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Algaeoleum: Fueling the Future

Megan Falkenberry

Biofuels have existed almost as long as cars themselves. Henry Ford’s first model T was designed to operate on ethanol, and diesel engines were originally intended to run on peanut oil. However, the discovery of extensive petroleum deposits allowed gasoline prices to remain cheaper than biofuels, and gasoline became the dominant liquid fuel source. Recent concerns about rising costs of oil and the fossil fuel related emissions that drive climate change have drawn attention once again to biofuels’ capacity as a valuable resource.

In terms of biofuel production, the United States has been left in the wake of the developing world. Brazilian automobiles have been running on biofuel produced by sugarcane for decades, and in 2008, Europe’s diesel engines operated on the 7,755 tons of biofuel produced that year (i). However, businesses in the United States have recently begun to work alongside scientists to develop clean, cheap and effective biofuels similar to other countries. Several companies have created environmentally friendly, zero emission, nontoxic fuels from organic matter that reduce dependence on foreign oil and have a smaller climate impact than fossil fuels. One such biofuel is produced with micro-algae.

Algae contain substantial oil, and these fats can produce biocrude, green diesel, biojet, biodiesel and other chemical intermediates. As much as 50% of algae’s total weight is composed of oil, dwarfing the current leading producer of biofuel oil in oil-palm trees which contain 20% oil. At its full potential, algae could produce as much as 10,000 gallons of oil per acre per year, compared to only 650 gallons per acre per year produced by palm and a meager 50 gallons per acre per year produced by soy (ii).

In addition, algae carbohydrate content can be fermented into ethanol, another efficient biofuel source (ii). Unlike other biofuel plants, algae grow rapidly, regardless of the weather, and therefore can be harvested for production daily. The development of microalgae into biofuel is beneficial for many reasons: it is inexpensive to produce, is scalable in production and distribution, requires little land and water use, consumes fewer resources than soybeans, corn and canola, and does not negatively impact food crop production. This product has the ability to fuel automobiles, trucks, airplanes and heating systems without emitting harmful pollutants. Not only is this fuel source emission free, the algae actually remove carbon from the atmosphere during growth, through photosynthesis. This ability to capture and store carbon, paired with its capacity as a productive source of energy, make algae biofuel a win-win solution for climate mitigation. Though algae biofuel has only recently made a statement on the renewable energy stage, further research and development will likely improve production and distribution rates and make this a more financially viable fuel source.

Experts stress that finding and producing a biofuel that will seamlessly replace petroleum oil at this point will be difficult, as we have been dependent on the extraction of the latter for over 150 years. Although algae biofuels have proven to be valuable and effective, the industry is not currently without flaw, as is true for all biofuels. In order to decrease negative environmental impacts, algae farmers need to reduce their use of fertilizer and freshwater. Harmful fertilizer use is devastating to the surrounding environment’s flora and fauna, and minimizing freshwater consumption would conserve a valuable resource. Since algae are an extremely efficient means of converting carbon dioxide into biomass, it is most effective to situate algae farms in close proximity to facilities that emit carbon dioxide, such as wastewater treatment plants. Additional carbon dioxide is also required in order to catalyze exponential algae growth, as current atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide are not sufficient for mass production. According to Andres Clarens, who led a study of energy costs and environmental impacts of algae for fuel at the University of Virginia, “algae farms will have a much smaller energy footprint if they use recycled carbon dioxide, nutrients and water rather than virgin products (iii).” As there are many methods of collecting and reusing CO2, nutrients and water, the future for this industry appears promising.

Algae biofuel has yet to achieve widespread use, but as the crop can potentially produce more oil per acre than any other terrestrial oil-producing plant (iv), there is enormous room for growth in the industry. The U.S. Department of Energy announced on January 14th, 2010, that it would invest $44 million to commercialize algae-based fuels (iii). Commercializing this product would reduce the production and distribution costs and provide incentive for algae farmers to cultivate the product at a larger scale. Currently, this industry still has a long road ahead in terms of technology adjustments and research in order to mass produce the product, but numerous investors have put their faith and funds into the operation. The potential of algae to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, decrease dependence on foreign oil, and reduce natural resource consumption in fuel production classify it as a plausible strategy worth pursuing.

References

i. European Biodiesel Board. “Statistics: The EU Biodiesel Industry.” 22 April 2010.

ii. Haag, Amanda Leigh. “Pond-Powered Biofuels: Turning Algae into America’s New Energy.” Popular Mechanics. 20 April 2010.

iii. Ehrenberg, Rachel. “Algae as Biofuel Still Rough Around the Edges.” Science News. 20 April 2010.

iv. U.S. Department of Energy. “Algal Biofuels.” Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. 20 April 2010. PDF.

SPRING 2010 Climate Alert

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