Bio-diesel from algae

[roofeditor]

This may be the power of your f-350 in the future.

Some really good reading.

Widescale Biodiesel Production from Algae - Algae as a Biodiesel Feedstock

[OMCUSNR]

Originally Posted by roofeditor

This may be the power of your f-350 in the future.

Some really good reading.

Widescale Biodiesel Production from Algae - Algae as a Biodiesel Feedstock

Mike's been working on this for a number of years now. If we took 1/10th the money they sink into hydrogen, and used it for construction of algae farms we'd be a good way down the road of oil independence w/out sacrificing farm land. If we could get people weaned from gasoline to diesel, with its roughly 30% better economy than trying to use ethanol, with its roughly 20% less economy, we'd be better off.

One of the nice things about Algal feed stocks, is they can be regional and smaller in footprint, allowing for less use of land & resources for transportation.

OMC

[JIM_C]

Do you know of any updates to this article? It's almost four years old.

[roofeditor]

Originally Posted by OMCUSNR

Mike's been working on this for a number of years now. If we took 1/10th the money they sink into hydrogen, and used it for construction of algae farms we'd be a good way down the road of oil independence w/out sacrificing farm land. If we could get people weaned from gasoline to diesel, with its roughly 30% better economy than trying to use ethanol, with its roughly 20% less economy, we'd be better off.

One of the nice things about Algal feed stocks, is they can be regional and smaller in footprint, allowing for less use of land & resources for transportation.

OMC

If you happen to believe in that as a pollutant....I don't. But I will sell it (holding my nose) as a benefit if it will sell the package because it's a major step.

[Blue Water Runner]

Set yourself up a "google alert" on the topic of "algae oil production" and you will get updates daily. Its amazing what the future of algae holds. A company here in the US called Orginoil has applied for a patent for a mass production process. That happened a couple of weeks ago.

[roofeditor]

• Algae: 1800 gpa or more (est.- see soy figures and DOE quote below)
• Palm oil: 508 gpa[41]
• Coconut: 230 gpa[41]
• Rapeseed: 102 gpa[41]
• Soy: 59.2-98.6 gpa in Indiana[42] (Soy is used in 80% of USA biodiesel[43])
• Peanut: 90 gpa[41]
• Sunflower: 82 gpa[41]

Algae fuel yields have not yet been accurately determined, but DOE is reported as saying that algae yield 30 times more energy per acre than land crops such as soybeans [44], and some estimate even higher yields up to 15000 gpa

Now comparing 82 gallons per acre to 1800 gallons per acre is quite a difference.

[Blue Water Runner]

Take a look at this posted today:

OriginOil Files Patent for Breakthrough Algae Oil Extraction Technique

[roofeditor]

Originally Posted by Blue Water Runner

Take a look at this posted today:

OriginOil Files Patent for Breakthrough Algae Oil Extraction Technique

I will be calling them

[kude]

Originally Posted by roofeditor

• Algae: 1800 gpa or more (est.- see soy figures and DOE quote below)
• Palm oil: 508 gpa[41]
• Coconut: 230 gpa[41]
• Rapeseed: 102 gpa[41]
• Soy: 59.2-98.6 gpa in Indiana[42] (Soy is used in 80% of USA biodiesel[43])
• Peanut: 90 gpa[41]
• Sunflower: 82 gpa[41]

Algae fuel yields have not yet been accurately determined, but DOE is reported as saying that algae yield 30 times more energy per acre than land crops such as soybeans [44], and some estimate even higher yields up to 15000 gpa

Now comparing 82 gallons per acre to 1800 gallons per acre is quite a difference.

Okay the question is what does it cost per to produce (fertilizer stock etc)the algae and how long a does it take a crop of algae to develop its maximum oil content, or time to harvest. A lot of farms have low areas that could be turned into algae farms. For the northern part of the country, if you get 20 or more crops of algae in a growing season then its probably worth it.

[roofeditor]

Originally Posted by kude

Okay the question is what does it cost per to produce (fertilizer stock etc)the algae and how long a does it take a crop of algae to develop its maximum oil content, or time to harvest. A lot of farms have low areas that could be turned into algae farms. For the northern part of the country, if you get 20 or more crops of algae in a growing season then its probably worth it.

If you use our solar power units and waste from garbage bio-diesel can be made much cheaper than what we are paying for diesel now.

It's a little early to give a final number.

I do have quite a bit more information but right now it's proprietary and I have signed a non-disclosure contract so I can only talk in general terms. A can say a unit is being built right now!

[pabrannan]

Originally Posted by roofeditor

If you use our solar power units and waste from garbage bio-diesel can be made much cheaper than what we are paying for diesel now.

It's a little early to give a final number.

I do have quite a bit more information but right now it's proprietary and I have signed a non-disclosure contract so I can only talk in general terms. A can say a unit is being built right now!

The algea farming can be done in horizontal tubes hung in vertical arrays and doing so doesn't take up acres as would shallow ponds. I have done a little reading on oil from algea and it looks real promising NOW.

Paul B

[GEARJAMMER]

Has any one seen this?

Shawn

[toalpi]

Originally Posted by roofeditor

It's a little early to give a final number. ......

A can say a unit is being built right now!

"A little early" is a major understatement. Can you elaborate on this "unit". Any press releases or location? One potential environmental "issue" would be the inadvertant release of these super algae into a natural water way. That will happen. I am making some assumtions with that "super" term.

[roofeditor]

Originally Posted by toalpi

"A little early" is a major understatement. Can you elaborate on this "unit". Any press releases or location? One potential environmental "issue" would be the inadvertant release of these super algae into a natural water way. That will happen. I am making some assumtions with that "super" term.

As I mentioned I signed a non disclosure agreement and other than some very general information I can't say too much. It is being built and we have 2 million of our own money in it plus the other partners money.


NREL's research showed that one quad (7.5 billion gallons) of biodiesel could be produced from 200,000 hectares of desert land (200,000 hectares is equivalent to 780 square miles, roughly 500,000 acres), if the remaining challenges are solved (as they will be, with several research groups and companies working towards it, including ours at UNH). In the previous section, we found that to replace all transportation fuels in the US, we would need 140.8 billion gallons of biodiesel, or roughly 19 quads (one quad is roughly 7.5 billion gallons of biodiesel). To produce that amount would require a land mass of almost 15,000 square miles. To put that in perspective, consider that the Sonora desert in the southwestern US comprises 120,000 square miles. Enough biodiesel to replace all petroleum transportation fuels could be grown in 15,000 square miles, or roughly 12.5 percent of the area of the Sonora desert

This hypothetical example is used strictly for the purpose of showing the scale of land required). That 15,000 square miles works out to roughly 9.5 million acres - far less than the 450 million acres currently used for crop farming in the US, and the over 500 million acres used as grazing land for farm animals.

The operating costs (including power consumption, labor, chemicals, and fixed capital costs (taxes, maintenance, insurance, depreciation, and return on investment) worked out to $12,000 per hectare. That would equate to $46.2 billion per year for all the algae farms, to yield all the oil feedstock necessary for the entire country. Compare that to the $500 billion the US spends each year just on purchasing crude oil from foreign countries, with all of that money leaving the US economy.


As to what to do with the left over algae extract!!!!

Algae Left-over Extracts

The flakes left over from biodiesel squeezing can be processed into ethanol. It can also be used as livestock feed, such as chicken feed.

Algal biomass has other potential on- and off-farm uses. Although it has primarily been considered as an alternative high-grade protein source in animal feed, algea biomass with a balanced N:P ratio is a potentially valuable organic fertilizer. It may also have some biocontrol properties. Algal biomass is also reported to be particularly suitable for pisciculture. Studies have also been done on algal meal from Spirulina and Haematococcus as a carotenoid and vitamin supplement for poultry & salmonids


A very good but long read:

http://www1.eere.energy.gov/biomass/...from_algae.pdf

[Blue Water Runner]

So what kind of price savings per gallon would we be looking at? It looks like it would be pretty substancial. I imagine the profit margin would need to be higher to pay for all the initial costs.