[According2RecentPollsAirIsGood]

Front page of the Chronicle today. Regardless of the various political debates going on right now, the technology right now surrounding biofuels is very interesting and quite exciting in many cases. With the price of oil now, it's also moving ahead at breakneck speed. There's some very cool things going on, and this algae tech is just one of many.

A couple of my favorite quotes from the article:

"Vertigro, however, is not waiting on Uncle Sam to act. The company is about to begin building a pilot plant behind the research lab in Anthony, and company officials say they are in talks with biodiesel producers about licensing their "closed-loop" algae-production system."

"The bags, which are pumped with carbon dioxide and exposed to the sun, help the algae speed along photosynthesis. In this setting, the tiny green organisms can reproduce up to six times every 24 hours.
'That's pretty sexy,' Frater said, in his Scottish accent." =D

Here's a neat video from Valcent's website demonstrating the process.

[golfisnr1]

Thats almost as fast as KudZu.
I still think they should investiate Kudzu for bio-diesel.

[Paladin2]

It's kinda cool that algae grows in Diesel fuel. Now Diesel grows in algae.

In any event, I'm readhy to burn some of this stuff, especially if it's, say, $1.50/gal retail.

[Jedi Master Pikachu]

ping.

[dblshot]

“About 20,000 bags can be hung in one square acre, yielding 100,000 gallons of algae oil per year, Kertz said. By contrast, one acre of soybeans can produce just 50 gallons of soybean oil a year and one acre of corn yields 29 gallons per year, Vertigro said.’

why does this make me think....

SOYLENT GREEN IS PEOPLE!

[RightWhale]

This market is enormous," said Global Green CEO Doug Frater.

The alternatives to crude oil products will cost more unless they are coal.

[Red Badger]

Rest In Peace, old friend, your work is finished.......

If you want on or off the DIESEL ”KnOcK” LIST just FReepmail me........

This is a fairly HIGH VOLUME ping list on some days......

[Tijeras_Slim]

Sheesh, you Texans... even your pondscum thinks it’s special.

[blam]

They say that one tenth of the land area of New Mexico could supply the entire US with it's oil needs...let's give them the whole state.

BTW, I've read the 85% of the land in NM is owned by the federal government.

[nuke rocketeer]

Could West Texas algae curb oil dependence? No........

[jas3]

The US uses about 20 million barrels of oil a day. There are 42 gallons in a barrel. So that is 840 million gallons per day. That comes out to 306.6 billion gallons per year.

Since one acre yields 100,000 gallons per year of algae oil (which we will presume is equivalent in refined product output to crude oil...which I highly doubt), then we only need 3 million acres to reduce our crude demand to zero.

Since one acre = 0.0015625 square mile, 3,066,00 acres = 4,790.625 square miles. That’s a single square about 69.2 miles per side. And the US is something like 6 million square miles.

So on the face of it, it is not completely ridiculous. But I’m very suspicious of the notion that the energy content of algae oil is equal to that of crude. I also suspect that cultivating algae bags would be quite energy (and water and carbon dioxide and labor) intensive.

Interesting concept though.

jas3

[edsheppa]

Research on algae as a potential energy source is nothing new. But it suffered a setback in 1996 when the U.S. Energy Department cut funding for an algae research program that had been in place since 1978, said Al Darzins,... With energy prices so low at the time, the agency doubted algae would ever be able to compete on cost with traditional petroleum sources, he said.

You mean on Al Gore's watch this very promising research was cut back? For shame!

[MrEdd]

renewable energy

[B4Ranch]

ping

[Uncledave]

Renewable Energy Ping

Please Freep Mail me if you'd like on/off

[edsheppa]

I've thought for some time they should consider doing this in the ocean. There's abundant sunlight and "acreage" available out there. It's been shown that algea will bloom in the iron-poor ocean if iron is supplied.

And consider harvesting some other, larger creature that uses algea for food and is genetically modified for enhanced oil content, as it will be cheaper to contain in the "farm." Some efficienies would be lost of course so probably not a good idea to go much higher in the food chain.

[southland]

bttt

[racnpartsales4u]

I will gladly do my part. They can harvest out of the pond in my front yard and my kids fish tank.

[Carry_Okie]

IMO the best place to do bio-diesel is in tropical oceans. There's no land to buy, no farmland to lose, plenty of sun, easy temperature control, free agitation, cheap transportation, and water everywhere. If a hurricane comes along, sink it a couple of hundred feet. The processing could be done on delivery ships.

[tubebender]

But the biggest benefit: Algae farms can be built virtually anywhere — a point Vertigro hoped to illustrate by locating in West Texas.

How much water will it take to run one of these plants?

[tubebender]

I can’t wait for the next Casino Video game... TEXAS GREEN TEA!

Invest in the next Texas oil fields now...