Saturday, January 13, 2007

The year in biofuels - Algae comes into limelight

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The year in biofuels
January 1, 2007, By Cyrus Levesque @ Addison Independent

Excerpts:

1. According to Netaka White, executive director of Middlebury-based Vermont Biofuel Association, the industry in 2007 will see a large change to one of its smallest components: algae.
2. White expects that some researcher or company will find a controlled way to produce biodiesel from algae in the coming year. By 2008, he predicted algae-based fuel systems could be commercialized.
3. Pound for pound, algae is already an efficient way to produce oils that can be used to make biodiesel, but it isn’t commercially popular already because of problems finding a strain from which the oil can be easily harvested. “The challenge is to optimize production of algae in a contained, controlled environment,” White said.
4. A welcome side effect of algae-based biodiesel is that it could reduce pollution.
5. Nitrogen and phosphorus in animal waste can become a pollutant in waters and can cause algae blooms in lakes and rivers, but algae on farms would eat those waste products before they ever reach the lake and turn them into diesel oils.
6. From a September decision by Middlebury College to build a biomass-fueled power plant, to a decision by the Middlebury selectboard in July to heat town buildings with biodiesel, use of biofuels has increased significantly over the past year. White estimated that about 275,000 gallons of biodiesel fuel were burned in Vermont in 2005
7. White said that he has seen a lot of growth in research and production of biofuels locally.

Read the full report at Addison Independent

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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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