Government and private industry are continuously funding research on alternative fuel sources. One such source, algae, is a better competitor to soy and corn because unlike these, algae does not cause strains on food production.
The problem with algae is its cultivation. Static algal facilities remain too expensive. By analyzing current stressors on the environment we were able to determine an alternative approach. This
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Government and private industry are continuously funding research on alternative fuel sources. One such source, algae, is a better competitor to soy and corn because unlike these, algae does not cause strains on food production.
The problem with algae is its cultivation. Static algal facilities remain too expensive. By analyzing current stressors on the environment we were able to determine an alternative approach. This approach would opt to “harvest” hazardous algae blooms (e.g. Karenia Brevis – Gulf of Mexico “Red Tide” Algae) in coastal waters which are linked to circa $2B in lost fishing revenue and several human health respiratory illnesses due to their biological toxins (brevetoxins).
Since these blooms are directly linked to intensive agrarian land runoff and coastal overpopulation, large algae blooms are now a common occurrence in the Gulf of Mexico which are usually prevalent from April-September and occupy an average of 5,000 square miles each year in the Gulf alone.
Algae concentrations in these blooms can reach over 1 million cells per milliliter (from research gathered) which can produce approximately 3 grams of lipids per liter. Artificial algae growing techniques produce ~200 ppm or roughly 2.3 grams of lipids per liter. Therefore preliminary estimates show that harvesting algae might exceed current processes available without the significant upfront costs.
Other ethanol, biodiesel, and hydrogen production methods have been considered. Currently, we are looking into a method to artificially illuminate optimal algae strains using energy generated from geothermal and solar. Unlike current algae production facilities, these could be layered in such a way to maximize space by layering algae holding units on top of each other with every other layer being artificial lighting. With current advances in LED lighting technology this could be a viable alternative to large land utilization and solar dependence. LED lighting would use only optimal wavelengths for photosynthesis which are 420nm, 430nm, 630nm, 660nm, and 730nm.
Another consideration is eliminating the light dependency altogether. Certain cellular processes as the “Calvin Cycle” do not require light to build up sugars for use. Also by using lithotrophic and organotrophic bacteria (metabolic processes consume inorganic or organic compounds resp.) instead of phototrophic bacteria (metabolic processes utilize sunlight) this avenue might present a better solution. We are newly considering light-independence in microbial biodiesel production and would gladly share our research when it has reached a more matured level.
Finally, we have considered fuels production using wastes such as plastic and rubber. By using certain infrared and microwave processes certain companies as Envion have been able to bombard the hydrocarbon chains in polyethylene plastics to create usable ethanol fuels. These fuels would range in the $10 per barrel category. With the U.S. alone producing 26.5B tons of waste plastic in CY09 this seems to show promise for medium scale use.
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