Latest Updates: algae RSS

• Israel On the Forefront of Greentech ?
  Srikant Rajan 02:19:09 pm on September 3, 2008 | 1 | # |
  Tags: algae, biofuel, brightsource, concetrated solar, dpt, greentech, HelioFocus, israel

  Israel has seen rapid development of a slew of alternative technologies such as solar energy and biofuel in the past couple of months.Just a couple of months back Issac Berzin undertook to build a center for creating strategic energy policies for promoting renewable energy development and use.Israel based Seambiotic is also investigating possibilities for using emission from coal plants as a feedstock for algae based biofuel.

  HelioFocus, another Israel based organization founded just an year back,received a $5million from Israel Corps renewable energy arm.HelioFocus has also partnered Capstone Turbine Corp for micro turbines to be integrated with its patented Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) systems.Capstone plans to modify its C65 Micro Turbine to integrate with HelioFocus CSP systems.The initial modifications would entail design of micro turbine to operate on superheated air and thus aid in effective integration with CSPs.

  CSPs essentially try to enhance the the solar energy available per unit area.Thus they offer a high energy density as compared to other solar energy devices.However the use a heating oil for transfer of heat which poses the challenge of effective heat transfer.BrightSource, has developed an alternative Distributed Power Technology (DPT) to counter this challenge and has shown promising results.

   

• Algae Fuel Gets $141 Million In Bonds
  Srikant Rajan 04:38:28 pm on August 3, 2008 | 0 | # |
  Tags: algae, biofuel, Ecoalgae, saline county, United Biorefineries Corp

  EcoAlgae USA, LLC has received approval from Saline County for issuance of $141 million of revenue bonds for production of an algae production facility( no tax dollars !). The project will be organized and constructed in conjunction with United Biorefineries Corp. (UBC), a technology management company, as the main Consortium Company with other integrated licenses. The key feature of the project is the construction of a biorefineries complex that would predominantly use algae as a feedstock.Additionally this refinery would also use material such as waste wood,municipal waste and switch grass as feedstock.

   

• Costly Oil ? Biofuel To Blame Says OPEC
  Srikant Rajan 02:56:07 pm on July 17, 2008 | 1 | # |
  Tags: algae, biofuel, blended fuels, Chekib Khelil, ethanol, oil speculation, opec

  Oil price increase has been linked to numerous reasons ; speculation and increased demand being the most common. The reason being these  are easy to construct ,  subjective and to a certain extent non verifiable . However OPEC seems to think otherwise . OPEC, president Chakib Khelil has now found ethanol to be the reason for almost 40 % increase in oil prices. The remaining 60 % is apparently due to rising dollar and an essentially vague factor  – “ geopolitical worries “ ( fancy word for plain speculation ).  How Mr.Khelil has arrive on this conclusion is anybody’s guess as he refuses to explain the logic behind such rationalization

  Biofuels have been on the receiving side of criticism (sometimes fair !) for reduced food grain output. However the technology has been slowly maturing with the development of second generation and algae based biofuel. OPEC is undoubtedly worried as ethanol is a direct competitor to oil and also makes oil supplies “ stretch “ significantly ( bended fuels). OPEC’s attack, in my opinion signifies that this industry  is definitely on the road to commercialization.

   

• Algae Biofuel Vs. Cellulose Ethanol
  Tate 10:39:30 pm on July 2, 2008 | 2 | # |
  Tags: algae, algenol, biofuel, cellulose, ethanol, greenfuel, sapphire energy

  There’s a good comparison of algae biofuel vs cellulose ethanol at EcoWorld that was just posted today.. Algae isn’t nearly as developed as cellulose ethanol but in my mind holds much greater potential while using a much smaller foot print.  Companies looking to meet the challenge of using algae for fuel are Algenol, GreenFuel and Sapphire Energy, all privately held companies.

   

• Algenol Biofuels Has Big Plans for Algae Ethanol
  Tate 06:14:58 pm on June 27, 2008 | 1 | # |
  Tags: algae, algenol biofuels, biofields, ethanol

  It seems too good to be true but a private company called Algenol Biofuels hopes to pump out 1 billion (thats billion with a b) gallons of algae ethanol by 2012, harvesting pond scum to meet our energy needs.  The company claims to use a much more efficient process that allows the algae to continue living providing an endless source of energy.  Is it just hype? That remains to be seen but I’m all for harvesting fuel out of anything other than our crops!  Algenol Biofuels already has a deal with BioFields to sell the fuel to the Mexican government.  Another promising company to keep on the radar

   

• Coal Plant To Produce Biofuels
  Srikant Rajan 08:45:20 am on June 26, 2008 | 4 | # |
  Tags: algae, algae biofuel, algae growth, biofuel, carbon dioxide, Inventure Chemicals, israel, Seambiotic Limited

  Inventure Chemicals has entered into a joint venture with Israel based Seambiotic Limited to construct a pilot commercial biofuel plant.The biofuel plant will use algae as a feedstock that will be produced using the emissions from a power plant.The algae thus grown would be harvested to produce biofuels such as ethanol , biodiseal and other commercial chemicals.

  This joint venture will help in gauging the feasibility of carbon dioxide to algae to biofuel model.Additionally this conversion technology also provides an attractive option to reduce the carbon emissions of a coal plant ,a major environmental polluter.Furthermore, the biofuel obtained by algae processing can also act as a substitute power source in the coal plant,making it a win-win proposition all the way.

   

• Global Warming ??? Suck Up The Carbon !
  Srikant Rajan 01:59:11 pm on June 25, 2008 | 1 | # |
  Tags: algae, algae biofuel, algae growth, Algal Biomass Organization, biofuel, boeing, carbon dioxide, global warming, petroalgae

  Algae based biofuel provides a lot of advantages.This process of algae growth ,like a crop and further harvesting it to obtain biofuel leaves a very low carbon impact on the environment.The biggest advantage of algaaculture is that it can act as a source for removing carbon dioxide from air.Research has proven that algae growth in  CO2-enriched air can yield oil that can be converted into high grade biodiseal.Additionally the byproducts left behind after processing algae can be used as animal feed.PetroAlgae,is one of the organizations actively pursuing this endeavor.Fred Tennant, VP,PetroAlgae is overseeing the development of a process in which algae is harvested from fresh-water ponds , converted to oil and refined to biodiseal. The byproducts ,can be further used as a protein rich animal feed.

  The recently formed  Algal Biomass Organization for promoting renewable and sustainable commodities derived from algae,is being promoted by Boeing Commercial Airplanes.Thus it seems that algae has enormous potential for developing as a sustainable energy source.

   

• Algenol’s "Ethanol Producers"
  Srikant Rajan 07:22:26 am on June 13, 2008 | 0 | # |
  Tags: algae, algae growth, algenol, biofuel, direct to ethanol, ethanol

  Its algae all the way for biofuels.Algenol Biofuels wants to put use algae to directly produce ethanol.This Direct to Ethnaol ITM process exploits the specific property of algae cells to produce sugar by using sunlight and carbon dioxide through photosynthesis.Algenol CEO Paul Woods says"Most algae have a really tiny ability to make ethanol, and we’ve enhanced it greatly. We take in sunlight, massive amounts of carbon dioxide, and we grow (algae) in what look like a huge soda bottle on its side".

  Algae has also found favor with biofuel developers who grow it up as a crop, harvest it and further process to produce "Renewable" gasoline.However in Algenol’s technology they are typically not grown but just utilized to produce ethanol.While it is certainly a unique and offbeat view ,this technology’s cost effectiveness and environmental impact still needs to be analyzed.

   

• "Renewable" Gasoline ?
  Srikant Rajan 09:19:58 am on June 10, 2008 | 0 | # |
  Tags: algae, algae growth, biofuel, ethanol, sapphire energy

  

  Forget biodiseal,or ethanol,if Sapphire Energy is to be believe you can actually produce gasoline rather than drilling holes in ground, extracting crude oil and further processing it.Sapphire ,has developed a radical new method for developing commercial grade gasoline from bio- feedstock.This process essentially employs algae as a feedstock ,which is grown and later processed to produce high octane gasoline.The advantages associated with this process are numerous such as the freedom to use non – arable land as well as  saline or brackish water for algae cultivation.Additionally Sapphire  says that the infrastructure required for his entire process is "modular, transportable and fueled by sunlight-not constrained by land, crops or other natural resources".

  This new development has given an ample demonstration regarding the viability of biofuels.However it remains to be seen if the cost associated with this entire process justifies the carbon free "renewable"gasoline so produced.

   

• Israel To Get a "Green" Nudge
  Srikant Rajan 06:09:31 pm on June 4, 2008 | 2 | # |
  Tags: algae, biofuel, greenfuel tehnology, israel, issac berzin

  Israel has not been on the global investors favorites list despite having some of the most innovative renewable energy technologies such as a geothermal station in Nevada,solar panels in the Mohave desert .Experts cite poor policy and infrastructure as a major eyesore for international and local investors.Now change may be just around the corner with the coming of Isaac Berzin, the founder of GreenFuel Technologies.Berzin,senior fellow at the Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) in Herzliya,plans to build a new Institute for Alternative Energy Policy in Israel under the IDC. This new institute will aim to develop strategic global energy policies in collaboration with the Washington based Institute for the Analysis of Global Security (IAGS).

  Israel decades of research in water technologies, grey-water irrigation,growing crops in brackish water has found favor with Berzin,who is targeting a algae-biofuel based energy alterative in the coming five years .