Turning Green Algae into Piles of Green Money

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Meghan Starbuck, an assistant professor of economics at New Mexico State University, is working on a way to turn microalgae, and millions of their tiny, slimy friends, into a successful fuel industry for the state.

"Algal biofuel can be refined into a variety of fuels, including gasoline. I would run my car on algal-based gasoline, if I could get my hands on a couple of gallons," Starbuck said. Her car, a 315-horsepower 2010 Mustang GT, comes in handy when making the 143-mile trip between Las Cruces and the NMSU Agricultural Science Center at Artesia.

The Artesia Science Center is home to a project with the Center for Excellence in Hazardous Materials Management, a nonprofit group in Carlsbad leading an effort in southeastern New Mexico to produce biofuels from algae. According to Starbuck, CEHMM is a leader when it comes to scaling-up algae production, an important step in making the biofuel industry economically successful in New Mexico.

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