access to the real estate used. (i.e. Saudi Arabia or Iran versus the Texas seashore.)

The U.S. government ran a multiyear investigation into using algae for oil production: The Aquatic Species Program (warning: hundreds of pages of government report. I found it very interesting.) Their initial idea was just to absorb the CO2 from flue emissions, something the MIT crew appears to have rediscovered two decades later.

Although portions of the program appear, to me, to have gone astray, I think its too bad the Clinton administration shut it down. In particular, I think a multidecade R&D project aimed at producing robust microalgae that produce oil at high rates would be a valuable and relatively cheap (millions of dollars a year) public investment.

[Craig]

Many say we will see $3.50/gal this summer. If you factor in Iran, who knows how high it could go. Everyone knows America MUST get off the oil. After September 11, 2001 I expected our President to call on Americans to GET OFF THE OIL. I was expecting a speech like the one JFK gave that motivated us to reach for the moon. As you know, this never happened. Eventually I realized that the only way this is going to happen is for us to do it ourselves. To that end I created this idea and have been trying to make it a reality..

The EPA is offering a research grant opportunity that I believe is a perfect fit for this idea. I have sent an e-mail to a hand picked list of university professors who have experience with government research projects. I’m looking to form a research team to apply for the EPA grant, conduct a social-economic experiment and surveys to determine to what extent the American public will support it, project the economic potential of WPH, and identify logistical, social and political obstacles as well as opportunities.

All government grants are awarded based on merit of the proposed research. I believe WPH has merit but your help is needed to verify it. You can help by posting your feedback. Let the professors and the EPA know what you think about WPH. Do you think this idea is worth pursuing? We need to know if Americans will support a plan like this.

Do you have any ideas to improve the plan?

Share any and all of your thoughts.

Tell your friends and family about this Blog post and ask them to post their thoughts on WPH

http://wepayhalf.org

Thank you

Craig

[Ecacofonix]

A page that provides more inputs on Oil from Algae - Oilgae.com !

Ec, IT

[Brett MacDonald]

Very interesting concept.

Could someone supply me information about the bioreactors and how they are constructed?
Many thanks!

Brett.

[vasanth]

thanks for providing aintroduction on green fuel.please inform the procedure how to became amember of your esteemed institution.

[vasanth]

thanks for providing aintroduction on green fuel.please inform the procedure how to became amember of your esteemed institution.

[Harry Hendrickson]

GREAT ARTICLES ON WHAT MAY BE THE ANSWER TO KEEPING AMERICA strong and our economy from crashing and burning. WE must be aware of the oil depletion and how the few remaining oil deposits should be safeguarded in order to use it for necessary purposes. Biodiesel can certainly replace all of our transportation fuel which will allow fossil fuel to have a a long life into the future and especially our childrens future. If programs were created whereby citizens could contribute their fossil fuel tax to biodiesel projects,we could realize great changes in our very near future. Diesel engines are already being readied for production in most of the car manufacturers plans. This should tell us where the future is going in respect to fuel type! I hope our population takes this biodiesel fuel seriously or projects will not come to a reality in enough time to be ready when the middle east turns off the oil spigot. I will be doing my part to keep my elected officials abreast of this amazing biodiesel alternative and promote bills which will support its development. America can not and should not be sold short on ingenuity.Our past shows our toughness in pulling together when we had to. Let's get together now and show the world that we are the great country made of americans who care about their liberty and quality of life.

[Anatoli Juschin CDH]

Dear sir,

Our company together with our partners is planning to invest in the future in Biofuel Agriculture.
We would appreciate if your company could provide us information about technologies and growing
conditions for rapid growth of Algae for biofuels.

1. What kind of technology did you use for growing micro Algae?
2. What Algae species/strains are ideally used for biodisel production.
3. What is the oil content your best Algae sp. And what is the yield in tones of oil/hectare/year.
4. What is the process of the oil production?
5. What other component can be used for products like methanol etc.
6. What are the optimal conditions for growing Algae using your system :.

Solar radiation energy – light intensity
Day length (hours)
Temperatures - day/night
Water quality - Ph, E.c
Nutritional conditions (N, P,K and micro elements, CO2)

7. What are the causes for crop losses of the Algae – by bacteria or other microorganisms, and how to protect it .
8. Using your technology, how much will it cost to produce 1 liter of oil.
9. What is the cost of starting and operation the layout for production of 100 tones of oil/year?

Thank you for your trouble,

Sincerely yours,
Anatoli Juschin CDH

Jushin
...................................
Anatoli Juschin CDH
Hof - Feldbachstr. 23A
35683 Dillenburg
Germany
Tel.: + 49(0) 2771 23976
Fax: + 49(0) 2771 5258
eMail:AJCDH@juschin.de
www.juschin.de