Evolution of Energy

Continental Airlines became the first U.S. commercial carrier to conduct a demonstration flight powered in part by alternative fuels.  One engine was fueled by a mixture of half algae-based biofuel and traditional jet fuel, the other was fueled solely by jet fuel.  The general manager of UOP, a biofuels producer, succinctly sums up the problem.  “There isn’t enough sustainable feedstock at the right price point to able to be competitive with petroleum.”  Read more here.

Researchers at Austin Peay State University in Tennessee are developing bioreactors for bacteria growth for biofuel production.  With higher growth rates than microlagae, bacteria could prove to be a more viable solution for the production of a lipid feestock.  The prime challenge I envision is dewatering of the biomass, given that bacteria significantly smaller than microalage it may prove to be more costly.  However, bacteria are used quite extensively for wastwater treatement so likely there will be existing dewatering solutions that can be leveraged.  Read more here.

Valero has followed other oil companies in beginning to stake their claim in the nascent algae-based biofuels. Valero has invested an undisclosed amount in Colorado based Solix biofuels. Solix’s system is able to utilize CO2 emissions from power plants. Read more here. Solix Biofuels

Numerous start-ups are researching and beginning pilot plants to determine the viability and profitability of algae based biodiesel. Many production factors need to be figured out before this can be a long-term solution. Two large factors are bioreactor production limits due to light requirements and cost of processing (harvesting, drying, extraction). Read more here.

The biofuel boom has pushed corn production to the forefront in the US. However, this “carbon neutral” fuel is not without its environmental impacts. The increase in fertilizer use for corn production has led to an increase in the deadzones in the Gulf of Mexico. Fertilizer ladened runoff flows down the Mississippi to the Gulf. There the fertilizer results in large algae blooms, these blooms then die off and the decomposition process sucks out the dissolved oxygen. Ironically, most fertilizers are petroleum based. Interesting stat: The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that up to 210 million pounds of nitrogen fertilizer enter the Gulf of Mexico each year. Read more here.