Algae Oil Fuel

Oil derived from water borne algae has tremendous potential to replace petrochemicals in providing a green source of energy. Algae based oil is a new breakthrough in potential energy sources, because the yield per square foot of water is much greater than the yield of any field grown sources of energy, whether ethanol or biodiesel of any type. Theoretically and maybe quite possibly, algae oil could replace petroleum completely if U.S. producers could put an area the size of the state of Maryland into algae production.

Further, development of bio-reactors could reduce the acreage requirement significantly and allow for much more efficient algae culture and boosting production. If enough technology is applied to the process of extracting the oil from the plants (and many in the green fuels industry believe the potential is attainable) algae oil could replace most of the U.S. requirement for petroleum somewhere in the 3 to 5 year time frame.

Algae is known for its rapid growth rate and with scientific intervention that rate could become even greater. Some species of algae contain high percentages of oil in the form of lipids. Contrary to the popular notion that most oil deposits are actually produced by dinosaur carcasses, it is now believed that ancient algae laden waterways produced most of the world’s oil deposits.

According to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) about 300 species of algae, including diatoms and green algae are good sources of algae based oil. Diatoms are one-celled algae, common in salt water. There re almost 100,000 species worldwide, and more than 400 new species discovered every year.

as noted, the oil produced in the algae growth process are lipids, and are far less harmful to the environment when burned than the current land based ethanol producers. It is known that the production of ethanol from corn, sugar beets etc. is not a true green energy source, and such production diverts fertile farmland from other uses, be it agricultural food production or as forest maintained to protect the climate.

Oil from algae produces about 30 times the yield as compared to cropland planted with oil bearing plants or sugar producing plants that can be converted to ethanol.

If algae oil plants are located near to power plants that produce carbon or carbon monoxide, the algae power plants could use the carbon emissions that otherwise escape as greenhouse gasses to propel the growth of algae by substituting the factory-produced Co and Co2 to replace photosynthesis and speeding up algae growth, and hence fuel production.