Vegatable Oil
Algaculture is a form of farming different species of algae for various uses. Algae is harvested for dyes, colorants, pharmaceuticals, pollution control and algae fuel. Algae biofuel contains no sulfur, is biodegradable and is non-toxic. Algae’s weight can be as much as 50% vegetable oil and all it needs to grow is water, sunlight and carbon dioxide. Algae’s volume increases overnight, so it can be harvested daily, once its initial growing stage of 25 to 30 days is completed.
New companies are developing ingenious ways to harvest Algae vegetable oil in large quantities. Algae can produce 10,000 gallons of vegetable oil per acre per year, if all the conditions are right. Algaculture is using greenhouses in the desert to grow algae that produces vegetable oil that yields biodiesel fuel. These greenhouses use 10-foot-long plastic bags filled with water that are exposed to the sun to produce algae. Other products like soy, corn, canola and palm require large amounts of land, water, chemicals, farm equipment and labor to produce enough oil to use for fuel, which increases the cost to the consumer. Algaculture uses new technology to reduce costs, because of the efficiency and economic feasibility of the growing process.
The concept of using algae vegetable oil has gotten the attention of investors all over the world. Royal Dutch Shell one of the major oil giants, invested in a new venture called Cellana based in Kona Hawaii. They are building a facility to product algae vegetable oil for commercial use. The project is still in the development stages, and should be producing biofuels within the next year or two. Chevron is also expanding into algae vegetable oil business. Chevron is looking into various algae strains that can be harvested for transportation fuels such as jet fuel.
When all of the data has been analyzed and tested and then implemented, algae will make a huge impact on reducing our dependence on fossil fuel. Theoretically the U.S. could grow enough algae on 20 million acres to replace our imported oil needs. The volume of oil that can be produce using algae puts it in another class in terms of performance. Corn, soybean, sunflower, rapeseed, palm oil, and safflower don’t compare with algae when it comes to yield per acre, cost per acre and the time needed to harvest the finished product.
Within the next five years algae will be a dominant player in the biofuels industry. New climate adaptive and cost effective technology is beginning to produce fuel as well as food from CO2, using algae photosynthesis and bio-harvesting. New companies are being formed that manufacture low-cost portable algae bioreactors that use algae vegetable oil for ethanol, biofuels and other bio-products. The research and the advancements in Algaculture will make fossil fuel a thing to remember, like the horse and buggy.
