Algal Fuel One Step Closer To Becoming A Conventional Oil Alternative
A new milestone was reached recently in the race to make fuel from algae a conventional oil alternative: high-octane gasoline that is compatible with any gas-guzzling vehicle. The feat was performed by Sapphire Energy, a company that manufactures “green crude”. Sapphire uses single-cell algae to produce a chemical mixture that contains extractable fuel for cars and other transport vehicles. While the green crude is chemically identical to crude oil, it is completely carbon neutral.
The algal energy doesn’t require the use of agricultural land and water, and it deliver 10 to 100 times more energy per acre than crop-based biofuels. The company hopes that their green crude will ultimately be injected into normal crude pipelines.
- » See also: US Arpa-E Funding Enlisting Cyanobacteria to Make Fuel For Humans
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Fortunately for consumers, Sapphire isn’t the only company looking into “Oil 2.0“. Silicon Valley company LS9 is working on genetically modifiying single cell organisms to excrete carbon neutral oil. Like Sapphire’s green crude, the LS9 oil will also work in conventional vehicles.
Whether these efforts come to fruition as oil replacements remains to be seen—and it mostly hinges on questions of efficiency. But we should find out soon. Sapphire expects to start producing their green crude within 3 to 5 years.
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- First Algae Biodiesel Plant Goes Online: April 1, 2008 : Gas 2.0
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zeeoi
Not only is it carbon neutral, it actually ABSORBS C02 in the atmosphere to grow. That means it can actually reverse global warming and greenhouse gases. Incidentally, it may very well be much cheaper than oil since it’s so abundant and easy to grow.
While this will (cross fingers) be a super-duper solution due to carbon neutrality and the ability to go straight into existing infrastructure, we will still breathe the exhaust from the car/truck in front of us on the road. So I’m still looking for that electric affordable car…
This is worth some effort to follow up. I will be making an effort to bring awareness of the concept and process development in Thailand. Plenty of rice paddy algae and small farms to work with here.
Bio Benzin und Bio Diesel aus Algen?…
Bio Kraftstoffe aus organischer Materie sind ja nicht ganz unumstritten. Es besteht die Gefahr, daß dadurch noch mehr Urwälder gerodet werden und, daß kostbare Nutzpflanzen statt für Lebensmittel für Bio Alkohol angebaut werden.
Jetzt hat eine Fir…
They used to flush gasoline down the sewer before cars came along. Companies make $2500 worth of products from a barrel of crude and gasoline is the least profitable part of it. Henry Ford wanted us to run on ethanol not oil. But John D. Rockefeller gave the equivalent of 400b
to the Womens Temperance League to outlaw ethanol. Here we are pwned by the middle east harem loving sheiks.
Learn here
http://peswiki.com/index.php/Review:Alcohol_can_be_a_Gas
Btw Cattails and Industrial Hemp(.001% drug inducting THC) yield 5 times more than corn 2500 gals of ethanol per acre.
THats-> 60mil acres of the 900mil of unusable farmland(5%) to meet our transport needs.
Use all the unusable farmland and we are the Saudis fat cats
A new crop every 6 months
$300 part to make your car run on it and easy install.
Where is the vision here?
Nice post. It is nice to see the bioenergy conversation evolving from plant to microorganisms as the more efficient side of biology to capture carbon as an energy source. After Al Gore’s speech I posted a note asking openly why the word ‘biology’ was not mentioned in the grand vision- especially given the opportunity of turning carbon into a profitable feedstock— Glad to see Sapphire’s progress!
http://tinyurl.com/6n9zrv
http://www.memebox.com/futureblogger/show/709-dear-al-gore-did-you-forget-about-harvesting-carbon-for-bioenergy-
@Dave: Actually cars don’t need lead in the fuel- the lead was made for the protection of valve seats in older iron-based cylinder heads. Modern engines have hardened valve seats that mitigate the need for lead.
Swampland real estate will be booming.
I’m amazed at how few people have heard of this commonsense alternative.
Keep spreading the word!
AlgaePetro
From what I have read so far this seems to be the next and best fuel supply. The part that I like is that the algae farm can supposedly take CO2 out of the waste stream of an industrial plant as the algae needs CO2, nutrients and sunlight to form.