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Algae That Cleans Emissions and Produces Fuel
**$tarDu$t** writes "Isaac Berzin, a rocket scientist at MIT has come up with an idea for using algae to clean up power-plant exhaust. His research began 3 years ago in an experiment for growing algae on the International Space Station. His idea consists of building algae farms near power plants to provide a means to reduce CO2 and nitrous oxide emissions. Emissions are filtered through the algae. Then the CO2 saturated algae is harvested and squeezed to produce a combustible vegetable oil (biodiesel) and a dried green substance that can be further processed into ethanol."
They had a Scientific American segment on this. Here is the segment transcript. It was quite interesting.
LEPP
I don't have a biology degree but it seems to me that there might be faster ways of creating strains more efficient at harvesting/reducing CO2.
Well gee, please do enlighten the biologists then.
The article seems to make it sound like just having the algae exposed to the air near a plant.
Did you miss this part in the summary in your rush for FP? "Emissions are filtered through the algae."
The UNH study is based on a ~20 year U.S. DoE study on algae biodiesel. Anyway, while it is true that there is enough land in the United States to grow enough algae to replace all gasoline and diesel fuel use, it's not the ideal solution. The problem is that the algae requires something around 13% CO2 gas to grow in any useful amount. The level of CO2 naturally occuring in the atmosphere is about 0.035%. The only economical source to generate that much CO2 is burning Coal. So, the entire process still yields tremendoes amounts of CO2, contributing to global warming. Certainly, it is better to harness CO2 from existing Coal power plants for biodiesel instead of releasing it into the atmosphere, but it is not a permanent solution.
eclecti.cc
What happens when you burn the methanol and biodiesel? Doesn't that just release the stored CO2 and Nitrogen Oxides back into the atmosphere, or am I missing something here?
.4x CO2 out the powerplant stack, and let's assume the remainder goes to biodiesel. You burn that 100% biodiesel in a car, get you get your .6x CO2 back. CO2 before: 2x. CO2 after: x. Obviously the real-world numbers won't be as good, but there's still an obvious emission reduction.
Yes, you are. See in the current situation, both powerplant CO2 and vehicle CO2 (and NOx) are being emitted from different energy sources. For the sake of argument, let's assume equal amounts of emissions are emitted from the powerplant and the vehicles.
So you put in the algae and you get
Despite what EULAs say, most software is sold, not licensed.
I'd like to point out that many alternative fuels are already used
Biodiesel is already in use, as it (as I understand) functions is normal diesel engines without and retrofitting.
Hybrid cars are becoming commonplace
Many companies are planning on making ethanol capable models--Ford even has the CEO of Ford making some promises on-air (not that that necessarily means they'll live up to them)
Various mass transit systems are putting hydrogen fuel cells, ethanol, and biodiesel into production. Mass transit systems, by the way, can provide an answer to the chicken/egg problem for alternative fuel vehicles. Since companies won't create a signficant number of vehicles until there's an infrastructure to support them, so people will buy them, and an infrastructure won't be built until there's a market, there's traditionally been a problem. However, governments have the money and the muscle to bring both of them into being at the same time, if in a limited capacity. Mass transit systems can have buses, for example, fuel at the depots, to start with. They could also open the depot up for public purchase. As more mass transit systems adopt alternative fuels, more fuel stations will arise, and more people will purchase alternative energy vehicles. Slow, maybe, but potentially very effective.
Things don't happen overnight, but they do happen.
This has been under discussion here since 2004.
cellulosic ethanol: involving enzymes to break down any biological material into ethanol.
Widescale biodiesel production from algae: Summarizes a study which shows that to grow enough algae to fuel America's current oil needs, would require 15,000 square miles of algae ponds.
Biodiesel from algae: Summarizes a news article describing GreenFuels technology and a similar plan to grow algae from power plant exhaust.
The Yahoo group, oil_from_algae has many knowledgeable people who are currently looking into the best strains of algae to grow, as well as methods for extracting oil from the algae.
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The article seems to make it sound like just having the algae exposed to the air near a plant.
Actually, I got the impression that they diverted the flue gasses from the powerplant and bubbled them through the algae; instead of just venting the gases right into the air.
If Mr. Edison had thought smarter he wouldn't sweat as much. --Nikola Tesla
I have to say, as an environmentalist, this line of research is one of the most hopeful I have seen. Besides cleaning power emissions, it can clean farm and industrial waste while generating fuel.
While at a farm products convention I talked to the bio- diesel and ethanol people from Iowa about this stuff. They had never heard of it, which is a shame. It seems like there should be better ways to get good ideas out there, but I guess market forces are the best we can do considering the government is so in line with the status quo.
San Francisco Photographers
Nope you are not wrong. Algae are an extreme pain in the arse to grow. They require loads of sun, loads of CO2 and the moment their concentration reaches a usefull level the broth tends to start dieing out, bacteria take over and contaminate the broth. So on. Of course, growing them for fuel is different from growing them for biotech where you need them "pure", but still. The idea of using algae is wildly optimistic.
Baker's Law: Misery no longer loves company. Nowadays it insists on it
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Tell this to anyone who has an aquarium, artifical pond in the garden, or swimming pool. I'd say it is an extreme pain in the arse to prevent algae from growing in any water that is exposed to light. I have seen them grow in cooling-water hoses that were only exposed to fluorescent light tubes. Mind you, the cooling-water circuit was filled with deionized water, so all the nutrients must have been leaking out of the various stainless steel, brass and plastic parts.
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You are missing the point entirely. Let's take a look at the alternative of using gasoline in cars.
1) Drill for Oil
(Burn Fuel)
2) Pump Oil up to the surface
(Burn Fuel)
3) Pump oil in pipeline to tanker ships
(Burn Fuel)
4) Transport Oil across world's oceans
(Burn lots of Fuel)
5) Truck Oil to refineries
(Burn Fuel)
6) Refine Oil into usable form and add MTBE
(Burn Fuel and harm the groundwater)
7) Truck gasoline to gas stations
(Burn Fuel)
Yet with all of that it is still economical to do. So any process designed to replace it doesn't have to be that effecient to beat using fossil fuels.