Humble Algae Possible Future Star On Alternative Fuel Front
Good new on the biofuel and environmental scene.
The humble algae seems to be a future star on the alternative fuel front.
From McClatchy: "A 75-gallon tank of goo that in the course of a week or so changed color from lime green to almost black was one of the stars of last summer's Farnborough International Air Show in England.
"As airlines ordered hundreds of planes worth billions of dollars at the world's largest air show, the tank, or bioreactor, was a near-perfect breeding ground for what could become the fuel of the future: the lowly algae.
"Aerospace companies and airlines are betting that algae — simple organisms that come in some 30,000 species, many of which can be genetically modified — will prove to be a green fuel that can power jet planes. Algae also could be blended into diesel and gasoline, and perhaps could even replace petroleum-based diesel and gasoline one day.
"As the infant industry organizes, algae must make their case for the kinds of tax breaks, market incentives, loans, and research and development backing that other biofuel sectors have. Though corn and soybean growers long have lobbied in Washington, the Algal Biomass Organization is a new kid on the block.
"The Department of Energy studied algae as a fuel source as far back as the 1970s but abandoned the research in 1996 to focus on ethanol. Last year's energy bill required the department to report to Congress on the feasibility of algae as a biofuel.
"NASA has been looking at algae as a jet fuel and for other uses in outer space.
" 'It's hard not to get excited about algae's potential,' said Paul Dickerson, the chief operating officer of the Energy Department's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy."
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