The good news is that the extraction of biofuels from algae does not face these disadvantages. Algae are not staple foods of humans. Algae can be grown anywhere, without sacrificing forests or biodiversity. Growing oil-rich algae does not require irrigation or any radical transformation of land. These microscopic plants can grow in any body of water, freshwater and saltwater. Algae can even grow in sewage water. That is, while algae are being used in cleaning up the polluted water, some of these rapidly multiplying organisms can be harvested to obtain oil.

There is even better news. According to Professor Roger Ruan, a research scientist of the University of Minnesota, oil-rich algae can produce more fuel than any other sources of biofuels. He estimates that an acre of algae can produce 15,000 gallons of oil a year. This is infinitely greater than the 20 gallons per year production of an acre of corn. But how much do people know about algae?

In many biology classes, the discussion of algae does not generate a lot of interest. Unlike other plants, algae do not have fascinating or complex parts, such as seeds, flowers, and stems. Thus, the discussion of algae normally ends up with a very simplified classification. That is, there are green algae, blue-green algae, red algae, and brown algae. But the fact that such tiny organisms are photosynthetic should give pause to anyone who is inclined to pass off algae as mere fodder for fishes. Algae have the power to harness solar energy and produce their own food. Algae can be a veritable source of energy.

Algae opened a new door to the country’s quest for energy independence. The number or researches about oil-rich algae has increased meteorically. The foci of most researches are to have more efficient extraction processes and to discover the algae strain that is richest in oil. As of now, scientists already know that oil extracted from algae can be transformed into biodiesel, biojetfuel, biomethane, and biobutanol.

Biodiesels are very efficient fuels and can come from many different sources. Algae can be turned into oils in relatively short periods of time and can be reproduced as a renewable resource that also removes harmful pollutants in the air recycling them into clean air and efficient fuels. Many different types of algae can be used to create biofuels and some are capable of growing in salt water. Wastewater is a major problem that also needs to be addressed. As the human population grows, the amounts of fresh water we use each year will continue to deplete and not be replaced fast enough. By growing algae in waste water, we can help to prepare the water for treatment with various natural processes and removing large amounts of contaminants from water so that it can be used in other applications.

The technologies used to make efficient fuels, oils and other substances from organic sources such as algae were the original intention for use in automobiles when they were first created. But since mined oils were more readily available during those time periods, they adapted the technology to use these fossil fuels instead. Efficient fuels created from organic sources should be the path that we take towards conserving our earth’s resources and creating oil independence from foreign sources. This is the first step towards helping the planet and creating an economically and ecologically sound future for everyone.

To put this in perspective, other crops that produce oil are soybeans (48 gallons of oil per acre), rapeseed (about 127 gallons), a plant known as Jatropha (435 to 2,000 gallons), compared to algae at 5,000 to 50,000 gallons per acre. (Source: Alternative Energy News) That is when the algae growth is fostered in water (some fresh, some are salt varieties). When algae is grown in a “bioreactor” yields can be even higher, because the temporary condition of sunlight during the day is not required to photosynthesize the algae.

Other studies have shown algae to outproduce palm oil, coconut, castor beans, sunflower and safflower seeds by at least one and in some cases two orders of magnitude (10-100 times). Interestingly, the algae growth does not require intensive farming. Quite the opposite effect has been noted, which is that oil production of the algae tends to increase during periods of distress, e.g. lack of sufficient nutrients in the water.

Nitrogen starvation and the introduction of certain enzymes into the aquaculture are currently being tested in order to discover means of increasing oil production. Interestingly, and of great potential environmental interest, the introduction of sewage into the aquaculture speeds up algae growth and oil production within the algae.

Here we have the most promising potential energy source anyone could imagine! Easy to produce, incredible production capacities compared to other bio fuel production efforts, as well as a potential positive usage mechanism into which which CO and CO2 can be pumped, and sewage can be disposed with little or no environmental impact.

Whether one believes in mankind induced global warming or not, there is no question that nitrogen dioxide (NO2) emissions- a pollutant resulting from both power plant operation and diesel exhaust – need to be curbed.

Algae based oil production could be close to a silver bullet. With technological advances algae oil could eliminate oil vulnerability to our country, reduce gasoline and diesel pollution, burn up carbon based pollutants that still exist, and solve sewage processing problems all at once.

Thus, because algae is so easy to find, folks believe that the biofuel will make energy cheaper. This will relieve a lot of pressure on individuals who need to power their car or want to travel but may struggle with current prices. This means that folks will not have to worry about how to heat their homes or having to choose between groceries and gas money.

Currently, scientists and researchers claim that algae oil will be ready for use in as little as 15 years. Until then, scientists need to learn as much about oil extraction from algae as possible. Additionally, scientists are identifying each kind of algae species – there are thousands upon thousands – and experimenting with nutrients and their affect on different species. Adding nutrients to certain species can increase the potency or effect of the oil and make the energy that much more effective.

In a world where traditional energy sources are drying up, it makes sense to look for biofuel alternatives. Algae is around us all of the time: if we can use this plant to fuel our cars and our lives, then we could just end up saving ourselves a lot of money and grief.

The projected costs for making fuel from algae are substantially cheaper than the cost of a single barrel of oil. In fact, it could be as much as a fraction of the cost of the price of oil. This is because it takes less to manufacture and transfer algae oil, especially since the plant can be found in places around the world.

The task at hand is to consider everything from how to make the best possible fuel from the algae to how ecosystems will be affected. Additionally, scientists need to identify hundreds of thousands of algae species so that they can determine which species are best suited for which kinds of fuel. This process is an extensive one: adding just a few nutrients to a batch of algae could change the effectiveness and type of the oil that is produced. Knowledge really is power when it comes to figuring out how best to make algae oil into a viable and reliable source of fuel for the world.

If the algae oil can be successfully mass-produced as a biofuel, it will only be a matter of time before it dominates the market. Time is money and money is profits: if folks can find algae oil more readily than other forms of fuel, then it will then become all the more cheaper. The times, they are a changing, and the scientists are well on their way to providing the world with a new way to live and fuel their lives.

The patent pending method is based on light immersion technology. The basic idea is to insert additional light sources inside of large algae cultures, in turn defeating the challenge of self shading. Algae by nature becomes more of an obstacle to light penetration as the thickness and saturation with oil increases. By immersing specially designed lights into the culture the company is reporting a 10-12 times increase in yield.

The technology is also being applied to closed reactor systems used to culture algae for use in nutraceuticals and other high grade products. Special high efficiency LED lights are used which red and blue spectrum of light which is more easily absorbed than other parts of the spectrum.

‘Green Crude’ manufacturer Sapphire Energy has perfected a new process allowing them to create high-octane gasoline that is compatible with existing engines. Sapphire uses a single cell algae to produce a chemical mix that contains extractable biofuel that can be used in existing vehicles.