This looks to be a
somewhat fresh approach to the promise of bio fuel from algae. I stopped been too interested five years ago
when it became obvious that it was not anyone’s quick fix.
I would like to see a bullet
proof farm friendly system in place. This
might get there because it is not overly specialized. In the meantime it will still take years of
effort to mature into a good system.
At least no one is
giving up on this industry which is likely to be important as a replacement for
the oil industry sooner or later. I
would simply like the tech produce Ag diesel in a sustainable manner.
Australian algae fuel
green oil hope
Posted:
Jul 24, 2013
(Nanowerk
News) Newly trialled native algae species provide real hope for the development
of commercially viable fuels from algae, a University of Queensland scientist
has found. Dr Evan Stephens and the team at UQ's Institute for Molecular Bioscience,
in collaboration with Germany's Bielefeld University and Karlsruhe Institute of
Technology, have identified fast-growing and hardy microscopic algae that could
prove the key to cheaper and more efficient alternative fuel production. UQ
Solar Biofuels Research Centre manager Dr Stephens said Australia could
potentially become an oil exporter like the Middle East by devoting just one
per cent of land to algae farms. “Previously the main focus has been looking
for oil-rich algae, but usually these are tastier to predators – like
microscopic scoops of ice cream,” Dr Stephens said. “The integration of new
technologies means we can turn a broad range of algae into bio-crude oil that
can be processed in existing oil refineries, so now the success of the industry
comes down to rapid growth and low production costs. “A major new frontier is
in the biology and developing new strains – and we've already made significant
advances through the identification of high-efficiency strains that have really
stable growth, as well as being resistant to predators and temperature
fluctuations.”Dr Stephens and the team have identified hundreds of native
species of microscopic algae from freshwater and saltwater environments around
Australia. They and have tested these against thousands of environmental
conditions in the laboratory, creating a shortlist of top performers. The
researchers are putting the algae through their paces at a pilot processing
plant that opened in Brisbane in April. The project has garnered international
and domestic investment, including from Finland's Neste Oil, global engineering
company KBR, Siemens, the Queensland Government and Cement Australia. Traditionally,
algae have been grown for health foods, aquaculture and waste-water treatment
but in recent years, algae oil has become the focus of an emerging biofuel
industry. Dr Stephens said its production was expensive and viable commercial
production had not yet been achieved in Australia or overseas. “While we know
that we can produce algae oil that is even higher quality than standard
petroleum sources, we are working to increase the efficiency of production with
the ultimate aim being to compete with fossil fuels dollar for dollar,” he
said. He said it was important to get economies of scale right before
commercialising algae biofuels. “There are still important challenges in
science and engineering to be overcome to achieve the high efficiency needed to
compete with conventional petroleum.”Dr Stephens said the algae biofuel
industry held promise for Australia because algae farming was well suited to
the country's climate and land. Dr Stephens is one of 12 early-career
scientists selected from state finals to unveil their research to the public
through Fresh Science, a national program sponsored by the Australian
Government through the Inspiring Australia initiative.
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