The Results are in — Algae has a Posse
The test results(pdf) are in this week and algae appears to be a serious contender in the biofuels feedstock decathlon.
According to Green Car Congress:
This summer, GreenFuel Technologies and Arizona Public Service Company (APS) were able to grow algae successfully at APS’ Redhawk natural gas power plant at levels 37 times higher than corn and 140 times higher than soybeans using CO2 from a natural gas-fired power plant as input to the GreenFuel system.
The growth rate—an average productivity of 98 grams/m2/day (ash free, dry weight basis) and reaching a high peak value of 174 grams/m2/day—surpassed previous lab growth rates and exceeded all expectations going into the project. The results provide evidence of the financial viability of using the emissions of a power plant to grow algae for the exclusive purpose of creating biofuels, according to the partners.
What is the super-secret system that Greenfuel Technologies tested?
In their words: “A proprietary productivity enhancement technology designed to increase the photosynthetic active area per areal footprint.“
Hot n’ sexy tech speak: The Greenfuel 3D Matrix System (3DMS)
As for pictures/details? Well, Greenfuel remains pretty mum on the tender meat of their system, but…oh, what’s this? An article from the Houston Chronicle detailing a strikingly similar project called Vertigro, being built by Valcent in Anthony, West Texas.
In contrast to “open pond” methods studied by the government, the system uses tall, clear plastic bags, hung in rows in a greenhouse, to breed algae.
The bags, which are pumped with carbon dioxide and exposed to the sun, help the algae speed along photosynthesis. In this setting, the tiny green organisms can reproduce up to six times every 24 hours.
The bags also protect the most energy-rich algae strains, which Vertigro selects in the lab. In an open pond, they would be crowded out by stronger strains with less oil, said Glen Kertz, CEO of Valcent, who developed the system.
About 20,000 bags can be hung in one square acre, yielding 100,000 gallons of algae oil per year, Kertz said. By contrast, one acre of soybeans can produce just 50 gallons of soybean oil a year and one acre of corn yields 29 gallons per year, Vertigro said.
Valcent even has a video curated by Glen Kertz, their bona fide CEO/research person (lab coat included) as well as panning shots of cascading algae water, reminiscent of sun-kissed ecto cooler!
In my humble opinion, the juxtaposition between Greenfuel’s super-secret proprietry speak and Valcent’s charming CEO/scienceman movieshow makes a convincing case for using online video as an advanced marketing tool *ahem*. Decision: Valcent!
I digress…
Vertigro vs. 3DMS vs. plastic bags n’ tubes. Call it what you will, it’s all about surface-area-to-volume ratios. Maximise exposure to the sun from all sides, stabilize nutrient flow homogenization across the solution and reduce your system’s physical footprint and you’ve got a wicked stew brewing!
- Curtiss Martin
Curtiss P. Martin grew up in a geodesic dome on the side of a mountain in Southern Appalachia. Now he serves as ScribeMedia's clean technology editor in a tall building in downtown Manhattan.
I never realized before how similar the words “algae” and “al gore” are…
Yeah cool and all, but when will this be able to run my algae-green Jeep?!
(Yes, I drive a Jeep, despite my soutehrn Democratic roots. What can I say? I like 4×4s. And I turn off the lights and conserve water. So that says something! Oh, and I loved Ecto Cooler.)
But I digress.
Algae as biofuel? Interesting idea. I mean with all the carbon dioxide plants give off, you would think that we could somehow harness that as a biofuel. I’m interested to see where this goes in the next five years.
To: Bennymac
You don’t need to have an “algae-green Jeep,” all you need is a diesel one. That being said, I understand that most vehicles on the road are run on unleaded (in the US), but most transport vehicles are run on diesel. Oh yeah, and I love Jeeps too, but a diesel Jeep would kick a normal Jeep’s ass any day of the week!
P.S. Ecto Cooler has nothing on an Apple Squeeze It!!!
bennymac: Go back to school and take 9th grade biology. Plants absorb CO2 and release O2. Animals absorb O2 and release CO2. That is why people plant trees to offset CO2 emissions. Algae are plants.
Yes bennymax, you are correct that plants absorb carbon dioxide. But, they also release it. During the photosynthetic reaction, plants adsorb carbon dioxide and releases oxygen. But, plants uses oxygen and produces carbon dioxide during cellular respiration.
But, yes, algae are net oxygen releases.
[…] should come as no surprise to regular readers of this site that I’m a diehard fan of algae-based biofuels. However, not everyone who dabbles in applied phycology is as forthcoming as Glen Kertz, CEO and […]
while a 1/4 acre Vrtigro module may yield 65-70 gallons of potential fuel a day under optimum desert conditions, the NE weather may be a whole nother kettle of fish.
Why not use the running water in the things to make hydro-electric power while your at it?