Interesting news about algae
The New York City Department of Environmental Protection is looking into using algae to treat the city’s wastewater and produce biofuels from the algae grown.
Source: http://algaenews.com/2011/09/algae-talk-nyc-begins-testing-algae-treatment-of-wastewater-episode-6
For every 50 fuel convoys deployed by the US military, one soldier dies or get injured.
An astounding figure shared by Thomas Hicks, deputy assistant secretary of the US Navy for energy, at the Clinton Global Initiative meetings in New York Tuesday on a panel about innovations in green technology.
The Navy, along with other branches of the military, recognizes the need to switch to alternative fuels both to reduce the risks in getting fuel into theaters of war and to reduce its exposure to price volatility.
Last year, the Navy spent over $11 billion on fossil fuels and intends to reduce petroleum use by half by 2020, which could mean replacing it with as much as 8 millions barrels of biofuels a year.
“On alternative fuels, we feel a bit alone out there,” Hicks shared. “But the reality is the ships and planes we have today are going to be the ships and planes we have 10-20 years from now. We need to focus on finding alternatives now to use in that fleet.”
To meet this goal, the Navy is partnering with Solazyme, a producer of algae-based oils, among others.
“At Solazyme, we make oil by converting plentiful, sustainable biomass-based plant sugars into tailored oils that serve the multitude of applications the world demands,” said Jonathan Wolfson, CEO of Solazyme, also speaking on the panel at CGI. “We do this by feeding a variety of sustainable, biomass-derived sugars from things like switch grass, sugar cane, and municipal green waste to algae in big stainless steel tanks and the algae convert those plant sugars into oil. They do it rapidly and efficiently.”
Solazyme’s technology is helping the US Department of Defense with its self-imposed mandate to reduce its carbon footprint, combat global climate change and lead in the development of clean and renewable energy sources.
The company is supplying algal jet fuel as well as a diesel ship fuel for use in military boats and, this summer, the Navy tested a Solazyme-produced fuel in its Seahawk helicopters.
“A key agent of change in the adoption of sustainable, renewable fuels is one of our oldest US government institutions — the Navy,” said Wolfson. “If we wanted our technology to scale, we had to work with a partner who could demonstrate scale.”
The American military represents significant purchasing power to drive market realities, increasing the opportunity for success of new fuels and potential adoption in the marketplace.
On Wednesday, Pew Charitable Trusts published a report, “From Barracks to the Battlefield,” stating that DOD investments in renewable energy is “projected to reach $3 billion by 2015 and $10 billion by 2030.”
Still, the move is not without its critics who question why the military is switching to alternative, especially unknown fuels.
“Time and again, military leaders have invested in new ways of harnessing energy to enhance the strength, speed, range and power of armed forces,” according to the Pew report.
The report goes on to note, “Navies that once relied on wind power transitioned to coal, then oil and eventually nuclear power to propel fleets across the seas. Air forces harnessed jet propulsion and made superiority in the skies a central component of strategic doctrine. And on land there have been continuous improvements to tactical and non-tactical vehicles to meet the needs of ever-changing military missions.”
In other words, on renewable energy solutions, the military is leading the way.
Source: http://theenergycollective.com/greenskeptic/66103/algae-away-us-navy-invests-alternative-fuels
With the price of gas still putting a serious dent in your pocketbook, the search for alternatives to fossil fuel is a priority for researchers.
Scientists at the University of Texas are making breakthroughs which could turn a common species of green algae named Chlorella into the newest source of diesel fuel for cars and trucks. The process is called “lysing.”
“It’s been well-studied,” Dr. Rhykka Connelly with the U.T. Center for Electromechanics said. “It’s known to produce significant amounts of oil under stress conditions.”
As promising as algae may be, there are still a number of obstacles keeping it from being an economically viable alternative.
The process to extract the oil from the algae is the first challenge faced by researchers. The team at U.T. say they have developed a new cost-effective way to pull the oil from the Chlorella with a new device.
“Before (the procedure), they look nice and round, they look like little tennis balls. Afterwards, their cell walls are stripped off,” Connelly said. “The pulse width is very short, making the power consumption very low, making this a very cost-effective way to bust open the algae.”
Next, researchers are faced with the challenge to separate the oil from the organic matter without using poisonous solvents. The U.T. team says they’ve figured that out as well.
“There’s absolutely no contact with the solvents that are used to remove the algae oil,” Connelly said.
The last hurdle is to grow enough algae to be able to scale up the process. A company involved in the project called AlgEternal designed what they call an “algae reactor”.
“At peak capacity, we’ll be able to offer the University of Texas Center for Electromechanics approximately five thousand gallons a day,” Michael Jochum with AlgEternal said.
All of the equipment used by the U.T. team to turn the algae into oil is compact enough to fit inside of a trailer.
“We can go to any location, back up to that pond and pump in green pond water,” Mike Werst with U.T. said. “We go through the electromechanical lysing. Then we have an oil separation unit where we literally have oil dripping out the other end.”
The end product is similar to vegetable oil and still needs to be refined, but thanks to the work here at UT, algae-based biofuels may soon be a viable replacement for fossil fuels.
Source: http://austin.ynn.com/content/top_stories/280583/u-t–researchers-breaking-new-ground-in-biofuels
Following the success of the previous four international algae congresses, the organisers are pleased to announce the fifth International Algae Congress. The fifth International Algae Congress takes place in Berlin, Germany on 1 & 2 December next.
It is organised by the European Society of Microalgal Biotechnology (ESMB), the German DLG e.V. (German Agricultural Society) and DLG BENELUX from the Netherlands. This edition focusses specifically on the potential of microalgae and aquatic biomass.
At this interactive edition of the International Algae Congress professionals from the international algae industry give you a clear insight into the potential, technological developments, the economic outlook and the international developments in the field of microalgae, macroalgae & other types of aquatic biomass.
For a video impression of the previous editions please click here > 
You will meet delegates from various sectors from the algae industry, including scientists, aquaculture, algae producers, waste managers, water treatment, end-users (food, feed, aquaculture, pharma), VC PE and other investors, consultants, energy companies, equipment, technology & infrastructure and government agencies.
Please click here for testimonials from delegates and speakers.
Programme and Sessions
The programme is being prepared by the advisory committee. Updates regarding the programme and the speakers will soon become available so please keep an eye on this page, or sign up for our e-newsletter.
Sessions address the following themes; Aquatic Biomass – BioFuels & By-products, Production systems; Scale & Economics, Genetic Enginering vs. Strain Colllection, BioRefinery Concepts, Sustainable Aquatic Cycles, and Innovative Applications of advanced biotechnological solutions.
Please click here to register as a delegate!