Algae for bioenergy
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Bioenergy > Feedstocks > Biodiesel feedstocks > Algae for bioenergy
The term algae encompasses a wide variety of mostly aquatic photosynthetic organisms. The potentially high biomass production potential of algae has drawn a lot of attention from researchers, particularly the possibility that algal oils could be used for biodiesel production. Biofuels produced from algae are known as "algal biofuels." (Algae can also be considered a type of "aquatic biofuel".)
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Production
There are several options for large-scale production of algae.
- Several companies are trying to commercialize technologies to harvest various forms of wild algae.
- Wild algae can be harvested from municipal waste and other man made sources
- Algal blooms that form naturally or as a result of pollution in the ocean can also theoretically be harvested for algae.
- Open-air ponds: Algae has been grown commercially for 20 years in open-air ponds for many applications including Spirulina production in both Hawaii and California. For the production of biodiesel[1] commercial open-air ponds were dicussed by the Aquatic Species Program Close Out Report as the most cost effective way to produce algae for biofuels.
- Closed ponds: Algae can be grown in covered ponds
- Photo-bioreactors: One of the more promising areas for bioenergy production is growing algae in sealed bioreactors. These allow for much greater control of conditions for the algae, but have much greater capital costs and technical challenges.[1]
Events
- 12-13 April 2010, New Delhi, India: Algae Biofuel Workshop 2010. (Themes: algae, biofuel, biogas, food vs. fuel, second-generation biofuels, waste)
- 27-29 April 2010, Washington, D.C., USA: Advanced Biofuels Leadership Conference. (Themes: algae, biobutanol, camelina, cellulosic ethanol, jatropha, renewable diesel, renewable jet fuel)
- 17-19 May 2010, San Diego, CA, USA: Algae World Summit 2010. (Themes: algae, markets, technology, wastewater)
- 29-30 January 2009, Houston, Texas, USA: Algae Commercialization Roundtable, Research, Business Plan Forum. (Themes: algae)
- 11-12 February 2009, Munich, Germany: The F.O. Licht 2nd Annual Developing and Commercialising Next Generation Biofuels. (Themes:commercialization, algae, ethanol, 2nd Generation)
- 23-24 April 2009, Washington, DC, USA: 2009 Annual Meeting of the Algal Biomass Organization. (Themes: algae)
- 8-10 September 2009, India: 2nd Algae Biofuel Summit 2009. (Themes: algae, biofuels, feedstocks, energy, biotechnology, developing countries)
- 2 November 2009, Berlin: Germany: Aquatic Biomass: Sustainable Bioenergy from Algae? - International Workshop and Proceedings. (Theme: sustainable bioenergy from algae)
- 16 November 2009, Washington, D.C., USA: The Energy Conversation - OMEGA: A Call to Action to Produce the Next Generation of Biofuels NOW. (Themes: algae, municipal solid waste, next generation biofuels)
- 1-2 December 2009, Hamburg, Germany: International Algae Congress 2009. (Themes: algae, biodiesel, biotechnology)
- 14 May 2008, Manila, Philippines: A - Z Algae Biomass Workshop. (Themes: algae, biomass)
- 17 July 2008, The Woodlands, Texas: Algae Commercialization Business Plan, Research, and Networking Forum. (Themes: algae, commercialization)
- 17-19 September 2008, New Delhi, India. Algae Biofuel Summit 2008. (Themes: biofuels, algae)
- 23-24 October 2008, Seattle, Washington, USA: 2008 Algae Biomass Summit.
- 17-18 November 2008, Singapore: AlgaeWorld. (Theme: algae)
- 3-4 December 2008, Amsterdam, The Netherlands: International Algae Congress. (Theme: algae)
News
- Engineers Find Significant Environmental Impacts with Algae-Based Biofuel, Offer Alternative to Production, 21 January 2010 by Newswise: "[University of Virginia] research, just published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, demonstrates that algae production consumes more energy, has higher greenhouse gas emissions and uses more water than other biofuel sources, such as switchgrass, canola and corn."
- "'Given what we know about algae production pilot projects over the past 10 to 15 years, we've found that algae's environmental footprint is larger than other terrestrial crops,' said Andres Clarens, an assistant professor in U.Va.'s Civil and Environmental Department and lead author on the paper."
- "As an environmentally sustainable alternative to current algae production methods, the researchers propose situating algae production ponds behind wastewater treatment facilities to capture phosphorous and nitrogen – essential nutrients for growing algae that would otherwise need to be produced from petroleum."[1]
- DOE to Award Nearly $80 Million for Biofuels Research and Infrastructure, 20 January 2010 by EERE Network News: "DOE announced on January 13 its investment of nearly $80 million in advanced biofuels research and fueling infrastructure under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act."
- A majority of the money is going to, "two biofuels consortia that will seek to break down barriers to the commercialization of algae-based and other biofuels that can be transported and sold using the existing fueling infrastructure, including refineries and pipelines."
- "In addition, the new infrastructure projects will allow the installation of new pumps and the retrofitting of existing pumps to dispense E85, a blend of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline."[2]
- Solix Biofuels begins production of oil made from algae, 23 July 2009 by Denver Business Journal: Solix Biofuels Inc., a Colorado State University startup company, "has started the production of oil made from algae."
- Exxon Sinks $600M Into Algae-Based Biofuels in Major Strategy Shift, 15 July 2009 by The New York Times: "Exxon is joining a biotech company, Synthetic Genomics Inc., to research and develop next-generation biofuels produced from sunlight, water and waste carbon dioxide by photosynthetic pond scum."
- "Next-wave biofuels that could reduce carbon emissions and displace oil imports are politically popular but have not moved into commercial production as fast as supporters would have hoped. Biofuels overall got a boost through a 2007 law that expands the national renewable fuels standard, or RFS, to reach 36 billion gallons by 2022."
- "Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) said the RFS expansion is too restrictive and could freeze out emerging technologies -- including algae-based biofuels....'despite having characteristics superior to any renewable fuels in commercial production today, [algae-based fuels] have no home in the RFS'".
- Algae-based Biofuels Moving Ever So Slowly to Market, 15 June 2009 by Earth2Tech: "Algae-based biofuels hold enormous promise as an alternative transportation fuel, but investors had better have patience. Fuel made from algal feedstocks is forecast to reach commercial availability by 2012, according to a report released today by Pike Research on the global biofuels industry, but isn’t expected to have a significant effect on the market until 2016. Algae startups like Solazyme with aggressive production timelines, however, might disagree."
- "Pike Research expects algae-based fuels to be the third key wave of next-generation transportation fuels in coming years, just after those based on waste greases hit the market followed by jatropha-based fuels."
- "'Algae is the only feedstock that has the potential to replace the world’s demand for transportation fuels,' the report said."
- "Of course, biofuel startups have been known to make aggressive claims about their growth trajectories, only to fall short once the realities of competitive fuel markets took hold. GreenFuel Technologies, a Cambridge, Mass.-based algal-derived fuel maker, had daring production estimates before it started struggling to raise funding. It went on to cut nearly half its staff and then finally closed down last month."[3]
- Bacterium Gets Wheels Turning on Ethanol Fuel, 10 March 2009 by The Washington Post:
- "A strain of bacteria accidentally found in the Chesapeake Bay more than 20 years ago -- a bug that decomposes everything from algae to newspapers to crab shells -- could help produce cheaper fuel, according to scientists at the University of Maryland."
- "Some researchers now use a pretreatment that softens the plants, then another treatment to turn cellulose into sugar, then a fermentation that turns the sugar into alcohol. Several scientists said that if the U-Md. research could make this process faster and more efficient, it could produce serious savings." [4]
- Continental to Test Flight Powered by Biofuel, 8 December 2008, by MSNBC:
- "Continental Airlines Inc. said Monday it will test the use of a biofuel blend to power one of its jetliners on a flight that won't carry any passengers."
- "Airlines are studying the use of alternative fuels to help deal with volatile jet fuel prices that spiked to record highs this summer, and to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases."
- "Continental said the plane on the Jan. 7 flight in Houston will use a special blend of half conventional fuel and half biofuel with ingredients derived from algae and jatropha plants." [5]
- Algae-based oil would save 160m tonnes CO2, 24 October 2008 by LowCarbonEconomy.com: "Algae-based transportation fuel could reduce global carbon dioxide emissions by over 160 million tonnes, according to the Carbon Trust."
- "The organisation has set up a funding initiative to boost research and development into algae biofuels with the aim of creating an alternative to fossil fuels by 2020."
- "It has set up the Algae Biofuels Challenge, which it will fund with up to £6 million and will also have the backing and funding of the (U.K.) Department of Transport.
- "According to the Carbon Trust, algae could produce between six and ten times more energy per hectare than conventional biofuel feedstocks, while generating just 20 per cent of the carbon emissions of fossil fuels."[6]
- Boeing, Virgin join group committed to biofuel for commercial jets, 26 September 2008 by WBCSD/ENN: "Boeing joined Virgin Atlantic Airways and eight other airlines this morning to pledge to speed up the development of sustainable, second-generation biofuels for use in the commercial aviation industry."
- "The group has announced two initial sustainability research projects to judge the viability of two leading contenders for biomass-based renewable jet fuel: Jatropha curcas and algae."[7]
- Saline County Missouri Approves $141 Million Revenue Bonds for Alternative Energy, 31 July 2008 by iStockAnalyst: "Green Star Products, Inc. (OTC:GSPI) today announced that EcoAlgae USA, LLC, has received a signed resolution from Saline County Missouri commissioners to construct a commercial Algae Production Facility in conjunction with an Integrated Biorefinery Complex."
- New, "better" biofuels are no magic bullet, 4 June 2008 by Reuters: "commercial production of [second generation] biofuels, for instance using woody cellulose, grasses or algae, is years away" and such biofuels "'are not expected to be produced on a commercial basis' in the next decade, according to a report by the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development."
- Green Star secures algal biodiesel license, 31 January 2008, from Biofuel Review. A license was granted to use the process developed by Green Star to convert algae biomass to biodiesel, and to use cellulose sugars to produce ethanol.
- Continuous microalgae bio-oil process developed, 29 January 2008, Biofuel Review, the new process allows the separation of the bio-oil feedstock from the algae biomass.
- Shell joins venture to produce biodiesel from algae from the Financial Times, 12 December 2007. Shell and HP Biopetroleum, a Hawaii-based algal biofuels company, collaborate to grow marine algae for conversion into biodiesel.
- Algae Blooms Again (subscription required) 30 May 2007, from Nature about Solix' growing of algae in enclosed chambers to make biodiesel.
- PetroSun licensing biofuel-from-algae process to... itself?, 9 April 2007, from Insidegreentech.com. A blog article on PetroSun's announcement that it is liscensing its algae to biodiesel technology to an Australian subsidiary.
- Algae biofuel company's claims questioned, 3 April 2007 from Biopact.com. A report has questioned South African company De Beers Fuel claims of having produced large quantities of biodiesel from algae.
- GSPI Consortium to Construct "Algae-to-Biodiesel" Facilities in Two Countries, 15 March 2007, from CSRwire.com. "Green Star Products, Inc. announced today that its Consortium of independent companies will begin construction of two demonstration "algae-to-biodiesel" production facilities in the US and abroad."
- Venture Capitalists Want to Put Some Algae in Your Tank (login required), 7 March 2007, New York Times, reports on California-based inventors from LiveFuels Inc. working to develop algae that could be "superheated or pressurized into fuel." The company, which has the slogan “from pond to pump,” works with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Sandia National Labs, and estimates that it will be able to produce an initial amount of algae-based biofuel within three years [i.e., by 2010].
- PetroSun announces final testing for algae biofuel proocess, 5 February 2007 from Biofuel Review. PetroSun has announced that the field testing of the cultivation of algae for biodiesel production has now progressed to the final stage prior to the construction of a commercial cultivation facility.
Companies
- Algodyne Corp. - Has developed an algae photo-bioreactor system that can produce ethanol, methanol, biodiesel, electricity, (synthetic) coal and animal feed. They are also developing a direct alcohol fuel cell (DAFC), that produces electricity from ethanol directly.
- Aquaflow Bionomic Corporation - A New Zealand based company that is the first to harvest wild algae (from waste-water treatment plants) for biodiesel production.
- Circle Biodiesel & Ethanol Corporation - manufacturing and consulting for algae biodiesel and photobioreactors for algae biofuel production, etc.
- GreenFuel Technologies Corporation - Provides algae bioreactor technology that can capture carbon dioxide emissions to support algae-based biofuel production.
- Green Star Products Inc. - A holding company with investments in various ethanol and biodiesel producers. They are building demonstration algae-to-biodiesel facilities.
- Petrosun Incorporated - a diversified energy company dealing with both traditional fossil fuels and renewable energy resources, including algae biodiesel, through their subsidiary, Algae Biofuels.
- Solix Biofuels - Makes algae photo-bioreactors that capture CO2 from power plants to produce biodiesel.
- XL Biorefinery - A new generation biorefinery combines a dairy operation with a bioufels plant and fractionation mill to produce renewable biofuels, quality animal feeds, and milk products. They currently use corn as a feedstock but are developing an algae to biofuels component.
Organizations
- Algal Biomass Organization - ABO is a not-for-profit organization that "promotes the development of viable commercial markets for renewable and sustainable commodities derived from microalgae."[9]
- National Algae Association - NAA is "the first national trade association for the algae industry in the United States".[10]
Publications
See books, reports, scientific papers, position papers and websites for additional useful resources.
Websites
- Algae Fuel - Wikipedia page on Algae Fuels.
- www.aquaticbiofuels.org - UNFAO Aquatic Biofuels Working Group.
- Oilgae.com - Biodiesel from algae site.
- Oilalgae.com - Oil from algae blog.
- Aquaticbiofuel.com - Biofuel from aquatic resources.
Reports
- Global: Status of Next Generation Biofuels Facilities - 26-page September 2009 report (cost: $1,595.00) issued by Hart Energy's Global Biofuels Center.
- From the description: "Next generation biofuels have received tremendous fanfare...as a crucial part of the next steps toward energy security, reducing dependence on petroleum products and environmental well-being....Be it cellulosic ethanol, renewable diesel, biomass-to-liquids (BTL) or Fischer Tropsch liquids, made from feedstocks such as agricultural/forest/municipal solid wastes, grasses, woods, waste paper and algae, next generation biofuels are still largely under R&D."[11]
- Aquatic Biofuels (PDF file), by T. Piccolo. See also the Aquatic Biofuels website http://www.aquaticbiofuel.com for further information
- Microalgae Technologies & Processes for Biofuels / Bioenergy Production In British Columbia: Current Technology, Suitability & Barriers to Implementation, by Yomi Alabi, Martin Tampier, Eric Bibeau; SeedScience, January 2009.
- Widescale Biodiesel Production from Algae by Michael Briggs; University of New Hampshire, Physics Department, revised August 2004.
- A Look Back at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Aquatic Species Program: Biodiesel from Algae, by John Sheehan, Terri Dunahay, John Benemann, Paul Roessler; USDOE, July 1998.
References
| Algae | edit | |
| Algae for bioenergy Events: International Workshop on Sustainable Bioenergy from Algae | ||
| Bioenergy feedstocks | edit | |
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Biodiesel feedstocks: Ethanol feedstocks: | ||
| Bioenergy conversion technologies | edit | |
| Technologies categorized by bioenergy processes: Biochemical: Aerobic, Anaerobic, Landfill gas collection (LFG), Biodiesel production, Ethanol production Technologies categorized by feedstock: Technologies by commercialization status: Analysis of technologies: Life-cycle analysis | ||
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