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Environmental science fuels the future
Who said algal blooms were a problem? Truth be known, when we stare at a slimy green sludge atop the favourite watering hole we may be looking at one of the best prospects there is for fuelling cars and power stations in the future, says this note from Murdoch University (Australia) environmental science page.
Excerpts:
1. Professor Steve Halls puts algae firmly in the biofuel basket. “They will be one of the most important fuel commodities in the world in the 21st Century,” he said.
2. A soybean crop can yield 40m3 to 50m3 of oil per square kilometre, while a good turgid brew of algae could yield up to 400 times more. There are over 400 species of algae suited to biofuel production.
3. Murdoch University is working closely with the Mandurah-based Peel Development Commission on biodiesel production from the region.
4. What is contemplated is a battery of large vats or ‘photo-bio reactors’, into which the nutrient-rich run-off from surrounding farmland would be diverted. Fuel oil would emerge as the end product. “It would be a brilliant solution for the recurring algal blooms that threaten crab harvests and annoy the life out of tourists and residents alike,” Professor Halls said.
5. According to Professor Halls, so attractive are the prospects for the venture that a Perth-based commercial partner is poised to commit to a feasibility study. This local interest mirrors the global picture.
6. “Biofuels are the future, no doubt,” said Halls.
7. Fuel from Peel algae would help rein in such excesses and help build a more sustainable future.
Ranked in the top schools within Australia, Murdoch’s School of Environmental Science offers several degrees in environmental science, including the flagship four year Bachelor of Environmental Science.
The School combines areas of environmental management and policy with relevant aspects of environmental systems and engineering in an integrated degree program that also provides students with the flexibility to specialise.
Link for the page source.
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About Oilgae - Oilgae - Oil & Biodiesel from Algae has a focus on biodiesel production from algae while also discussing alternative energy in general. Algae present an exciting possibility as a feedstock for biodiesel, and when you realise that oil was originally formed from algae - among other related plants - you think "Hey! Why not oil again from algae!"
To facilitate exploration of oil production from algae as well as exploration of other alternative energy avenues, Oilgae provides web links, directory, and related resources for algae-based biofuels / biodiesel along with inputs on new inventions, discoveries & breakthroughs in other alternative energy domains such as solar, wind, nuclear, hydro, geothermal, hydrogen & fuel cells, gravitational, geothemal, human-powered, ocean & wave / tidal energy. We hope Oilgae proves to be useful as a research information & inputs resources, and as a source of news & info for business & trade of algal oil, algal fuels & new alternative energy products - specially with regard to new feedstock / feedstocks, production processes and uses, and market info such as price / prices, data & statistics
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