Mean Green

gaeus, technically a modified Toyota Prius is one of the first of its kind to run on a mixture of algae based fuel. The company spokespeople have said that the car gets about 150 miles per gallon. Algae could turn out to be the biofuel of the future.

The Algaeus was premiered in San Francisco, California with plans to eventually drive it across the country using only algae based fuel. Right now the ratio of algae in the tank is about five percent but even that is huge strides in the right direction toward an alternative fuel source without negative impact. The algae are supplied in the form of green crude from a company called Sapphire Energy.

In the future, there will be more algae powered vehicles; however for now the company will continue to make an increased amount of algae based jet fuel. The goal is a production of over two million liters of algae jet fuel in the next two years. In addition, it will continue to make algae based fuels for alternative cars and other vehicles as well.

Any move that can change the way that the country looks at fuel and fuel production should be considered to be positive, however, the algae based fuel may be in the distant future as there are other considerations to keep in mind with this and any other fuel source. How will it be transported, and how will it be stored once it gets to different locations for instance. Are there any side effects to the refining of the algae for fuel? Are there dangers to consider? Will the car be eventually all algae powered or will it continue to only use a percentage of this green crude? What is the power capability of a car being run on five percent algae? Every question that can be answered in the present will have a new one to be worked on in the future it seems.

If the Algaeus does make it across the country, (the trip was meant to be from California to New York) there will be millions of questions that are likely to arise. How well the questions can be answered will be important not only for this type of alternative fuels, but for all others as well. For some people, any failure in the alternative fuel market might be a failure across the board however one minded that might be.

When it comes to biodiesel production one of the easier methods involves the use of algae. Not only is it easier, it is also very efficient. There have been studies carried out that have shown that algae produces up to 30 times more oil than using the other different crops that are currently used for production for every acre.

The other advantages of using algae include the need for very little land to grow your crop. Also it seems that the sulfur content is non existent, they are no toxins and the fuel generated will be highly biodegradable. There are actually some special species of algae that are grown specifically for production. These contain higher levels of oil than normal, often up to 50% and they also grow really fast.

There are now many companies that use this natural resource in the production of biodiesel. Aquaflow Binomic Corporation (ABC) is based in New Zealand. They harvest their algae directly from the settling ponds of standard effluent management systems and other nutrient-rich water. Their process can actually be adopted for many other industries.

There is also Aquatic Energy, LLC which was started in 2006 to pursue their vision of producing renewable energy bio fuels in Louisiana, which is located in the Gulf Coast of the United States. Aurora Biofuels has successfully been operating a relatively small plant since August 2007 and this plant has consistently produced high quality biodiesel. They expect to have their first commercial scale facility in operation by late 2012.

Lastly I would like to mention Blue Marble Energy, which is based in Seattle in north eastern United States. Their main focus is on using wild algae and plant material to make biodiesel. However they have developed a very interesting production process that churns out fertilizer and other chemicals as a by-product.

One of the most exciting and promising new technologies in the search for new ways of fueling the vehicles of the future is definitely algae oil. Many people are quite surprised by the fact that the oil found in “pond scum” known as algae actually holds a lot of promise for being a potential new source of fuel. Indeed, with the growing concern over gasoline and its ever rising costs, as well as the amount of pollution it generates, researchers are turning more and more to algae oil as a real possibility and an answer to this sometimes troubling question.

Many people do not realize that almost 50 percent of algae’s weight is made out of oil. The oil is essentially a lipid form, and can easily be used to create biodiesel that can fuel many different kinds of vehicles, including cars and trucks. While electricity is very popularly talked about as a replacement for gasoline and regular oil, algae oil is considered to be potentially more feasible, as it is so abundant around the world and would not require people to have to recharge their vehicles.

Algae oil is a truly renewable energy source, unlike gasoline. While average, every day algae is found in ponds and other bodies of water all over the world, it can actually also be grown and farmed quite easily. Many people are already experimenting with growing algae in a much more efficient manner. While ponds have a set limit to how much of its surface is exposed to the sunlight needed by algae to grow, commercial farming techniques are being developed that can grow amazing quantities of algae in relatively little space.

Corn and soybeans are other examples of potential sources of biofuel; however, more algae can be grown and produced per acre than either one of these plants. The oils needed from algae are easy to extract, and they are much better for the environment that gasoline. Thanks to the exciting potential of algae oil, researchers are working at a feverish pace to try and come up with efficient applications of it so that the general public – and the world – can soon enjoy its benefits.

Most people know that it is very critical for the environment and the economy to come up with alternative energy sources than gasoline; indeed, exhaust from cars running on gasoline are one of the biggest contributors to pollution on the planet. It is hoped that algae oil can become a viable solution for this vexing and worrisome problem. Maybe some day, extracting oil from algae will be the most common method for obtaining fuel for our vehicles. It is certain that the benefits to the environment – and our wallets – will be huge.

gaeus, technically a modified Toyota Prius is one of the first of its kind to run on a mixture of algae based fuel. The company spokespeople have said that the car gets about 150 miles per gallon. Algae could turn out to be the biofuel of the future.

The Algaeus was premiered in San Francisco, California with plans to eventually drive it across the country using only algae based fuel. Right now the ratio of algae in the tank is about five percent but even that is huge strides in the right direction toward an alternative fuel source without negative impact. The algae are supplied in the form of green crude from a company called Sapphire Energy.

In the future, there will be more algae powered vehicles; however for now the company will continue to make an increased amount of algae based jet fuel. The goal is a production of over two million liters of algae jet fuel in the next two years. In addition, it will continue to make algae based fuels for alternative cars and other vehicles as well.

Any move that can change the way that the country looks at fuel and fuel production should be considered to be positive, however, the algae based fuel may be in the distant future as there are other considerations to keep in mind with this and any other fuel source. How will it be transported, and how will it be stored once it gets to different locations for instance. Are there any side effects to the refining of the algae for fuel? Are there dangers to consider? Will the car be eventually all algae powered or will it continue to only use a percentage of this green crude? What is the power capability of a car being run on five percent algae? Every question that can be answered in the present will have a new one to be worked on in the future it seems.

If the Algaeus does make it across the country, (the trip was meant to be from California to New York) there will be millions of questions that are likely to arise. How well the questions can be answered will be important not only for this type of alternative fuels, but for all others as well. For some people, any failure in the alternative fuel market might be a failure across the board however one minded that might be.

We have all Heard of the Green Energy Initiatives of our new President Obama. But did you also know it has sparked a gold rush of sorts? Grant money is available by the truckloads to inspire would be inventors and entrepreneurs to enter the green fuels industry. With all the focus on the next generation feedstock for fuel Algae is a front runner.

1. Algae Oil Prices are rising

The Algae race is on, DARPA has been doling out cash for algae oil and the price is on the rise. Exxon just invested 600 million dollars in their own algae project. Currently commercial production of algae oil is minimal at best, but the oil is still needed for further research purposes. So if you have it, you can sell it.

2. Algae Cake is Being Used for Bio-Ethanol

The Algae cake is now being looked at for own worth as it applies to bio-ethanol. The process of fermentation is used to produce this bio-ethanol. With the price of fuel on the rise again this process offers investors robust returns. Algae grow fast. Algae can be grown especially well in desert states and the fermentation process is already well documented in the beer industry.

3. Companies are Investing

Green companies that want to diversify their holdings and create solutions for the next generation of renewable transportation fuels are investing heavily. Countries from all over the world are calling our office to look for advice on the best photo-bioreactors to buy. Our best advice is to make one, start tinkering at home or at the shop and come up with a simple design which will please investors, grow algae and stand up to harsh weather conditions hot or cold.

These are certainly great reasons to start making algae photobioreactors at home. Soon this technology will be in high demand, especially designs that will be easy to implement, low cost, and offer decent return on investment.

Algae Biofuel will play a very important part in meeting the worlds growing energy need, Algae has a place in not only our past, but in our future as well.

Algae Biodiesel Photo Bioreactors and Algae Harvesting

Bio Pioneers in green companies have developed algae biodiesel production and algae oil harvesting systems and equipment for growing algae and harvesting the algae in a very efficient manner for use in algae biofuels such as biodiesel from algae and algae ethanol.

Like other plants, algae stores energy in the form of lipids. Growing algae has potential for algae oil production due to its fast growth rate and the high oil content of some varieties. Some species of algae are so rich in algal oil that it accounts for over 50% of their mass, which means not counting the water, which is over 90% of the algae.

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has identified approximately 300 species of algae, as varied as the diatoms (genera Amphora, Cymbella, Nitzschia) and green algae (genera Chlorella in particular) as potentially good sources of oil from algae. Diatoms, or Bacillariophytes, are unicellular, microscopic algae. These organisms are widespread in salt water where they constitute the largest portion of phytoplankton biomass. There exist approximately 100,000 known species around the world. More than 400 new specimens are described each year.

Properly engineered algae systems could produce annually between 2,000-20,000 gallons of biodiesel-worthy algae plant oil per acre. Algae biodiesel and algae ethanol stand as the great green hope of the clean biofuel revolution. For comparison, biodiesel produced from soybeans produces 50 gals/acre/yr. Biodiesel from palm oil yields 600 gals/acre/yr.

Some algae harvesting systems retail for $100,000 US dollars or more. Some algae systems can process one gallon of algae oil per minute from a fluid stream that is half algae/half water by mass & where half of the algae cell mass is oil.

Algae Biodiesel production and algae oil harvesting systems that work in a efficient manner (Use energy conservatively) for growing algae and harvesting algae into Algae biofuels will be the new and long lasting answer to our question of “World How do we reduce our dependence on fossil fuels.”

In recent years, many people raise the idea of growing algae for biofuels. now, when alternative energy become a necessity, and biodiesel production and use is increasing, we would like to reconsider this option, here I’ll give five reason why growing algae for biodiesel instead of regular crops, might be a good idea.

1. price

growing algae is much cheaper than growing plants. all you need is a large water reservoir, sun light and some waste material. algae are very simple life form, and can grow more easily than plants. it is also cheaper and easier to harvest them.

2. speed

Algae grow much faster than plants, and we can produce biodiesel from their cell extracts, and not from the seeds, like we do with plants. Since we can grow unicellular algae like bacteria, in the right conditions, the rte of growth, and the production of oil per cell mass, is much higher than we can expect from plants.

3. ease of production

Since we produce the biodiesel, from total cell extracts, and not from purified oil, that was manufactured from seeds, we can save a lot of production stages, and reducing the production complexity and time.

4. efficiency.

The production of oil in algae is more efficient, considering the farmer needs. plants invest most of their harvested energy in production of many other biological molecules, use for building their bodies, flowers, roots, seeds and more. Algae use more of their energy to build simple cell membranes, composed from fats, that can be used for the production of bio fuel.

5. easy to genetic manipulate.

Since the genomes and body plans of algae are much simpler than those of plants, it is also very easy to genetically manipulate their photosynthesis and oil production apparatuses, to become more efficient. By doing so, we can expect a great advance in this field. Genetic manipulation of algae is also less dangerous than manipulating plants, since they usually do not use as food source.

To conclude, Algae seems like a good source of oil for the future, but it is still not completely ready for mass production. I believe that in a few years we will have the agricultural technology to make them a new renewable source of energy, for our oil thirsty planet.

One of the most exciting and promising new technologies in the search for new ways of fueling the vehicles of the future is definitely algae oil. Many people are quite surprised by the fact that the oil found in “pond scum” known as algae actually holds a lot of promise for being a potential new source of fuel. Indeed, with the growing concern over gasoline and its ever rising costs, as well as the amount of pollution it generates, researchers are turning more and more to algae oil as a real possibility and an answer to this sometimes troubling question.

Many people do not realize that almost 50 percent of algae’s weight is made out of oil. The oil is essentially a lipid form, and can easily be used to create biodiesel that can fuel many different kinds of vehicles, including cars and trucks. While electricity is very popularly talked about as a replacement for gasoline and regular oil, algae oil is considered to be potentially more feasible, as it is so abundant around the world and would not require people to have to recharge their vehicles.

Algae oil is a truly renewable energy source, unlike gasoline. While average, every day algae is found in ponds and other bodies of water all over the world, it can actually also be grown and farmed quite easily. Many people are already experimenting with growing algae in a much more efficient manner. While ponds have a set limit to how much of its surface is exposed to the sunlight needed by algae to grow, commercial farming techniques are being developed that can grow amazing quantities of algae in relatively little space.

Corn and soybeans are other examples of potential sources of biofuel; however, more algae can be grown and produced per acre than either one of these plants. The oils needed from algae are easy to extract, and they are much better for the environment that gasoline. Thanks to the exciting potential of algae oil, researchers are working at a feverish pace to try and come up with efficient applications of it so that the general public – and the world – can soon enjoy its benefits.

Most people know that it is very critical for the environment and the economy to come up with alternative energy sources than gasoline; indeed, exhaust from cars running on gasoline are one of the biggest contributors to pollution on the planet. It is hoped that algae oil can become a viable solution for this vexing and worrisome problem. Maybe some day, extracting oil from algae will be the most common method for obtaining fuel for our vehicles. It is certain that the benefits to the environment – and our wallets – will be huge.

We live in a world eager for new resources of energy. But despite the huge progress and development of green energy and renewable resources, we did not yet reach the goal of good fossil fuels replacements.

There are several directions of research for new energy sources, but all of them cannot supply enough energy to make a real change. The real “green” resources are wind, waves, hydro and geothermal power, which are good resources, but certainly not sufficient to supply the demands.

The more promising sources of energy are:

1.Solar energy – which is for now very inefficient and expensive.

2. Hydrogen – which is hard to produce right now.

3. biofuels – that can compromise our food supply.

The question is – what is the most promising? – in what resource we should invest?

Before we all start to walk in the solar power road, we first must understand that for now, biofuels are the real solar power supply.

why is that? well, our solar harvesting devices are very insufficient comparing to engines using fossil fuels. but from where these fuels came from? well, these fuels come from ancient plants and animals that were much more efficient in term of harvesting the sun’s energy. I am talking about photosynthesis.

Photosynthesis is one of the most efficient processes on earth, maybe the most competent. Cyanobacteria, algae and plants can use almost 100% of the sun’s energy to produce chemical energy. nearly hundred percents of the light captured buy the photosynthesis apparatus, is transformed to electric currents and then to chmical energy stored in sugars and fats. these sugars and fats turn to be our fuels millions of years later.

But today’s plats and algae can still produce this solar energy as good as they did millions of years ago, and we use this energy in our foods to maintain our lives. Agriculture was the driving force that first let humans to control this enormous energy supply, and probably was the main trigger for the development of the human society.

In order the satisfy the ever growing demand for energy in the modern and post-modern society, we must increase a little beat our agricultural skills. Why we need to re-invent new ways to harvest the sun’s fruit, when evolution already sis it for us, and created an amazing machinery in plants?

The real goal of the people who seek for new energy sources should be dramatically increasing the yield of the agricultural production, in order to be able to use plants sugars and fats to produce ethanol, biodiesel and other bio-fuels to use in the modern industry and transportation.

Let change our investments from traditional engineering approaches to bio-engineering, guiding our research toward more proficient production of biodiesel and ethanol, the easily accessible solar power.

Renewable Energy entrepreneurs are now looking for the best bioreactors with the right stuff. What is the right stuff you ask? Well it has to be a algae farm that meets a number of challenges: be affordable, scalable, able to handle variable temperatures at different client sites.

Low Cost of Implementation

The first area of concern is always the cost. As with all systems of a commercial scale, cost is king. The technology at this point has many faces to include row crops, large open pond systems, race way systems and photo-bioreactors. Thy system you choose must have nutrients to feed the algae, water and sunlight. Your carbon dioxide inputs can be active or ambient air. Cross contamination of the algae is a concern, but intended use of the algae will be your guide.

Continuous Harvesting

Harvesting the algae will always be a concern depending on the system. It will take more effort to harvest algae from an open pond system than it would from a continuous harvesting photo-bioreactors. Continuous harvesters do just that, always harvest algae cake, at this point you will only need staff to move the algae cake to the next stations for drying and oil extraction.

Oil Extraction

There are three well-known methods to extract the oil from oilseeds, and these methods apply equally well for algae too: 1. Expeller/Press

2. Hexane solvent oil extraction

3. Supercritical Fluid extraction Expeller/Press Expression/Expeller press-When algae is dried it retains its oil content, which then can be “pressed” out with an oil press. Many commercial manufacturers of vegetable oil use a combination of mechanical pressing and chemical solvents in extracting oil. While more efficient processes are emerging, a simple process is to use a press to extract a large percentage (70-75%) of the oils out of algae. Hexane Solvent Method Algal oil can be extracted using chemicals. Benzene and ether have been used, but a popular chemical for solvent extraction is hexane, which is relatively inexpensive. Supercritical Fluid Method Supercritical extraction involves, pressure and heat to burst algal cell walls.

No matter what algae medium you chose just make sure it meets your needs and production goals.

Algae Biofuel will play a very important part in meeting the worlds growing energy need, Algae has a place in not only our past, but in our future as well.