New Company Turns Algae-Based Fish Oil Into Biofuel

Fast Company:

We've seen a spate of companies getting involved in algae fuel in recent months, and all of them plan to use some variation on bioreactors and algae farms to squeeze oil out of algae. California startup LiveFuels is taking a different approach: feed algae to filter-hungry fish, round up the fish, and squeeze the oil out of them.

Read the whole story: Fast Company

Comments

[TucsonDean]

Solar and wind are better solutions for buildings, but cars and trucks need transportable and storable fuel sources. Biofuels are the best solution at the moment because a) battery technology isn't advanced enough to make electric vehicles practical yet, and b) it's a LOT more economical to modify the millions of existing vehicles to run on biofuels than it is to replace them all with electric vehicles. Airplanes will also likely have to run on liquid fuels until a new solution is discovered, since existing battery designs are simply too heavy for aircraft use.

[PatLow]

Law of unintended consiquences says that this may end badly. Introduction of non-native species has mostly proven to be a disaster. I also would think that the cost of producing this in mass would never pencil out.

[BannedNBoston]

Goog 411 algae production of bio-diesel is CENTRALLIZED ENERGY PRODUCTION.

I want hemp diesel from Maine not algae diesel from Arizona.

If we dont legaize hemp Dupont will charge $4 a gallon for it.
We need both.

[BannedNBoston]

This is a way of over fishing the oceans like feeding menhaden to salmon in pens.
Legalize Hemp
8 Times more btus' than corn
8 Times more bio diesel than soy or canola
The seeds make the best chicken and turkey feed in the world.

[doctorkosan]

Totally bogus claims. Scientific source?

[jsarets]

Or they could just grow hemp, use the seed oil for biodiesel and the stem fiber for bioethanol. Grows anywhere, produces biomass faster than any other vegetable, and doesn't deplete the soil.

[jsarets]

This isn't new. An aquaponic farm in Arkansas uses a closed-loop cycle to produce tilapia and vegetables. They have recirculating fish tanks and hydroponic grow beds in a greenhouse. Algae grows in the tanks. The fish eat the algae. The vegetables filter waste from the water. The recirculating system only requires a small amount of water to make up for evaporation. Sunlight in, fish and vegetables out.

[condor101]

Forget Biofuels.
That's a Scam to keep people PAYING for fuel at the Pump.

The best and cleanest source of energy is from the SUN and WIND. Solar and Wind is the present and future.

Power companies don't want people to think about those FREE energies because they would lose so much money if people placed small wind turbines and solar panels on their homes.

Wake Up People!

[humaneismyth]

I agree faved

[jsarets]

Biofuels ARE solar power. It's photosynthesis instead of photovoltaics. What's wrong with that?

We just need to find more efficient biological pathways for converting sunlight into energy. Of course, corn isn't the answer.

Rooftop PV and wind are excellent solutions, but the high initial costs will slow the adoption rate. With enough resources, we can build machines that mimic nature. Or we could just have nature work for us.

[alvdh1]

It is always prudent to take thermodynamics into consideration when attempting to create or use energy.

[KillTheMessenger]

Yawn... if algae don't work all by themselves, why should algae fed to fish work? Can someone explain the thermodynamics of this one to me? Since when is less of something more?

[S1m0n]

When it's more of something else.

[Goog411]

Numerous large companies like DuPont are working on similar developments involving algae and its conversion to fuel. Algae grows very fast in comparison to corn or other products and it is definitely worth the research.

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