Algae: 'The ultimate in renewable energy'

[Crazy_Nate]

I don't know about ultimate, but it sure sounds pretty good.

ANTHONY, Texas (CNN) -- Texas may be best known for "Big Oil." But the oil that could some day make a dent in the country's use of fossil fuels is small. Microscopic, in fact: algae. Literally and figuratively, this is green fuel.

Plant physiologist Glen Kertz believes algae can some day be competitive as a source for biofuel.

"Algae is the ultimate in renewable energy," Glen Kertz, president and CEO of Valcent Products, told CNN while conducting a tour of his algae greenhouse on the outskirts of El Paso.
Kertz, a plant physiologist and entrepreneur, holds about 20 patents. And he is psyched about the potential algae holds, both as an energy source and as a way to deal with global warming.
"We are a giant solar collecting system. We get the bulk of our energy from the sunshine," said Kertz.
Algae are among the fastest growing plants in the world, and about 50 percent of their weight is oil. That lipid oil can be used to make biodiesel for cars, trucks, and airplanes.
...

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/science/04/01/algae.oil/index.html

[compress ignite]

Thanks!

[Mistel]

Algae is my bet for an alternative fuel. Corn ethanol and Hydrogen are basically a waste of time.

Here's my prediction, Exxon buys all the patents and shelves the technology until they have sold all their reserves. Think about it, they have like 100 Billion in profits to spend, it would make good business sense.

[Botnst]

Wanna get richer than EXXON-Mobile all by yourself? Figure out how to decouple photosynthesis from a living organism. Voila'!

Its about time somebody started producing it.

[KarTek]

This technology is literally the greatest hope for producing a substantial quantity of biodiesel. I try to turn everyone on to it that will even halfway listen.

Please learn everything you can about it, join applicable forums and spread the word. The technology is just a step away from practical mass production and if an appropriate amount of money were spent on it these hurdles could be overcome.

[Crazy_Nate]

I think that if this got underway in the proper (honest) hands, this could be epic. My only fear is that some companies with less than moral ideals get their hands on it.

[Zeus]

Originally Posted by Botnst

Wanna get richer than EXXON-Mobile all by yourself? Figure out how to decouple photosynthesis from a living organism. Voila'!

I'll get on it, but it'll have to take a back bench to my nuclear fusion project. Same approximate timelines and expected outcomes, mind.

[KarTek]

The nice thing is that farming it is a simple technology. Extracting the oil will probably become backyard science as well. I predict there will be hundreds of small time algae operators extracting and brewing algea based bio diesel within 10-15 years... If possible, I will be one of them.

[Mistel]

Originally Posted by KarTek

The nice thing is that farming it is a simple technology. Extracting the oil will probably become backyard science as well. I predict there will be hundreds of small time algae operators extracting and brewing algea based bio diesel within 10-15 years... If possible, I will be one of them.

You don't have to wait that long

http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel_library/methane_pain.html

or

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGSl72xZHNk&eurl=http://www.watchuonline.com/video/BGSl72xZHNk/ARTI-India-Biogas-from-food-waste.html

These are both ways to produce methane, which I think is even more versatile than biodiesel. You could compress it and run a car on it, run you water heater, stove, furnace, pool heater etc...

You can't get any more low tech

[LUVMBDiesels]

Originally Posted by Botnst

Wanna get richer than EXXON-Mobile all by yourself? Figure out how to decouple photosynthesis from a living organism. Voila'!

Yes, but how do you turn atp into electricity? what we need is a bacteria (or algae) that takes sunlight and converts it directly into 120VAC...

[Dee8go]

Originally Posted by Botnst

Wanna get richer than EXXON-Mobile all by yourself? Figure out how to decouple photosynthesis from a living organism. Voila'!

What does that mean, Bot, and why is it valuable?

[Botnst]

Photosynthesis takes the raw materials of light, water and CO2 and produces a simple 3 carbon molecule. Molecule is taken by the organism and either burned immediately in cellular respiration or converted to glucose (combining 2, 3-carbon molecules) used as a building block to synthesize everything else in the body, power for which is derived from photosynthesis.

Once you have that 3-carbon molecule you have the first step in creating long chain hydrocarbons. Living organisms do not like to create volatile long chain molecules so they polymerize long-chain stable molecules like starch, fat, and cellulose. The 3-carbon product of photosynthesis is highly unstable and if not immediately captured for use, will decompose into CO2 and water.

So if a clever biochemical engineer could decouple life from photosynthesis he could catch that 3-carbon molecule and build a chain that could be useful to human beings -- like say, long chain esters.