Pond Scum: Fueling Our Future?

Newswise — Utah State University researchers are using an innovative approach that takes oil from algae and converts it to biodiesel fuel.

USU is currently conducting research on algae and plans to produce an algae-biodiesel that is cost-competitive by 2009. Algae, plainly referred to as pond scum, can produce up to 10,000 gallons of oil per acre and can be grown virtually anywhere.

“This is perhaps the most important scientific challenge facing humanity in the 21st century,” said Lance Seefeldt, USU professor of chemistry and biochemistry.

“There are several options for solving the world’s energy problem, but at this point, none of them are realistically viable for long-term use.”

Biodiesel is a clean and carbon-dioxide-neutral fuel that is becoming more popular, but most of the current product comes from soybean and corn oil. As supply and demand grows, so does the price of soybeans and corn. People and animals rely on soybean and corn as a food commodity, eventually causing competition between commodities and growing enough product. Meeting this demand would require the world to use virtually all of its arable land, said Seefeldt.

The world today relies on fossil fuels to supply much of its energy, and there are currently 13 terawatts of energy used per year. A terawatt is 1,000 billion watts, and Seefeldt said usage is predicted to double to 26 terawatts by the year 2050. Fossil fuels are expensive, finite and generate greenhouse gasses that many believe are harming the environment, said Seefeldt.

“This has moved from a purely environmental issue to a global economics issue,” said Seefeldt.

Sir Nicholas Stern, chief economist for the World Bank, said that climate change presents a unique challenge for economics and that it has the potential to be the world’s greatest and widest ranging market failure ever seen.

“Business as usual will result in a five-to six-degree warming of the Earth by 2100,” said Stern. “This will result in a five to 10 percent loss in global gross domestic product, having a direct impact on human health and environment.”

Seefeldt, along with several fellow USU professors, formed the Biofuels Program to develop new and emerging technologies that will produce methane, biodiesel, hydrogen and alcohols from renewable, carbon-dioxide-neutral energy sources, such as consumer and agricultural waste and sunlight.

The state of Utah sees so much promise in the research that it has given the USU Biofuels Program $6 million for five years through the Utah Science and Technology Research Initiative. USTAR makes highly-selective, strategic investments in research with the potential to benefit Utah’s economy.

The research has already set in motion several spin-off and industry relationships, and one patent has already been issued, with four others pending.

“We are looking toward the world’s future energy solutions and USU is part of it,” said Seefeldt.

The research takes a tremendous amount of investment and energy, but the payoffs will be worth it, he said.

The Various Advantages of Producing Algae Biodiesel

Author: Muna wa Wanjiru

Algae is a major renewable fuel which can be used to manufacture Biodiesel. One of the companies in New Zealand successfully developed a system for using sewage waste as a substrate for algae and then it produce bio-diesel. An alga is considered as the highest yield feedstock for biodiesel that can produce more enough oil compared to soybeans when grew in an acre.

Actual Biomass algae produced from field trials, which is conducted during the NREL’s aquatic species program. It is being converted using the actual oil content of the algae species grown in the specific program.

There are various advantages of producing biodiesel from algae, which include rapid growth of the plant. Using Algae Biodiesel gives high per acre yield. Algae biodiesel does not used to contain sulfur, toxic materials and it is highly biodegradable. There are some species, which are ideally suited for algae biodiesel production, because their high oil contents in some species.

Algae used to develop from small, singled celled organisms to cellular organisms, some algae have complex distinguished form. Algae can be easily seen at places like damp, bodies of water. Algae are common in terrestrial as well as aquatic environments. Like any other plants algae require three elements to spring up sunlight, carbon-di-oxide and water. Plant algae and some other bacteria convert sunlight to chemical energy, which process call as photosynthesis. Algae used to contain 2% and 40% of lipids or oils by weight. If algae have greater oil, it may results in lower yield annual food crops such as soybeans. Currently only 0.3% of the land of the US, it is getting utilized to produce enough biodiesel.
Species of algae with up to 50% oil content have conclude that only 28000km land getting used to produce biodiesel. Unused desert land could be used for effective growing of algae.

Following is the productions which obtained in an entire year. In the winter months algae productivity used to drop.
Metric Tons / Hectare/ Year
M. minutum alage 1989 35.8
M. minutum alage 1989 30.3
M. minutum alage 1990 38.3
Algae 1978 43.8
Sugarcane 79.2
Oil Palm 50
Arundo Donax 50
To cultivate Algae for Liquid Fuel production requires,

Gallons of Oil per Acre per year
Corn required 15
Safflower required 48
Sunflower required 83
Rapessed required 127
Oil Palm required
Micro Algae required 1850
Micro Algae required 5000-15000

Company, which produces Biodiesel from Algae

The Enhance Biofuels and Technology generate algae process which combines a bioreactor with an open pond. Here both using waste co2 from coal fired power plant flue gases as a fertilizer. Biodiesel and ethanol can be used an alternative fuel and also it is being sold.

GreenFuel Technology, where emissions to Biofuels process, photosynthesis which grows algae, it capture CO2 and it produce high energy biomass. The algae can be economically converted to solid fuel, methane or liquid transportation fuels like biodiesel and ethanol.

About the Author:

Muna wa Wanjiru Has Been Researching and Reporting on Biodiesel for Years. For More Information on Algae Biodiesel, Visit His Site at ALGAE BIODIESEL