Algae: Biofuel, Cooking Oil, Health Supplement (VIDEO)

Algae may be the newest contender in the biofuel business. Biotech company Solazyme is developing multiple uses for algae, replacing petroleum, cooking oil and more. Solazyme claims that algae can grow into a processable form in a fraction of the time to grow corn. Solazyme has produced usable oil from the algae, even demonstrating it running a car, "It has a fantastic carbon footprint compared to regular petroleum based diesel."
Watch the CNET video:

Comments

[Raymondf]

Everyone can't go out and trade cars that this stuff could run on.

[Raymondf]

The process is three times more costly to produce than coal.

[justmeinAz]

if money were the only issue here, that would be a good argument. however if you factor in global survival, penny pinching becomes less wise.

[econdr]

It looks like their technology may face the same problem as corn ethanol. They feed the algae carbohydrates, which would mean taking calories out of the human food supply.

No free lunch...

[justmeinAz]

every carb on the planet doesn't have to go into a human being's stomach. of course there's no free lunch, but there is a very affordable one.

[vmonter]

Even better than Solazyme is Green Star Products. They have an environmentally-friendly angle for production, and a new technology for increasing the growth speed of the algae, which they are distributing world-wide in order to enhance the industry.

[Visceral]

I remember reading that under certain conditions, certain types of algae will produce hydrogen instead of oxygen as a byproduct of photosynthesis. I wonder if algae could be sustainably used as part of a closed cycle of biogenic hydrogen fuel cells: creating hydrogen and then water like a normal hydrogen fuel cell, and recycling the water as a growing medium for making more hydrogen, with the needed energy input coming from the sun.

[lisakaz2]

I wonder why a corporate slant on this is starting already. Colorado State is also touting development of algae. Where is that?

[AmericanSinceFeb08]

loki, they do not "harvest" algae, but grow it (right now only in the lab). You do not have to worry about that.

The question that was not answered: how much energy does it take to produce one gallon of algae fuel?

[incontempt]

Only needs nitrogen rich waste/water and pools to grow in.

[SCG]

water treatment plants?

[loki]

I think as long as they dont get over greedy and rape all the algee from the world just to feed the beast it might be ok if it works. But algae is what provides the oxygen the fish need, especially in winter when lakes are frozen over.

But as with all the "green " possibilities these days, They seem to be mostly for people with more money. even TV shows that could help millions of people to learn more about being green are for the more wealthy. Like Discoveries new Green Planet. Its a premium channel where most middle and lower income families these days can only afford basic services at best, and they are the ones who could really use these tips and benefits now. Green is the new profit machine. I can already see that going green is being pushed like Rolex or BMW. Not like the good old days of Mother earth News and solar cooker plans for $2. Going green means spending more green.

[KillTheMessenger]

Oh, please, not another wonder algae startup. Didn't we have enough of those, already? We have seen over and over and over again how one can squeeze oil out of those buggers and guess what, people? NOT ONE of those companies made it to any stage of competitive mass production. It's getting boring. And some of these things are plain scams, anyway.

Give me a silicon solar panel and I know that it works. And it's way more likely to actually gain some net energy than all this bio stuff. Just shell out a kilodollar, put it on your roof, connect it to the grid and be done with it.

[justmeinAz]

what's wrong with continuing to develop other alternatives? not everyone can afford solar technology. What about places on the globe that get very little sunlight? What about 3rd world countries? you don't have to choose one technology over the other. we should all of them where they are most effective and easiest. that "solar or bust" attitude will get us nowhere.

[ImmanuelGoldstein]

I've got to agree Kill. Have you noticed I've been begging these biofuel cornucopians over and over to give me some way of estimating likely energy yields from biomass conversion, NOT ONE FREEKING NUMBER. CAN'T ANYBODY AROUND HERE PLAY THIS GAME?