Algae Oil Pond
As the poet Rumi wrote, “Beauty surrounds us, but we usually have to be walking in a garden to notice it.” Now that oil has gotten to the point where it is having a dramatic impact on our twenty-first century lifestyle, the world is beginning to notice that the beauty within nature holds many answers. Different forms of plant and animal life can enhance our daily experiences and make them more efficient, especially when it concerns our fuel consumption. Soybeans, corn and other oil producing natural products are already being used to supply fuel, but the yield of oil per acre from those products, limits the amount of oil that they can supply. One natural plant species grows abundantly all over the planet and all it needs to flourish is water, sunlight and carbon dioxide. Pond algae, along with other forms of algae can produce more oil per acre that any other form of natural fuel that’s being harvested today.
Once considered unwanted growth in a pond or lake, algae is now taking its rightful place in nature by performing a service that could potentially decrease the world’s dependence on fossil fuel. Algae’s carbohydrate content can be transformed into biodiesel and it can also be converted into ethanol by fermentation. Both of these products are cleaner and more efficient that petroleum based gas or diesel fuel. Algae once thought of as green goo that invades backyard ponds and pools is now the green hero that just might help save our sanity, when it comes to economically sound fuel needs.
In the right conditions algae can double its volume overnight, which means it can be harvested daily. Algae’s body weight can be up to 50% oil. Palm trees weight is only 20% oil and they are the largest producers of oil for biofuels. Soy produces about 50 gallons of oil per acre, canola produces 150 gallons and palm produces 650 gallons of oil per acre. Algae can produce 10,000 gallons per acre and eventually that figure will increase. Algae could replace all of the diesel producers we use now on less than 1 percent of the farm land that they need to yield biofuels.
There are over 100,000 different strains of Algae, which contain oils, protein and carbohydrates in various molecular ratios. The algae high in carbohydrates can be fermented into ethanol and other strains can be used for animal grains, while others can produce biodiesel. The possibilities are being explored by several companies around the world.
Pond Algae is finally be recognized by man for the gifts it has to offer and the services it can economically provide. Other forms of life already appreciate and looked up to algae; fish have been doing it for centuries.
