Bio-diesel Made from Sewage

tito writes "A New Zealand company has successfully turned sewage into modern-day gold. New Zealand Herald is reporting that a Marlborough-based Aquaflow Bionomic yesterday announced it had produced its first sample of bio-diesel fuel from algae in sewage ponds. It is believed to be the world's first commercial production of bio-diesel from 'wild' algae outside the laboratory - and the company expects to be producing at the rate of at least one million litres of the fuel each year from Blenheim by April."

Comments

one million litres?

[Anonymous Coward]

How much is that compared to the oil consumption of New Zealand? How many of those factories would be needed to be independent of crude oil and would that be feasible?

Re:one million litres?

[WindBourne]

Not really significant,

So, lets see; they reduce their waste problem, they lower their oil usage, and even lower their co2 emissions. Well, it appears to be headed in the right direction, rather than in wrong.

Hmmmmmmmmmn,

[Whiney Mac Fanboy]

As well as creating diesel from waste products, the process cleans water:

Creating fuel from the algae removes the problem while producing useful clean water, said Mr Leay. The clean water can then be used for stock food, irrigation and, if treated properly, for human consumption.

In spite of this, I'm sure a million slashdotters are going to bleat about this not solving the fuel crisis, giving us their back of napkin calculations that show you'll need to cover the entire surface of the united states with algae ponds to replace fossil fuels, etc.

Remember folks - there is not going to be a single replacement for fossil fuels, but many (and lets not forget the other half of the equation - reducing our energy consumption).

Re:E85 costs more than regular gas!

[morie]

Another reason is that gasprices in the US are incredibly low from a european point of view, mostly due to taxes. Biofuel would be less likely te be as heavily taxed over here, making it cheaper at the gas station.

The Bright Side of the Bright Side.

[RoffleTheWaffle]

Okay, so we all know a million liters of fuel isn't much in the grand scheme of things. Worldwide, many billions of gallons and tons of assorted fossil fuels are consumed, which means that a million gallons a year from one facility is pretty small potatoes when stacked up against the fuel demands of the world.

I think we're forgetting that the fuel need not leave town, though. Locally produced bio-fuels could supply limited geographic areas with at least some quantity of cheap fuel, which at least helps whoever lives there. It doesn't have to travel, meaning it retains much more of its value since less energy and effort has to be spent to move it from point 'A' to point 'B', and since a township produces it, a township reaps the benefits, immediately benefitting the local economy. It's like the farmer's market for gas, yaknow?

I have to wonder if anyone here has ever heard the phrase, "Think global, act local." I also have to wonder if anyone here considers that it's pretty stupid to rely on just one source of fuel. Let me lay it out for you, here - we already have an absolutely massive bio-fuel 'portfolio', detailing dozens of ways that businesses and communities can produce useful quantities of bio-deisel and ehtanol, but using just one or two of them probably isn't going to be enough to take oil out of the picture, especially if only a few people give it a shot. Right now, we need to take what we can get, and the ability to produce fuel in the process of purifying wastewater is something nobody should overlook. If nothing else, the cost of water purification could be offset by fuel sales, potentially reducing utility costs.