Algae Advocates Praise EPA Findings

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The EPA in its Renewable Fuels Standard found that biofuels could have a significant impact on efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions when compared with gasoline or diesel fuel. The finding now classifies algae-based biodiesel and renewable diesel as an "advanced biofuel" under U.S. federal guidelines. The EPA announcement is in step with a move by U.S. President Barack Obama to reach a comprehensive climate deal.

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Extraction of Biocrude from Algae - A Top Story

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Climate change mitigation-related stories were among the top ten most read science stories from the Los Alamos National Laboratory in 2009.

Los Alamos National Laboratory team-up with Solix Biofuels Inc. to use the laboratory’s sound wave technology in optimizing production of algae-based fuel ranked as the seventh leading story for 2009.

Acoustic focusing – the use of sound waves by the Los Alamos Acoustic Flow Cytometer – is being commercialized to harvest biocrude, also known as green gold. The substance is an alternative to crude oil and can be refined into biodiesel, gasoline or even jet fuel.

More about Los Alamos National Laboratory

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LSU AgCenter Explores Algae for Biofuel

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The AgCenter announced in mid-December that it had received "conditional approval" from the state Board of Regents to establish the LSU AgCenter Biofuels Research Center, and it now has "one year to get the institute up and running," said John Russin, associate vice chancellor of the LSU AgCenter.

Timber processing leaves behind tons of branches, bark and debris -- biomass -- that can be converted to biofuel. Algae aquaculture also could generate significant biomass for fuel, and has been a subject of intense research nationally and at the AgCenter, Russin said.

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Collaboration Formed to Develop Fuels from Algae Oil

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Endicott Biofuels, LLC, a Houston-based, next-generation biodiesel producer, and TransAlgae, Ltd., an algal biotechnology company, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the development of algae as a potential transportation fuel and renewable chemical feedstock source.

TransAlgae’s mission is to develop commercially viable algae strains for a variety of algae biomass growth platforms in order to deliver cost effective transportation fuels as well as other non-energy applications.

For the past year, Endicott has been involved in a fully flexible feedstock development program for the production of biodiesel, which includes algae oil-to-biodiesel commercialization. Among its future development plans are technologies that provide a higher degree of freedom for algae producers in algae strain selection and algae oil extraction for the production of biofuels.

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Solix Produces Biofuel from Algae Oil in Demo Plant

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Fort Collins, Colo.-based Solix Biofuels is producing a steady stream of algae-based biofuel from its six-month old demonstration facility, CEO Doug Henston told the Cleantech Group.

Solix, which developed a process using photo-bioreactors to make algae-based biofuel and chemicals, is sending the biofuel to potential partners for testing, Henston said.

Solix’s Web site says the facility has a peak production capacity of 3,000 gallons per acre, per year of algal oil. Microalgae can be harvested every five to seven days during the peak growth season, according to Solix.

Henston said Solix plans to expand the production of Coyote Gulch if it can access more CO2 and wastewater.

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Saudi Arabia to Capture CO2 using Algae

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Saudi Arabia first disclosed plans for the carbon injection project in October, but Mr al Naimi detailed a longer-term strategy noting that the eventual goal was to tie carbon capture with the kingdom’s interest in producing biofuels from algae.

“We are looking at capturing carbon dioxide, injecting it in sea water, creating algae and hopefully producing two things: ethanol – you might be surprised by our interest in ethanol – and food products,” he said.

Producing fuel from algae has become a priority of researchers across the world, including major oil companies such as ExxonMobil. But experts say scientists still need to induce each unit of algae to absorb more carbon dioxide and produce more oils to make algae a commercially viable source of energy.

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Biodiesel from Algae Used During United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Conference

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UOP LLC, a Honeywell company, announced that its Ecofining process technology was used to convert second-generation, renewable feedstocks to green diesel fuel that will power vehicles at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Conference (UNFCCC) in Copenhagen, Denmark. 

UOP's process technology converted oil from algae provided by Solazyme, a renewable oil company, to green diesel, which will be utilized during the Driving the Future showcase organized by Denmark's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. A Mercedes Benz E-Class Sedan, an unmodified, factory-standard diesel vehicle, will be powered by unblended (B100) green diesel for the duration of the event.

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The Chesapeake Algae Project - ChAP

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The College of William and Mary and its Virginia Institute of Marine Science have formed a collaborative research initiative to investigate a promising new technology to produce biofuel from the algae growing naturally in rivers and the Chesapeake Bay.

The enterprise, called ChAP—the Chesapeake Algae Project—is an integrated research approach to algae-based energy production and environmental remediation. It includes a number of corporate partners, notably StatoilHydro, a Norwegian energy company. StatoilHydro has seeded the enterprise with an initial $3 million investment.

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U.S. Navy Tries Marine Algae for Fuel

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U.S. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus promises a greener fleet using 50 percent less fossil fuel by 2020.

In a speech Wednesday to the San Diego Military Advisory Council, Mabus said even Navy planes may soon run on fuel produced from biological sources, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported.

The Navy is turning to the ocean for biofuel, with a plan to convert marine algae. The F/A-18 Hornet, which runs on biofuel, is scheduled to be part of a carrier wing within three years and to become a standard fighter by 2016.

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Five Technologies That Could Change Everything

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I read an interesting article by Michael Totty in The Wall Street Journal entitled "Five Technologies That Could Change Everything". In this article he lists five new technologies like space-based solar power, carbon capture & storage, next generation biofuels such as cellulosic ethanol and algae biofuel that has the potential to change the world.

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Old Dominion University (ODU) Studying to Convert Algae to Biofuel

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Several partners are proposing to develop a $50 million algae farm on city-owned land where the slimy, aquatic growth would be converted into biodiesel fuel and other forms of alternative energy.

Much of the proposal, however, hinges on federal stimulus money from the U.S. Department of Energy. ODU and its partners are asking for $46 million from a $100 million pool set aside by the Obama administration for advancing algae-to-biodiesel technology.

A decision about the funding is expected as soon as next month, and by the end of the year at the latest, project sponsors said.The Virginia Beach proposal includes three private companies that are committing money and support for the bigger farm, and involves researchers from ODU, George Washington University, Jacksonville State University, the University of Michigan and South Dakota State University, according to a prospectus.

Pat Hatcher, a professor leading the initiative said “There’s a lot of interest in this technology, and we have lots of avenues open to us.”

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Blue Sun Energy Believes Algae as the Next Energy Powerhouse

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Blue Sun Energy is working on a project, funded by a federal grant, to find a way to turn the seaweed into a high quality jet biofuel. 

"It's probably still several years away before we're going to get to that point," explained Steve Bond, Blue Sun Energy's marketing manager.

The idea of making biodiesel out of algae is not revolutionary, but finding the production process that makes it affordable can make a big difference.

"Algae costs $20 a gallon to produce right now, which is not feasible for regular use. Our goal is to get it under $2 a gallon. We think that's feasible to do," Bond said.

Biodiesel can actually be made from a variety of products from vegetable oil to animal fat. Currently, Blue Sun Energy uses high quality virgin oil from soybean and canola. The company says algae and another option, camolina oil, are both attractive options because they require little water, can be grown during the winter season and are not food crops. Still, even without the advances expected with algae and seaweed, the company says their biodiesels are already greener and more versatile than other biodiesels on the market.

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Scotland's Whisky Distilleries Use Algae to Capture Carbon

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The Glenturret Distillery in Perthshire will use the ground-breaking system to turn fumes generated by whisky production into biodiesel.

David Van Alstyne, head of Scottish Bioenergy, said: "A couple of years ago the idea of using algae as carbon recycler sounded absurd but with the support of Shell, Edrington Group and the Scottish Environmental Technology Network we have built Britain's first pilot scale bioreactor."

Green MSP Robin Harper officially switched on the bioreactor, which could have implications for others in the industry.

He said: "This project is tremendously exciting, and I hope that it will be thoroughly successful.

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Virginia Institute of Marine Science Receives $3 Million to Turn Algae into Biodiesel

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Virginia Institute of Marine Science is the recipient of $3 million — seed money from StatoilHydro, a Norwegian energy company — to convert algae from the York River into biodiesel fuel. The plan is to cut the amount of harmful nutrients, such as phosphorus and nitrogen, entering the Chesapeake Bay and create an alternative source of energy.

"What we really want to do is turn pollution into fuel," said J. Emmett Duffy, a VIMS professor leading the program.

VIMS will pump water from the river near its Gloucester Point campus onto a large conveyor belt. A plastic screen on the belt will trap the nutrients while the water is recycled back into the river.

The nutrients, which sit on the belt for at least a week, turn into algae before researchers harvest and store it. From there, researchers take the algae into a lab where oils are extracted and converted into biodiesel.

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Duke and ENN Group to Work on Carbon-Capturing Algae

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Power company Duke Energy Corp. said Wednesday that it has struck its second deal in just over a month with a large Chinese power company to develop sources of low-carbon energy.

Duke and ENN Group say ideas for potential development between the two include commercial solar projects, coal-based clean energy, biofuels, natural gas, smart grid, energy efficiency and carbon-capturing algae.

China and the U.S. are No. 1 and 2 when it comes to greenhouse gas emissions. The countries account for 40 percent of the world's total emissions. Both also heavily count on coal to drive their economies, with Duke using coal to generate about two-thirds of its electricity.

Jim Rogers, Duke's chairman, president and CEO, said if U.S. and Chinese companies can strike deals to work on climate change, then maybe it can lead to bigger solutions being reached by the governments of both countries. But he said the deals "mean nothing if they don't produce real projects, real solutions and are profitable."

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Second Algae Biofuel Summit in India - A Great Success

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Organisers of the Second Algae Biofuel Summit 2009 in New Delhi (India) held during the second week of September are very satisfied with the outcome of the event, which was attended by researchers, scientists, entrepreneurs and industry delegates from over 20 Indian states and 12 countries across the globe.

Mr. Saxena said that his organization is currently working on various innovative projects in the sector. One full session at the summit is devoted to discuss the technology to convert carbon dioxide emissions into fuel using algae, non-potable water and sunlight.  Another important area focused is the treatment of waste water using algae. It is now possible to link the production of algae-based fuel with an inexpensive method of sewage treatment. 

Mr. Saxena concluded that companies all over the world are talking of commercializing algae biofuels within five to ten years. Growdiesel’s mission is to establish the world's first commercial scale integrated biofuel farm in India with the support of India's Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.

Source: Renewable Energy Magazine

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Diatoms Solar Panel - A Biofuel Producing Solar Panel

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T. V. Ramachandra, a professor of ecological sciences at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) is working on the project of creating biological solar panel with IISc researchers Durga Mahapatra and Karthick Balasubramanian, along with Richard Gordon, a radiology professor at the University of Manitoba in Winnepeg.

The researchers propose creating a biological solar panel, which will contain diatoms instead of photovoltaic cells. Diatoms would float about in a nutrient-rich water solution and produce oil when exposed to sunlight. Diatoms already secrete silica by exocytosis—a biological process by which cells direct secreted material outside the cell walls. If diatoms could be made to similarly secrete the oil they produce, then it could be easily harvested. (Because the oil is used as a reserve nutrient—like fat—diatoms have evolved no mechanism to secrete it.)

Ramachandra insists an advantage of the diatom solar panel is that it can be created and maintained with equipment and methods that are inexpensive. This is different from photovoltaic solar panels, which require sophisticated fabrication facilities. In tropical countries like India with an abundance of sunlight, biofuel-producing solar panels containing local diatoms could be placed in every village. Investigation has shown that diatom oil can be used as biofuel without further processing, says Ramachandra. A further advantage is that diatoms consume carbon dioxide, so the diatom solar panels would be very sustainable.

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Virginia Tech Researcher Grows Algae Using Glycerol

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The rise in biodiesel production over the last decade means that the market can no longer absorb all the extra glycerol. Biodiesel producers must find alternative means for disposing of crude glycerol, which is prohibitively expensive to purify for industry use. Wen and his colleagues have developed a novel fermentation process using microalgae to produce omega-3 fatty acids from crude glycerol

"We have shown that it is possible to use the crude glycerol byproduct from the biodiesel industry as a carbon source for microalgae that produce omega-3 fatty acids," said Wen, who added that the impurities in crude glycerol may actually be beneficial to algal growth. "After thorough chemical analysis, we have also shown that the algae biomass composition has the same quality as the commercial algae product."

After growing the algae in the crude glycerol, researchers can use it as an animal feed. This mimics a process in nature in which fish, the most common source of omega-3 fatty acid for humans, eat the algae and then retain the healthful compounds in their bodies. Humans who consume the fish in turn consume the omega 3s. Fish-derived products such as fish oil are an inexpensive alternative, but the taste has deterred widespread use.

Wen has partnered with Steven Craig, senior research scientist at Virginia Cobia Farms, to use crude glycerol-derived algae as a fish feed. "The results so far have been promising," Wen said. "The fish fed the algae had significant amounts of omega-3 fatty acids."

He and Audrey McElroy, associate professor of animal and poultry sciences, are now trying to determine whether the algae would work as a chicken feed. Kumar Mallikarjunan, associate professor of biological systems engineering, is also working with Wen to determine the fate of omega 3s after they enter the food supply. Researchers do not yet know whether oxidation would have a major impact on omega-3 fatty acids stored in cheese, for example.

Funding for this research has come from the Virginia Agricultural Council, U.S. Poultry and Egg Association, Fats and Proteins Research Foundation, Virginia Sea Grant, and Virginia Commercial Fisheries and Shellfish Technologies.

Wen presented his paper, "Production of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid from biodiesel-waste glycerol by microalgal fermentation (AGFD 272)," as a part of a session sponsored by the ACS Division of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

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Anti-methane Feed for Cattle: Marine Algae

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That started JCU nutritionist Dr Tony Parker and marine scientist Professor Rocky de Nys thinking about the potential of seaweed as a low-methane fodder source—in particular the fast-growing “green tide” of algae that can be used to soak up excess nutrient in treatment of water used by aquaculture.

Some of these algae can grow at four times the rate of sugar cane on a dry matter basis.

Many aquaculture farms use seaweeds and algae to clean their ponds of the waste from fish and crustaceans. Effluent water contains nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorous, which in excess are partly responsible for the breakdown of aquatic ecosystems in the Inner Great Barrier Reef.

These are also the nutrients that the “green tide” of algae thrive on, Professor de Nys said. “At present, however, there is little incentive provided to farmers to use this bioremediation method as it means they will often be left with a huge algal biomass that they don’t know what to do with and which has little to no financial value.”

But Dr Parker believes that marine algae may offer another protein source for cattle, especially in winter when feed is scarce.

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Solazyme to Supply 20,000 G Algae Diesel for Navy Ships

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Solazyme Inc. said that it had a contract from the Defense Department for 20,000 gallons of algae-derived diesel fuel for testing and certification that could be used in Navy ships

"The military wants new fuels that meet the old petroleum specifications and reduce carbon dramatically and can be produced domestically at the same time," said Jonathan Wolfson, CEO of Solazyme Inc.

"This is an important first step with algae oil derived alternative fuels," said Kim Huntley, director of the Defense Energy Support Center, which awarded the Solazyme contract. "Not only are we helping the Navy meet its energy security and alternative fuels objectives, this contract also demonstrates the continued successful partnering of DESC with our warfighter customers to help them meet their emergent energy needs."

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