UNL Hopes to Tap Into Algae as Energy Source

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Algae may be the next frontier for biofuels, and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln is poised to be among the nation's leaders in this research.

Part of the greenhouse complex at UNL's Beadle Center will be revamped into an algal biofuels research facility this year. Scientists will begin growing algae in small containers, then move on to five-foot long bags and, finally, a "raceway" – a small, oblong pool – as they seek answers to two key questions:

– What algae cultivars are best suited for biofuel development? There are at least 200,000 different algae, and ultimately genetic modification may play a role in engineering algae to produce the most lipids – specifically, triglycerides – possible for conversion to fuel.

– How can the triglycerides be most cost-effectively extracted from the algae to produce biofuel?

UNL already has received $1.9 million in federal funding for the research. It's also in line for tens of millions more in funding for several related research angles, including one that would couple this new research with UNL's already robust corn-ethanol byproducts research.

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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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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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Workshop on Advanced Research Techniques

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The National Facility for Marine Cyanobacteria (NFMC) (Sponsored by DBT, Govt. of India) , Department of Marine Biotechnology, School of Marine Sciences, Bharathidasan University, 
Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu is organizing workshop entitled SHORT-TERM TRAINING ON ADVANCED RESEARCH TECHNIQUES (START) from 8th to 19th February 2010.

Download Brochure Here 

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WSU Gets Algae Research Funds

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A researcher at Washington State University recently received a $2 million federal appropriation to improve the process of turning algae into energy. The money came through the 2010 Senate Energy and Water Development bill and will go to the Washington State Algae Alliance. 

Shulin Chen is a professor of biological systems engineering. He has patents pending on several algae culture, harvesting and nutrient-recycling systems. The money will be used to improve ways to process and produce algae.

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Washington State Algae Alliance

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The Washington State Algae Alliance, comprised of bioscience firm Targeted Growth, Inc. (TGI), Inventure Chemical (Inventure) and Washington State University (WSU), will benefit from $2 million in funding through WSU as part of the 2010 Senate Energy and Water Development appropriations bill. U.S. Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) was instrumental in securing funding for the Alliance, which will jointly develop a new system for the production of sustainable and renewable fuels, chemicals, and chemical intermediates, creating jobs and furthering the state’s growing clean technology base.

The Alliance has three objectives: First, to develop an efficient and integrated algae cultivation system for the production of fuel and other products; second, to build first class capabilities; and third, to advance related science and technologies. These objectives align with initiatives identified in the National Algae Fuel Roadmap developed by the US Department of Energy.

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NASA Launches with Algae Systems on Eve Of COP 15: Carbon-negative Fuel from Sewage and CO2

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Press release

As several industrialized nations rush to dampen the expectations of Copenhagen, NASA has launched a new mission. The payload: Algae Systems – a new company started by NASA engineers and seasoned biofuel industry veterans to launch a profitable global solution for reducing greenhouse gases. 

Algae Systems: Producing Carbon-Negative Diesel and Jet Fuel from Sewage and CO2 The founders of Algae Systems accepted NASA’s challenge to prove, commercialize and bring to market a unique and revolutionary technology – a byproduct of space missions – that produces a renewable carbon-negative fuel from algae that feeds on sunlight, sewage and CO2.

The NASA-developed technology, called OMEGA (Offshore Membrane Enclosures for Growing Algae) is a low-cost and low-tech method for growing algae. Unlike other approaches to growing algae, which require construction of massive energy-intensive facilities, OMEGAs are relatively inexpensive. OMEGAs are inflatable plastic membranes filled with processed wastewater, CO2 gas, and freshwater algae. OMEGAs float in water, and can be anchored off the coast of any ocean or salt lake. As the algae grow, using the energy of the sun, they convert wastewater and CO2 into biomass, and oxygen. OMEGA’s uniquely utilize forward-osmosis membranes to permeate purified water out of the OMEGA and into the surrounding water.

When coupled with Algae Systems’ solutions for the production of liquid transportation fuels, the combined “integrated biorefineries” can make high-value fuels while treating wastewater and drawing down CO2. “The OMEGA technology has the power to transform. In conjunction with our fuel conversion technologies, we can transform sewage and carbon dioxide into abundant and inexpensive fuels,” said Matthew Atwood, the President of Algae Systems. “Together the
technologies create an integrated biorefinery that is simple and scalable, generating sustainable-energy supplies and local reen-collar jobs.” Designing Fuels that Draw Down CO2 Algae Systems’ Dr. Zoa Hough-Maguire, a COP 15 delegate representing the State of Florida and her company’s planned commercial project in that state, characterizes the revolutionary benefits of the OMEGA technology, “Algae Systems’ fuels are radically different. They actually draw down carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.” The company has utilized the U.S. Department of Energy GREET model for carbon lifecycle to validate the fuels will be carbon-negative. With this new technology in hand, Algae Systems specifically addresses the most critical issues on the agenda of the Copenhagen climate conference: the reduction of CO2 and other GHG emissions, sustainable-energy production, waste disposal, and protecting fragile marine ecosystems and water resources.

Readying for Commercial Launch
In making the announcement, NASA’s, Lisa Lockyer, Deputy Director of New Ventures and Communications for the Ames Research Center, has echoed Algae Systems’ determination and confidence by announcing the center’s support for the commercialization of the technology.
Accepting the challenge and signaling his company’s capacity to meet it, Atwood said, “Rapid deployment is anticipated. We are building a U.S.-based commercial pilot to prove the scalability of the technology up to 100 million gallons of wastewater throughput per
year. Once successful, we will begin offering the technology to industrial and municipal clients."

Technology That Gives Back
"The concept is simple," says John Perry Barlow, a Managing Partner of Algae Systems, "If you can take problems that the world has in abundance, like sewage and CO2, and transform them into resources, like diesel fuel that works in existing machinery, you can create economic fountains within local markets that become a positive incentive to draw down significant quantities of greenhouse gases." As a co-founder of the Electronic Frontier Foundation and an early architect of the Open Internet model that has been fundamental to its success, Barlow spent years traveling around Africa and other developing countries connecting them to the Internet. "For any set of technologies to be widely-enough deployed in time to mitigate climate change, they have to spread themselves, like the Internet," Barlow says, "they have to be simple and cheap, they have to address needs the developing world has now, and they have to be deployed by the very people who live there."

Mission Critical: On the Front Lines of Global Warming With a technology so readily adaptable to the immediate needs of the developing world, Algae Systems has become a rallying point for those who are most at risk from sea-level rise due to increasing CO2 emissions: AOSIS, the 42 member Alliance of Small Island States. In the words of U.N. Ambassador Demissa Williams of Grenada, leading member of AOSIS, “We have to worry today, not tomorrow.” With help of NASA and forward-thinking partners around the world, Algae Systems has moved past worry and is taking action.

Algae Systems, LLC (Algae Systems) is an American, full-service carbon-negative energy production, engineering, and technology company, soon offering turn-key solutions for C02 and sewage conversion to diesel-manufacturing plants worldwide for commercial and municipal clients. Algae Systems is a signatory with the UN Global Impact and its official and approved “Caring for Climate” list of international businesses committed to the development of environmentally-friendly technologies.

Additional information about Algae Systems and its technology can be found at www.algaesystems.com and http://www.nasa.gov/centers/ames/news/releases/2009/09-
147AR.html

The term "Carbon-Negative" describes a process for removing carbon dioxide (CO2) from the earth's atmosphere. COP 15, the United Nations Climate Change Conference, will take place in Copenhagen, Denmark, between December 7 and December 18, 2009.

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ASU Scientists Receive Innovator of the Year award

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Press release:

Two Arizona State University scientists who started their work with algae more than 25 years ago were recognized with the Innovator of the Year-Academia award at the 2009 Governor’s Celebration of Innovation event held Nov. 19 at the Orpheum Theater in Phoenix.

Professors Qiang Hu and Milton Sommerfeld in the College of Technology and Innovation at ASU’s Polytechnic campus received Arizona’s highest honor for technology innovation for their work with the process of converting algae into fuel.

Last year, Time magazine named the process one of the top innovations in 2008.

In response to winning the award, Sommerfeld said “We are very honored to receive the Innovator of the Year award for our lab’s work on developing a renewable and sustainable fuel source from algae and are very proud of our team of students, research associates and staff who are committed to developing solutions to our nation’s energy problems.”

Sommerfeld and Hu have been working on algae as a source of renewable fuel for more than 25 years. The technology they developed uses sunlight, waste materials like carbon dioxide in flue gas, and nitrates and phosphates in waste waters as nutrients for growing a renewable algae feedstock that yields oil. The algae biomass residuals yield carbohydrates for ethanol production and proteins for animal feed or organic fertilizer.

The researchers recently received significant funding for their algae projects and already two spin-off companies have been created from technologies developed in their laboratory.

“Milt and Qiang are two faculty members who exemplify the spirit of technology innovation that is the core mission of our college,” said Keith Hjelmstad, university vice president and dean of the College of Technology and Innovation.  “This award is a fantastic spotlight to shine on their achievement. I am proud of them and even more pleased by what it means to others who will now be inspired to innovate.”

The Governor’s Celebration of Innovation has become a premier community gathering in Arizona. Three teams, two of which were from ASU, competed for the coveted award in the Academia category.

The award – given to a department or office within an accredited higher education institution that has achieved success through innovation in the past calendar year – is presented by the Arizona Technology Council and the Arizona Department of Commerce.

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An Algae Farmer from Prince George County

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In Prince George County, in a town called Spring Grove, Jes Sprouse is one of those looking to build an algae business.

Sprouse has developed a patent-pending process to convert algae into fuel. He is just one player in a nationwide race to create a viable biofuel from algae.

But while most other efforts are focused on processing algae to be used as an alternative to diesel or gasoline, Sprouse’s start-up Algal Farms Inc. is focused on creating algae pellets, which are burned like coal to generate electricity or are used as a substitute for wood pellets for heating.

Sprouse also said he is working on another project in Chesterfield County to convert an old wastewater treatment facility in a shuttered tobacco processing facility into an algae farm.

But Sprouse’s big dream is to build two large-scale algae farms, one 2,000-acre farm at a site in Prince George and a 20,000-acre at another in Prince George County – combined, the two farms would employ 860 people. He said that each acre of surface water would be capable of producing 500 pounds of biomass a day.

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Growing Algae in Acre-sized Platforms in Ocean

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Kansas State University engineer Wenquiao Yuan and his colleague think that growing algae on floating, acre-sized platforms in the ocean could dramatically reduce expenses associated with algae oil production by providing free sources of sunlight, nutrients, controlled temperature and water.

Unless the platform can grow algae several millimeters thick, it would be too difficult to scrape off the biomass for processing into oil.

The algae have responded well to dimpled stainless-steel. But the engineers are not sure why algae grow differently, depending on the type of material and surface texture.

Understanding those "mechanisms of attachment" is the goal of the first portion of the research, which is funded by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS). From there, the engineers will likely test their platform system in a smaller pond environment and then take it offshore.

See more: msnbc

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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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W2 Plans to Sequester The Carbon Using Algae

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W2 Energy is forming a joint venture with Canadian battery recycler Toxco to generate electricity from battery waste. W2 will annually process 600 tons of plastics and carbon from recycled batteries and convert it into electricity and liquid fuel using gasification technology. This will be done in a mass-to-energy unit fitted into a truck trailer. The fuel and electricity generated will be supplied back to Toxco.

W2 plans to sequester the carbon and nitrogen oxides produced from the waste combustion and use it to grow algae in a reactor. In February, the firm paid USD375,000 to acquire plasma gasification technology from Kinectrics.

Source: StrategyEye

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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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Algae Link to Australia's Clean Coal Technology

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The former Queensland premier Peter Beattie said on Friday that algae could prove to be the solution to Queensland's clean coal dilemma and put Australia on course for a new future of alternative energy. 

At a University of Queensland bioscience seminar, Beattie said Australia would fall behind the rest of the world if the nation did not quickly diversify its energy offerings. He said attitudes were changing quickly in the U.S. regarding energy usage as President Barack Obama poured money into green research projects. 

He also suggested that Queensland scientists should collaborate with American institutes to be part of advances in solar, wind, wave, geothermal and algae-generated energy, saying the latter could provide a lifeline for Queensland's coal stocks. 

Research into clean coal so far has focused on trapping carbon in the earth but concerns have been raised that it could leak out. However, technology could allow carbon created from burning coal to be captured and used to feed algae, getting rid of the storage problem, Beattie said. 

Chemical compounds from the algae, which thrives on carbon dioxide, could then be extracted to make diesel or aviation fuel.

"We have to clean up coal because in 20 years, at the very latest, the energy mix is going to be different," he told reporters after his speech.

Source: Xinhuanet.com

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Danielle Ford of Emerging Green Companies Tours the 2009 Algal Biomass Summit

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EmergingGreenCompanies.com today announced its airing of its correspondent Danielle Ford touring the Algal Biomass Summit in San Diego, California and asking questions. 

During this tour you can see interviews with companies such as Airbus, Renewed World Energies, and Biocentric Energy Holdings Inc.

Several key topics were discussed by Danielle including the uses of Algae for skin care. Dennis Fisher of Biocentric Energy indicated his intent to become involved with strains of algae used for skin care.

Other topics included Renewed World Energies expressing an interest to work with the group at Biocentric Energy.

The Summit itself is a three-day event exploring the development of algae-based solutions to global energy, environmental, and economic issues. We hope that some of the large companies attending such as Boeing, Exxon, and Raytheon pay attention to companies such as Biocentric Energy. Seeing how according to Biocentric Energy, they posses technology and strains of algae that are far ahead of their competition.

Danielle Fords tour can be seen on the Emerging Green Companies Media page.
http://emerginggreencompanies.com/home/?page_id=124

See the video of this release: http://www.vodnewswire.com/vodnewswire/news/emerging-green-20091012B/

Source: Marketwire

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OriginOil Finishes First Phase of Algae Commercialization Model

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OriginOil, Inc. the developer of a breakthrough technology to transform algae, the most promising source of renewable oil, into a true competitor to petroleum, today announced the completion of Phase 1 of a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory (INL).

OriginOil has been working with INL to develop a process model for the commercial production of algae for biofuels and other value-added products. Phase 1 of the CRADA focused on developing a comprehensive mass-energy balance of OriginOil’s proprietary process. This helped the company develop its comprehensive productivity model recently presented to the National Algae Association’s Quarterly Forum in Houston, Texas. INL researchers provided core data on the projected efficiency and recovery values for the various steps involved in the algae-growing process, including lipid and biomass production from algae.

“Algae represent a potential key biomass resource for a sustainable bioenergy industry,” said Tom Ulrich, INL Senior Advisory Scientist. “Collaboration with OriginOil has been encouraging, especially the modeling of their algae growth and production process. Phase 2 of the CRADA will focus on further process validation, economic modeling and improved biomass logistics for the scale up of algae biomass production.”

CEO Eckelberry added: “We look forward to continuing our relationship with INL and incorporating their research into our technology development and performance modeling. Through this collaboration we will facilitate the growth of the entire algae sector, and create a domestic renewable fuel industry that will benefit both the environment and the economy.”

INL and OriginOil are currently negotiating the scope and terms of Phase 2 and 3 of the CRADA. The deliverables for additional phases will include biological and chemical feedstock evaluation needed for systems integration design and scale-up demonstration. This work will identify and incorporate minor feeds (such as trace nutrients for algae), recycle streams, intermediate storage, utilities needed, and waste streams. Equipment sizes and the appropriate number of parallel units will also be determined, resulting in a more robust economic analysis of industrial scale systems.

The company reported the results of Phase 1 as part of the first-ever productivity model for algae production. The model was well received by industry leaders because of its comprehensive data set, transparent assumptions, and clarity on the commercialization challenge. OriginOil plans to publish specialized calculators on the company’s website, and will make the detailed model available to researchers.

“The new algae industry needed a comprehensive economic model to ramp up quickly,” said OriginOil CEO Riggs Eckelberry. “INL has played an integral part in our efforts to quantify the performance of key steps within the OriginOil algae production system.”

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Center for Renewable and Alternative Fuel Technologies (CRAFT) at EKU Boosts Biofuel Production

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Armed with a recently announced $3.6 million federal contract with the Defense Logistics Agency, the Center for Renewable and Alternative Fuel Technologies (CRAFT) at EKU is ramping up its efforts to boost biofuels production in central Kentucky. 

Sixth District Congressman Ben Chandler, who was instrumental in securing the contract, was on the Richmond campus on Monday, Sept. 28, joining University officials and state leaders in providing an update on the initiative, which has already garnered considerable international attention for EKU. 

Working with corporate partner General Atomics, Clark County and Winchester governments, Green Earth BioFuel in Estill County and Lextran, CRAFT will use algae techniques to process cellulosic materials that are readily available in the Commonwealth, offering a framework for sustainable fuel production and a boost for Kentucky agriculture.

“This is going to help our farmers, and it is going to produce jobs in this region,” Chandler said. “We can do it in such a way that we can employ people in good-paying jobs that can’t be exported.

“I’m tremendously proud to be associated with this fine university and these fine people. This university is well on its way to great things.”

The Defense Logistics Agency contract calls for specific areas of research that will ultimately lead to a demonstration pilot plant in Clark County to produce the biofuels. The EKU concept is unique in that the research will target locally grown biomass products to derive simple sugars that will be fed to algae to produce an oil that can be refined into fuels and other co-products such as plastics and pharmaceuticals.

Source: EKupdate

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Algae Initiative Aims to Produce Fuel While Helping the Environment

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Press Release:

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 ChAPthe Chesapeake Algae Projectis 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. Other key partners are the Williamsburg energy advisory firm Blackrock Energy, the University of Maryland, the Smithsonian Institution, the University of Arkansas and HydroMentia, a Florida company that works with water-treatment technologies.

 “This is the kind of collaboration at which William & Mary excels,” William & Mary President Taylor Reveley said. “It is a powerful extension of our own drive toward a more sustainable campus community.”

StatoilHydro representatives met with William & Mary officials and other partners in Williamsburg recently to sign a formal agreement to proceed. Other partners, private and public, are expected to join the initiative as work progresses.

“By taking the first step in close cooperation with some of the most skilled researchers the U.S. has to offer in this field, we feel confident that we have the best starting point possible for reaching a successful result and a good basis for attracting new private and public partners in the future,” says Lars Nordli, head of StatoilHydro’s biofuel division.

The William & Mary/VIMS group is investigating a process that not only is environmentally sustainable, but if used on a large scale, can help to reverse a number of environmental problems such as excess nutrient enrichment that produces “dead zones” in the Chesapeake Bay and other waters.

However, Dennis Manos, William & Mary’s vice provost for research and graduate and professional studies, said the main environmental benefits of ChAP will derive from the central goal of the project: to find a way to produce algal biofuel on an industrial scale.

“We would like to help companies put a significant dent in the world’s thousand-barrel-per-second appetite for oil,” Manos said.

Lead researchers at VIMS involved in ChAP include J. Emmett Duffy, the Loretta and Lewis Glucksman Professor of Marine Science, and Professor of Marine Science Elizabeth Canuel. At the Williamsburg campus of William & Mary, Gene Tracy, Chancellor Professor of Physics and Applied Science; Bill Cooke, professor of physics; and Robert Hinkle, professor of chemistry, are lead members of the team, which includes other faculty members.

Manos explained that the project involves the entire process of producing biofuels, from algal growth to harvesting, extracting the oil and other projects from the algae, processing the oil and producing the final biofuel product.

The project was initiated by exploring, among others, technology originally developed by Walter Adey of the Smithsonian Institution as an efficient, large-scale aquarium filter.  Adey has been meeting with a group of researchers at William & Mary and VIMS for the past year, working out details of how to adapt the concept to industrial-scale algae cultivation. A test site has been operating at VIMS, using brackish York River water, and a second test station is planned for Lake Matoaka on the William & Mary campus.

Algae are good candidates for use as biofuel because of their rapid growth rates, ability to take-up nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus, and some of these aquatic plants have as much as 50 percent oil content, depending on environmental factors. ChAP differs from other algal biofuel initiatives in two ways.

“In the first place, we’re going to work with many species of algae, as opposed to concentrating on farming a monoculture, or attempting to contain genetically modified algae in open-water environments,” Manos said. Most current algae studies focus on one high-yield species or strain of algae, but Manos explained that using a polyculture approach makes the algae less susceptible to disease and generally more robust. One of the goals of ChAP will be to develop processes to maximize the effective energy yield from a harvest that varies in oil content.

The other difference is that the process is designed to work without competing with either fresh-water supplies or agricultural resources. “The process will work in brackish water, salt water, even waste water,” Manos said. “That’s one of the best parts of the whole idea, and ultimately, while producing affordable transportation fuel, using wild algae can even help to remediate conditions that otherwise would lead to harmful algal blooms.”

 

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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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