Bloomfield Hills, MI-based Sequest LLC is contemplating building a pilot algae biodiesel plant in Holland (on Michigan's west side). Holland has a number of attributes that make it a good location for this particular project. Sequest wants the plant to use waste water for growing the algae and carbon-dioxide to feed it. A coal-fired power plant is in close proximity to the local water treatment plant. Michigan State University also has a research lab nearby.

The intention is to pipe the CO₂ from the power plant through the waste water but it must be separated from other pollutants, like mercury. MSU, which has tremendous expertise in agricultural research, is expected to provide assistance with developing new strains of algae that would be more amenable to the biofuel production. The state of Michigan is currently in the process of passing legislation that would provide $18 million for biofuel projects including $7 million for the Holland algae plant.

[Source: MLive.com]

Two companies, Holcim and Aurantia are starting a new project to reuse CO₂. They take the CO₂ produced by a cement plant in Jerez de la Frontera in Spain and "feed" it to microalgae which then turn around and produce biodiesel. The results of this project will be tested to assess if the carbon dioxide supplied by the cement plant is suitable for the algae. The two companies will also select the best type of algae for the project as well as assessing the viability of the project. The test will be performed on an-almost industrial scale, so once the final green light is given, it could start working immediately.

[Source: Econoticias]

There are plenty of flex-fuel capable cars on the roads, but there is not nearly enough ethanol available to power all of them on the gasoline alternative. It's no secret that corn-based ethanol is not the answer to our oil woes, but if that's the case, what alternatives should we be looking closest at? Regular readers are surely aware that cellulosic ethanol is the way to go when it comes to alcohol-based fuels, but even with that process, a crop of some sort is required. Additionally, biodiesel offers plenty of advantages over petroleum-based diesel fuel, but an oil-rich crop is required for its creation as well. A new study from the University of Washington was commissioned to find the most desirable crops for biofuels which suggests that algae and fast-growing trees be considered as the cream-of-the-crop, so to speak.

"While some biofuels may be an improvement over traditional fuels, we believe we should focus much more on the biofuels of the future that can be developed in small spaces, rather than extensively on crop lands," according to lead author Martha Groom. "We also must shun biofuels that are grown by clearing biologically-rich habitats, such as tropical rainforests, as has occurred with oil palm and some other biofuels," she adds. The study also recommends that a special look be taken at crops which sequester carbon as they grow.

We may add that another benefit to both algae and fast-growing trees is that nobody is growing them already for food.

[Source: Science Daily]

Over the past couple of years, algae has been gaining a lot of attention as a potentially high-yield source of biodiesel fuel. As the controversy over food vs. fuel and water use grows for corn ethanol, researchers have been trying to find alternatives that don't require arable land and more energy to produce than they yield. Algae is looking like one of the best prospects with yields per acre of up to 100 times what can be achieved from soy and other crops.

It turns out that algae as a fuel source actually has a history going back three decades to the Carter administration. In between the first and second oil shocks of the 1970s, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory began the Aquatic Species Program to research different species of algae that could be cultivated and harvested for producing fuels. As oil prices settled back down in the late 1980s, a lot of the work was scaled back but the data was still available for researchers. During the current decade, as the environment and the security of energy supplies became a greater concern, researchers have latched onto algae once again. Companies like Solazyme and International Energy are now working aggressively to commercialize algae biodiesel. Green Fuels Forecast has a great summary of the history of algae over the last three decades and where it stands today.

[Source: Green Fuels Forecast]

At the Sundance film festival this week, Solazyme is promoting its scalable process that makes biodiesel from algae by driving a car through the busy streets of Park City, Utah. The Mercedes is fueled by Soladiesel, the Solazyme biodiesel that is "biodegradable, nontoxic and safe" and made using algae. Solazyme is working with Chevron on developing and testing the biodiesel. You can also see the Soladiesel car in Josh Tikell's Fields of Fuel documentary.

In a prepared statement, Solazyme CEO Jonathan Wolfson said, "Biodiesel from algae changes the landscape of renewable fuels. The concept of algal biofuel has been discussed for decades, and Solazyme's technology finally provides a scalable solution based on proven industrial processes. This fuel is just the first example of how algal oil will help the environment through new products that offer attractive economics and performance, as well as environmental benefits."

Solazyme is based in San Francisco. You can watch a video of this news from Solazyme after the break. Solazyme has also put their Multimedia News Release online here.

Related:

• Josh Tickell's Fields of Fuel documentary screening at Sundance on Monday
• Biodiesel Feedstock Development Agreement for algae biodiesel in Seattle

[Source: Solazyme, Inc.]

I wonder if this is the kind of thing the San Francisco Green Party would have a problem with: according to C-NET, two companies in Australia announced they will work together to run emissions from a coal plant through a bioreactor to make biodiesel. C-NET's Martin LaMonica writes that Linc Energy and Bio Clean Coal will create a prototype bioreactor (cost: $1 million) that will grow the algae that eat the carbon from the coal plant's emissions. Dry those suckers out and you've got a biomass that can be turned into biodiesel (or fertilizer; or even burnt to produce more power). One more step in the road to turn waste into fuel, one more step to turn algae into biodiesel.

[Source: C-NET]

Remember the "Back to the Future" movies staring Michael J. Fox? Remember the Professor character played by Christopher Lloyd who refueled his DeLorean-based time machine with banana peels and half-filled beer cans? Well, we are approaching a similar solution. Not banana peels for fuel, but pond scum instead. Pond scum biodiesel fuel!

Diesel fuel is a small market next to gasoline - only 40 Billion gallons a year or thereabouts compared to about 140 Billion gallons. Still 40 Billion is nothing to laugh at. Biofuels production in the U.S. is still under one billion gals/year. In all of Europe it is 1.4 billion gallons. To ramp up production may cause as much disturbance in soy and other oil-rich crops as ethanol has caused in corn and other food prices. But algae, well that's another story. It grows where and when people don't want it. It is part of nature's system of reprocessing chemicals in water and air, powered by sunlight. Algae grows very quickly and, like all plants, it eats CO₂.

I am not a biologist. The information on algae biodiesel is available in the Nov. 3 issue of BusinessWeek's What's Next section. One venture firm is Imperium Renewables of Seattle, which readers will likely be familiar with. Investments and research are now underway to get to the most commercially viable production system and to get that system up to sufficient size. What strain of algae is most productive and resilient? Which is easiest to process to biofuel?

A production rate of 8 billion gallons a year would allow every US gallon of diesel fuel to be B20 biodiesel. I just hope we get the algae to work with us. What if the best kind of algae for biofuel smells like skunk? Or eats thru piping? Or is toxic to the touch? We'll have to go to the near future to find out.

[Source: BusinessWeek]