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.
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Algae Biofuel Vs. Cellulose Ethanol
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Algenol’s "Ethanol Producers"
Srikant RajanIts 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.
