Can Microalgae Solve Global Fuel and Environmental Challenges?

[Ivan Seeking]

The other option is to grow algae in enclosed plastic tubes -- photobio reactors -- that keep out contaminants. But because of the expense, the price of crude oil would have to rise considerably above $130 a barrel for algae from these closed systems to be competitively priced, industry participants say.

That is ludicrous. The problem is not the tubes, the problem is the supporting systems and people using a sledge-hammer approach. I have every confidence that with creative innovation, this approach could be made competitive now.

 

[mheslep]

Biodiesel has a higher viscosity than regular diesel.

Keep in mind that there are already 1601 operating commercial biodiesel stations. Biodiesel is a proven technology.
http://nearbio.com/

It is proven that BD can run in existing diesel engines and that it passes environmental muster. It is not proven that it can scale up economically to fuel the transportation sector of the US, though I hope it can.

All diesel sold in States of Oregon and Washington contain biodiesel, by law.

Not yet, someone has to make the BD locally first:

(2) When the production of biodiesel in this state from sources
in Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana reaches a level of at
least 5 million gallons on an annualized basis for at least three
months, the department shall notify all retail dealers, nonretail
dealers and wholesale dealers in this state, in a notice that
meets the requirements of subsection (5) of this section.
(3) When the production of biodiesel in this state from sources
in Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana reaches a level of at
least 15 million gallons on an annualized basis for at least
three months, the department shall notify all retail dealers,
nonretail dealers and wholesale dealers in this state, in a
notice that meets the requirements of subsection (5) of this
section.

Section (5) and (14) require blended diesel/ bio when sections (2)/(3) are met.
http://www.leg.state.or.us/07reg/measures/hb2200.dir/hb2210.b.html

I read elsewhere that Oregon current production is 1M g/yr. Given that farmers prefer corn over soy economically 5M and 15M g/yr might be awhile.

 

[baywax]

China Olympic Sailing City Frets Over Algae Bloom

(this is a recurring problem over there)

http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/49064/story.htm

 

[Ivan Seeking]

It is proven that BD can run in existing diesel engines and that it passes environmental muster. It is not proven that it can scale up economically to fuel the transportation sector of the US, though I hope it can.

True, and it cannot be scaled up using bio from soy. It can only work with algae. Just as with ethanol from corn, there is no way to grow enough soy, palm, etc to fuel the nations autos and trucks. But the original objection was to the quality of the fuel, which is not an issue. It isn't a perfect fuel, and there is still room for improvements, but it is a commercially viable fuel today, as is seen on the map.

Not yet, someone has to make the BD locally first:
Section (5) and (14) require blended diesel/ bio when sections (2)/(3) are met.
http://www.leg.state.or.us/07reg/measures/hb2200.dir/hb2210.b.html

I read elsewhere that Oregon current production is 1M g/yr. Given that farmers prefer corn over soy economically 5M and 15M g/yr might be awhile.

Thanks. I thought it was already in effect. But at least the only problem is supply. That is still a big step.

I know that one can sell all of the oil that they can produce, and at a good price.

Noteworthy, we are now using E10 in all gasoline in Oregon, or at least at most pumps, and already I have heard people complaining about the reduced mileage. The sad thing is that the car seems to run a little better on E10;, presumably because the system compensates for the oxygen content in ethanol, and I get a little more fuel injected with each turn of the engine, which gives the car a little more pep. But the price is reduced mileage.

 

[baywax]

Hi Ivan,

Just had a thought while driving through the Arizona desert... how about using the Creosote plant for its resin as a fuel? Its the closest I've seen a plant come to producing an "oil" like substance. I was going to suggest avocado fruit but we'd probably starve all of California and parts there south with that one.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Hi Ivan,

Just had a thought while driving through the Arizona desert... how about using the Creosote plant for its resin as a fuel? Its the closest I've seen a plant come to producing an "oil" like substance. I was going to suggest avocado fruit but we'd probably starve all of California and parts there south with that one.

Hey baywax; I missed this one. I have never seen the Creosote plant listed before and know nothing about it. But again this gets back to conversion efficiency. To my knowledge, nothing can compete with algae. Land area requirements alone can be the game-ender for many options, like corn-ethanol.

In the news:

CNN) -- A Continental Airlines jetliner flew with one engine powered by a mix of oils from algae and jatropha plants Wednesday in what the plane's manufacturer called an "outstanding" test flight.

The Boeing 737 burned less fuel in the biofuel-powered engine than a conventionally powered engine, and the two performed identically during the one-hour, 40-minute flight, Boeing spokesman Terrance Scott said.

"There was no hesitation at all," Scott said. "If you had to grade it on a scale of one to 10, it would be an 11." ...

http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/01/08/airline.biofuels/index.html?iref=newssearch

 

[baywax]

Hey baywax; I missed this one. I have never seen the Creosote plant listed before and know nothing about it. But again this gets back to conversion efficiency. To my knowledge, nothing can compete with algae. Land area requirements alone can be the game-ender for many options, like corn-ethanol.

In the news:

http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/01/08/airline.biofuels/index.html?iref=newssearch

Don't let algae grow on your proposal to the Obama Govt. concerning this fuel (algae biofuel) Ivan!

About Creosote as a fuel... only a few entries on the Google monster...

http://www.made-in-china.com/showroom/xinnuonancy/product-detailuokmsCBDXtRP/China-Creosote-Oil.html

Its pretty nasty stuff... but its produced by a nice plant in the desert... in other words, it grows pretty easily... like algae... but its mostly something people want to remove from their chimneys and ground... etc..

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Don't let algae grow on your proposal to the Obama Govt. concerning this fuel (algae biofuel) Ivan!

The truth be told, I wrote a two-page letter about this to Obama last April. It was a good letter.

I sent 100, separate, individually signed copies. If figured that way he may see it after the Secret Service was done checking things out.

He was addressed as "Future President Obama".

 

[OmCheeto]

The truth be told, I wrote a two-page letter about this to Obama last April. It was a good letter.

I sent 100, separate, individually signed copies. If figured that way he may see it after the Secret Service was done checking things out.

He was addressed as "Future President Obama".

Ivan, have I discussed my idea for the next step in algae oil?

Something that would cut the cost by 10x?

I keep hearing that I should not share my ideas, because someone else will steal them. So often times, I just keep things to myself.

It may not be a viable idea. I am neither a chemist, nor botanist. Perhaps I should discuss the idea with Borek.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Ivan, have I discussed my idea for the next step in algae oil?

Something that would cut the cost by 10x?

I keep hearing that I should not share my ideas, because someone else will steal them. So often times, I just keep things to myself.

It may not be a viable idea. I am neither a chemist, nor botanist. Perhaps I should discuss the idea with Borek.

I would be surprised if the idea is new. Have you done any homework to this effect? Also, good ideas are a dime a dozen. Either you can share or, if it makes sense, someone else will probably think of the same thing. That is usually what happens.

 

[baywax]

The truth be told, I wrote a two-page letter about this to Obama last April. It was a good letter.

I sent 100, separate, individually signed copies. If figured that way he may see it after the Secret Service was done checking things out.

He was addressed as "Future President Obama".

Nice work. Addressing him as future Prez might have helped. I know the new head start programs are very excited about funding that may come soon. They need it because intervention really costs a lot with all the pre and post-docs working at it.

I saw a Discovery Channel doc. about a coral reef being endangered by the transplanted algae left over from some kind of experiments in the area. They were using a "super sucker" to remove what they could and were seeing some good results with the coral continuing to grow and build the reef.

The algae was being shipped off to act as fertilizer on some crops somewhere, so they made some money to pay for the "super sucking".

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Addressing him as future Prez might have helped.

I was just being optimistic. Also, I was thinking April, but it was in early June, after the Primaries. I had never done anthing quite like this before, but in this case it seemed like something worth doing. Maybe it brought a little attention to the subject. They sent a nice, targeted form letter in return indicating that they do actually read the mail; that all contributions are appreciated; that it helps to shape policy, etc, etc, etc.

 

[OmCheeto]

I would be surprised if the idea is new. Have you done any homework to this effect? Also, good ideas are a dime a dozen. Either you can share or, if it makes sense, someone else will probably think of the same thing. That is usually what happens.

Well, I spent all morning re-reading this thread again and I saw no mention of the idea.

I'll do a little snooping this weekend and get back to you.

 

[baywax]

They sent a nice, targeted form letter in return indicating that they do actually read the mail; that all contributions are appreciated; that it helps to shape policy, etc, etc, etc.

Yes, I think Mr. President is wearing an algae skin suit these days.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

I got excited for a moment when I saw what looked like algae-head Obama, but, alas, it was only a Chia Obama.

 

[OmCheeto]

I would be surprised if the idea is new. Have you done any homework to this effect? Also, good ideas are a dime a dozen. Either you can share or, if it makes sense, someone else will probably think of the same thing. That is usually what happens.

Ok. 3 minutes of googling has indicated that my idea has been thought of about 3963 times in the last 6 months.

But has anyone created a methane-algae bio-reactor that will fit on a 6 ft² platform in my backyard?

...

Gads. This all is starting to look like something out of a Mel Gibson movie. Total steam-punk and craziness.

Maybe I should just go back to fishing.

What's the Russian word for reset?

 

[lisab]

Ok. 3 minutes of googling has indicated that my idea has been thought of about 3963 times in the last 6 months.

But has anyone created a methane-algae bio-reactor that will fit on a 6 ft² platform in my backyard?

...

Gads. This all is starting to look like something out of a Mel Gibson movie. Total steam-punk and craziness.

Maybe I should just go back to fishing.

What's the Russian word for reset?

I dunno, but apparently it's not "Peregruzka".

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Maybe I should just go back to fishing.

People dedicate decades of their life to getting an education and then working hard to find solutions to complex problems. While it is true that every once in a great while - a one in a million - someone completely outside of a field can make an inspired suggestion that no one else has already considered, with almost 100% confidence we can say that success is 1% inspiration, and 99% perspiration. Another saying is that "Chance favors the prepared mind".

Don't feel too badly if you can't change the world as an armchair quarterback.

 

[OmCheeto]

People dedicate decades of their life to getting an education and then working hard to find solutions to complex problems. While it is true that every once in a great while - a one in a million - someone completely outside of a field can make an inspired suggestion that no one else has already considered, with almost 100% confidence we can say that success is 1% inspiration, and 99% perspiration. Another saying is that "Chance favors the prepared mind".

Don't feel too badly if you can't change the world as an armchair quarterback.

Well, algae was never on my front burner. I figured that was your job. But I did google the web and searched the entire forum for the "Re: Ideas and entrepreneurship" idea I was talking about the other day. It's been hinted at in various forms but I don't see anywhere that the idea has actually been put to use. I'll probably put one together this summer and work the bugs out.

But I will need algae oil or methane as a backup power source, so I'll be sending you your first $10 million check by this fall.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Venice to use algae for 50% of its electricity

The city of Venice has announced a plan to utilize algae in a different way than we're used to hearing about. The Italian city plans to produce 50 percent of its electricity needs from an algae-based power plant instead of fossil fuels...

The innovative project will cost the city $264 million and should be operating in two years.

http://green.yahoo.com/blog/ecogeek/1023/venice-to-use-algae-for-50-of-its-electricity.html

I couldn't help but think of this scene

BEIJING — With less than six weeks before it plays host to the Olympic sailing regatta, the city of Qingdao, China, has mobilized thousands of people and an armada of small boats to clean up an algal bloom choking the coastline and threatening to impede the competition...

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/01/world/asia/01algae.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7ZJkd2d8vQ

It seems likely that algae biomass could be used to replace coal and natural gas, for power plants. Many of the existing challenges in using algae for fuel production, such as for biodiesel, could be avoided.

 

[mheslep]

WSJ (subscription reqd?) has a video news clip on Algae biofuel out today on UT's giant culture collection:
Algae: From Curiousity to Commodity
http://online.wsj.com/video/algae-f...ity/845CD6B7-A250-46D4-B436-2C0A12CFD61E.html

-UT collection largest in the world including: ocean environments, 50 strains that grow in snow, Saudi Arabian sand dunes, has its roots in the collection started by a Czech scientist fleeing the Nazis in '39.
-$75 to order a 15ml sample from UT.
-Jerry Brand director, speaks.
-Reporter: Russel Gold

Main article
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123940976513610235.html#mod=article-outset-box

 

[Ivan Seeking]

A bit more on the Venice project; another company is claiming a breakthrough that reduces dewatering costs by 99% compared to centrifuges. A third company is claiming slow progress.
http://www.biofuelsdigest.com/blog2/2009/03/28/venice-to-produce-half-its-power-from-algae-as-skeptics-question-algae-economic-viability-entrepreneurs-claim-breakthroughs-on-costs/

 

[Ivan Seeking]

This episode of Frontline examines the problem of water pollution due to chicken farms.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/poisonedwaters/

In fact farm pollution is cited as the greatest source of water pollution, nationwide. What form does this pollution take? Primarily, the "pollutants" are nitrogen and phosphorous, both of which algae call, food! One of the great advantages I see in using algae produced fuels, as opposed to even to cellulosic ethanol [not to mention corn ethanol, which is unmentionable!] is that algae can be used to improve the environment and offer not just cost-effective solutions, but profitable solutions to existing pollution problems.

The reason these nutrients are considered pollutants is that they spur the growth of, guess what? Algae! The algae then steals the oxygen needed for other aquatic life.

 

[mheslep]

http://green.yahoo.com/blog/ecogeek/1023/venice-to-use-algae-for-50-of-its-electricity.html

On the subject of biofuels used specifically for electricity generation, Science just published a paper showing that, given the two options of electric vehicles and internal combustion vehicles, the bioelectricity option produces 81% more average transportation kilometers than does cellulosic ethanol burned in the internal combustion engine.

http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/sci;324/5930/1055?maxtoshow=&HITS=10&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&fulltext=biofuels&searchid=1&FIRSTINDEX=0&sortspec=date&resourcetype=HWCIT", JE Cambell, DB Lobell, CB Field. Vol 324, no 5930, pp 1055-1057.

The quantity of land available to grow biofuel crops without affecting food prices or greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from land conversion is limited. Therefore, bioenergy should maximize land-use efficiency when addressing transportation and climate change goals. Biomass could power either internal combustion or electric vehicles, but the relative land-use efficiency of these two energy pathways is not well quantified. Here, we show that bioelectricity outperforms ethanol across a range of feedstocks, conversion technologies, and vehicle classes. Bioelectricity produces an average of 81% more transportation kilometers and 108% more emissions offsets per unit area of cropland than does cellulosic ethanol. These results suggest that alternative bioenergy pathways have large differences in how efficiently they use the available land to achieve transportation and climate goals.

http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/reprint/sci;324/5930/1019.pdf"

Campbell et al consider corn an switchgrass feedstocks, but they did not address algae. If the algae processing into ethanol is unchanged for bioelectricity, then we can look up the known numbers. My question: Are there any particular improvements to be gained in the fuel cycle efficiency for algae if the fuel is boiler grade only? Certainly there would be savings in ethanol distribution, but that also goes for corn and grass.

Here are the basic steps Campbell et al use for Corn/Switchgrass, Table S1 supporting material:

<br /> \begin{array}{l|rrrr}<br /> \mbox{} &amp; \mbox{Corn}&amp; \mbox{Switchgrass}\\<br /> \hline<br /> \mbox{--Harvest}\\<br /> \mbox{Harvest Mass (kg } ha^{-1}{ y^{-1})}&amp; 8,746&amp; 13,450\\<br /> \mbox{Harvest Energy Content (MJ } ha^{-1}{ y^{-1})} &amp;157,427 &amp;242,101 \\<br /> \hline<br /> \mbox{--Ethanol}\\<br /> \mbox{Gross Ethanol Production (MJ } ha^{-1}{ y^{-1})}&amp; 73,424 &amp;108,855\\<br /> \mbox{Gross Gasoline Equivalent (l } ha^{-1}{ y^{-1})} &amp;2,335 &amp;3,462\\<br /> \hline<br /> \mbox{--Electricity}\\<br /> \mbox{Gross Electricity Production (MJ } ha^{-1}{ y^{-1})} &amp;52,140 &amp;80,184\\<br /> \mbox{Gross Electricity Production (kWh } ha^{-1}{ y^{-1})} &amp;14,483 &amp;22,273\\<br /> \end{array}<br />

Edit: By comparison, generally I find the best case claim for algae ethanol production is ~5000 gallons ethanol per acre-year, or 46000 liters ethanol per ha-yr, or 30,000 liters gasoline equivalent per ha-yr. Does the energy output stand to improve if the end product is electricity? Does the cost improve?

 

[Ivan Seeking]

I don't think those are numbers for ethanol from algae. I believe you are citing the information for biodiesel from algae, in which case we get more energy per unit volume of fuel as well as higher efficiencies. Biodiesel has about 130KBTUs of energy per gallon, and ethanol has about 75KBTUs per gallon. Internal combustion engines are typically listed as being 20-25% efficient, whereas diesels are found to be more like 30-35% efficient.

Without doing the conversions, we expect to get a little more than ten times as much biodiesel per acre-year from algae, as we do ethanol from corn. That ignores processing efficiency, which we know to be exceedingly low for corn-ethanol.

Also to be considered, the cradle-to-grave costs [environmental] of carbon-neutral diesel vs electric cars/batteries.

 

[mheslep]

I don't think those are numbers for ethanol from algae. I believe you are citing the information for biodiesel from algae, in which case we get more energy per unit volume of fuel as well as higher efficiencies. Biodiesel has about 130KBTUs of energy per gallon, and ethanol has about 75KBTUs per gallon. Internal combustion engines are typically listed as being 20-25% efficient, whereas diesels are found to be more like 30-35% efficient.

Right, ok, you remind me that both are possible, but diesel is much more productive.

Without doing the conversions, we expect to get a little more than ten times as much biodiesel per acre-year from algae, as we do ethanol from corn. That ignores processing efficiency, which we know to be exceedingly low for corn-ethanol.

Also to be considered, the cradle-to-grave costs [environmental] of carbon-neutral diesel vs electric cars/batteries.

Right, we can readily look these things up. What's new here, at least to me, are the possibilities of dumping algae directly into a open flame boiler for electric generation (to be naive) to cut costs. I understood one of the difficulties with making algae-biodiesel cost effective was the processing: Water removal? Transesterification? Can any of the these processes be bypassed or paired back given that the use is a ~700C boiler for electricity generation, or is there no getting around full conversion?

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Right, we can readily look these things up. What's new here, at least to me, are the possibilities of dumping algae directly into a open flame boiler for electric generation (to be naive) to cut costs. I understood one of the difficulties with making algae-biodiesel cost effective was the processing: Water removal? Transesterification? Can any of the these processes be bypassed or paired back given that the use is a ~700C boiler for electricity generation, or is there no getting around full conversion?

The possibility of burning the algae directly jumped off the page for me as possibly the best immediate option for algae power. Many of the current issues related to strain selection and purity might be avoided. I'm still not sure what the Italians are up to, but apparently they are going for electrical power generation using wild strains. The use of wild strains is generally considered to be impractical - the oil content is too low - so I wonder if they are taking some short cuts and going directly to biomass-fired steam systems.

Yes, from what I have learned about the subject, if one could just dry and burn the biomass directly, many problems could be avoided. However, I don't know for a fact that this is true... or suffice it to say that there could be other problems that I don't know about. I do know that the transesterification process isn't an issue, but it doesn't come without costs. Also, extracting or pressing the oil from the algae is one particularly costly aspect of the process; either in terms of energy and/or money. So avoiding that would be quite beneficial.

One might expect this option to be especially competitive if we factor in the costs and energy losses for CO2 sequestration in coal-fired plants. It also strikes me that algae-fired steam plants might be an option to nuclear power. If it can be made competitive or nearly competitive with existing coal plants, it could easily compete with nuclear and "clean-coal" power.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

I should add that the 130KBTU cited may be a bit high. I grabbed that from a common page, but it does vary depending on the source of the oil. I'm sure that I have seen numbers ranging from 115-125KBTU per gallon, for biodiesel. Also, from what I understand, based on a conversation with one repected expert in the field, oils that are high in saturated fatty acids are considered to be the best option based on energy density, but those low in saturated fats are found to be best for air quality. Algae tend to produce oils that are low in saturated fats, so where I thought this was a negative, overall it turns out to be a positive. However, there is still the unavoidable price of a small reduction in energy density. So, based on what I have read, I would expect something in the 120KBTU/gallon range to be the end result.

Note that earlier in this thread, the Boeing in-flight test of an algae and jatropha oil mix showed that it performed identically to standard aviation fuel; except that it got better mileage. The improved mileage of the engines likely results [is typically attributed to] the superior lubricity of bioldiesel as compared to petroleum-based fuels.

 

[mheslep]

The world's largest oil and gas company just http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124757174435338281.html" it is getting into Algae in a big way.

Oil giant Exxon Mobil Corp. will partner with biotechnology company Synthetic Genomics Inc. and spend more than $600 million in an effort to develop biofuels from photosynthetic algae as part of its alternative energy research.

I find that interesting. Synthetic Genomics was founded by Craig Venter of human genome fame. $600 million will buy a lot of algae tanks and processing. In comparison to the other oil and gas firms, Exxon has previously been low profile on alternative energy. A few months ago they announced they're partnering with Electrovaya to make Lithium polymer batteries and now this algae move.

Here they're looking for yields of a fairly conservative 2000 gallons/acre-year. They're also intending to deliver the algae 'crude' directly Exxon responsibility.
http://www.exxonmobil.com/Corporate/energy_climate_con_vehicle_algae.aspx

Edit:
Per the recorded interview, the 3 primary areas of development will be
1. Find best algae strain that is productive and robust in making hydrocarbon
2. Best production system. Looking at all of them: open pond, closed pond, bioreactor.
3. Integrated production system.

 

[Astronuc]

Biofuel from algae is attractive since some can be grown in saltwater, or otherwise in areas that are relatively stable. It's also renewable.

Other benefits:

Mark Nicholls: Algae, if the technology is got right, won't compete [for landuse] with food crops such as corn or sugar cane even. And it appears that the resultant biofuels may be more easily used in existing distribution systems and existing engines.

http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/07/14/am_algae/