P eering into the future seldom produces a clear picture, but this is not the case with Biofuels, whose long-term impacts on the global economy appear pretty clea r . The future for biofuels is secure; the question is what feedstock for biodiesel is sustainable and profitable in the long term. As sustainable alternatives are sought in a bid to enhance energy security while reducing carbon emissions, the focus of researchers has shifted to "next generation" Biodiesels – those not made from food crops such as soy or palm.
Algae farming for oil is the next biggest opportunity for the Biofuel industry. Algae, like corn, soybeans, sugar cane, Jatropha, and other plants, use photosynthesis to convert solar energy into chemical energy. They store this energy in the form of oils, carbohydrates, and proteins. The plant oil can be converted to biodiesel; hence biodiesel is a form of solar energy. The more efficient a particular plant is at converting that solar energy into chemical energy, the better it is from a biodiesel perspective, and algae are among the most photosynthetically efficient plants on earth.
and other harsh conditions — whereas soy and corn require arable land and fresh water, which will be in increasingly short supply as the world’s population balloons.
The main objective of the Summit is to provide an up-to-date understanding of the next generation feedstocks and technologies in the Algae Biofuel Industry. The Summit will be an excellent platform to disseminate information regarding recent research and development activities in the fields of phycology, algae mass production systems, photobioreactor technologies and other important areas of Algae Biofuel Industry. Biofuels are emerging as a trillion dollar futuristic industry, and this summit offers many value added opportunities for investors, entrepreneurs and Biofuel companies as well as industry experts. The summit’s technical & financial topics will encompass the entire Algae Biofuel Industry.
For more details pl. visit http://www.algaebiofuelsummit.com
This is quite interesting! I just wish there were Summits and conventions like this in the U.S. (or adleast ones that were more publicized)...if we started making fuel that is produced rapidly by these algae, could we really engineer a car to run on that, and if so, what is the maximum speed that it could obtain?
Welcome to the site, folks. As gwpocky pointed out, any diesel car can run algae-based biodiesel.
For example:
[YouTube:-ZRWRV_xhWE]
Demeter,
In addition to using the algae oil to make biodiesel, it, with a slight modification to the car, can be used directly as SVO.
Audi won LeMans with a diesel. So the answer is about 200 MPH.
Sorry if I came across wrong on my first post I had to get going and wanted to get that out. I have noticed on this site that everyone is trying to reinvent the wheel instead of just putting a different tire or rim on it. there are companies out there right now producing oil for biodiesel from algae and a few of them in recent weeks have seen an influx of investment to help bring these oils/fuels to market. Though I am a strong believer in local markets these companies are making interesting breakthroughs to get his going.
I have been watching the web site www.investinalgaebiodiesel.com it has alot of current news updates on algae and worth taking a look at if you haven't already.
Just a little more info, thanks for the disscusion we neeed to get this information out, we can all be energy indepndent sooner then later working togather.
gwpoky
"Its not what you are that holds you back, but what you think you are not"
GW,
Those are probably press releases from people running stock scams.
No one is offering to sell algae oil today. Lots of people are promising to produce it "real soon now".
Mixed in with the scams there are probably two or three who really are trying to produce oil.
If we want it to happen, we need to develop the instructions for growing and harvesting algae oil.
liberty1,
I use www.investinalgaebiodiesel.com to keep informed of the latest news in the development of algae to biodiesel I do not have alot of time to surf the net so this helps me find the latest and continue to build from there. You seem very pessimistic, I farm in western Wisconsin not far from Minnesota where great strides are being made in the biodiesel industry, (look up Ever Cat Fuels also look up biodiesel in Iowa, they just recieved a grant to team a current Ethanol plant with algae "bioreactors") I have seen this happening with my own eyes. People like us need to get informaiton out that the main stream media will not, so people will open there eyes and see that there is a hope and answers that just need a boost weather it is from disscusions like this or at a much higher level. Algae to biodiesel is getting a influx of money from both privite and public sources this will push the tech. ahead faster. Look at www.energycurrent.com click on biofuels on the left for more news from around the world. Green Star Products, Inc has developed a micronutrient formula that has raised the daily growth rate of algae by 34% and they are making it available to all that are resaerching algae to biodiesel. I could go on but for now I won't. I agree that there is alot we do not know and there are scams out there, but I see alot of good work going on. We can do this if we work together.
Thank You
"Its not what you are that holds you back, its what you think you are not."
GWPoky,
I am optimistic that oil from algae will work, if we work at it.
I am sceptical about most of the PR. For instance, Green Star is really generous. If I remember right, they will sell you 12 oz. of their magic potion for only $50. And , if you buy it, they will alllow you to contribute data to their report.
In contrast, Carnigie Institute figured out how to raise the oil percentage of Cholerra(SP?) from 20% to 80% and they published it.
libert1,
Very interesting, I see your point, I will looking for the Carnigie Istitutes report. If you have any other good information or good sources of information I would love to learn more. In grad school I did alot with ethanol and grain based biodiesel, which was interesting, but only a year ago so so did I learn more about algae and what it has to offer, I wish I would have known about it when I was in school. I tend to get a little over excited some times because I know we can help ourselves and make a better world for all if we just pull off the "big oil" goggles and look at all the options.
Thanks again
The Carnegie Institute report is from the 50's - there was a flurry on interest in chorlla(SP?) as human food. They tried several things with the algae.
The report is avaliable on the web. I don't remember where I foudn it.