Algae Biofuel: The Solution to the Future’s Liquid Fuel

Problems

The Problem

The problem we face today is that we will eventually run out of petroleum oil, and we need to find an abundant, efficient, environmentally-friendly, and plausible alternative energy source that we can exploit with as few side effects as possible. The optimistic news is that other solutions are right in front of us like corn ethanol, soybean biodiesel, and algae biofuel which are among today’s top alternative fuel sources, but none of these solutions are able to compete with petroleum’s mass production despite their positive impacts on society. So the question is, which solution is and can be the best alternative transportation liquid fuel source?

Oil Refinery

The oil refinery process begins with crude oil. Boiling temperature is used to separate hydrocarbons in the crude oil into “fractions”. This process is called fractional distillation. The crude oil is heated and vaporized, and then the vapor is condensed. In a

newer process using chemical processing, long strands of hydrocarbons can be broken into shorter strands through a process called “conversion”. This enables oil companies to change diesel into gasoline depending on the market demand. Refineries combine different fractions into mixtures to make a desired product, such as gasoline with different octane ratings. Refineries also must treat waste created in the process in an effort to try and lower air and water pollution.

Oil Benefits

One benefit of gasoline engines is that they produce much more power than alternative fuel sources.

Another benefit of oil is its ease of access. Refilling a car with gas is a very easy process. There are so many gas stations, and such a high demand for gas that it is never hard to get to a pump.

Oil Problems

There are two main problems involved with burning gasoline in combustion engines. The first problem is smog and ozone in big cities. Smog is created when nitrogen oxides are released from the engine. Ozone is created hydrocarbons go unburned. Ozone is beneficial when it is in the atmosphere, because it prevents UV radiation from reaching us. But, ozone is a very reactive gas, and it is very harsh on lung tissue. So, when ozone is at ground level it is very dangerous to society. In the picture to the

right, the plant on the left is damaged by ozone, and the plant on the right is normal.

Oil Problems

The second main problem with gasoline is the emission of greenhouse gases. Carbon Dioxide is a greenhouse gas released by burning gasoline. Burning a gallon of gasoline releases around 5 to 6 pounds of carbon dioxide. In the United States alone, around 2 billion pounds of carbon dioxide are released every day. This much carbon dioxide can cause global climate change such as sea levels rising and flooding. Another poisonous gas released from burning gasoline is Carbon Monoxide. Carbon Monoxide poisoning is the most common type of fatal air poisoning in many countries. It is colorless, tasteless, and odorless, but it is highly toxic.

Possible Solutions

Corn to Ethanol Process

The process of creating corn ethanol begins with the plantingand harvesting ofcorn.

The process then splitsinto two main types. Dry milling, and wet milling.

Dry milling, being the more common of the two, accounts for over 80% of ethanol in the U.S.

Corn to Ethanol Process

The dry milling process begins with the corn being ground into a flour called the “meal”. Water is then added to the meal, and then enzymes are added to convert the starch to glucose. Ammonia is added to control the pH, and also as a nutrient for the yeast, which is added later. They process the mixture at high temperatures to keep the bacteria levels low, and then the mixture is transferred into fermenters and cooled. The yeast is then added, and the conversion from sugar to ethanol begins. The whole process takes around 45 hours. After the process is completed, the ethanol is removed from the “stillage”. The ethanol then gets dehydrated, and a denaturant is added to make it undrinkable. The product is now ready to be shipped to gasoline retailers.

Corn to Ethanol Process

The wet milling process begins with the corn grain going into a mixture of sulfuric acid and water for up to 48 hours. The slurry goes through grinders to separate out the corn germ. The remaining components go through various separators. The remaining corn starch and water is fermented into ethanol through a similar process as dry milling.

Ethanol Benefits

One benefit of ethanol is that it is better for the environment than gasoline. Ethanol blends reduce carbon monoxide emissions by 10-30%. Using 10% ethanol blends reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 12-19% compared to regular gasoline.

Ethanol Problems

One main problem with Ethanol is that it raises food prices. Another problem with Ethanol is its effect on the environment. If corn is used as both fuel and food, then corn production will increase drastically. With more land being used for farming, then there will be less land for wild areas. Another problem is the extra water needed as the farming expands. With water levels dropping from excessive water use already, Ethanol could make this problem worse.

Hydrogen Fuel

Hydrogen fuel is a zero-emission fuel that can be used in fuel cells to power electric motors, or can be burned in internal combustion engines.

Although Hydrogenisn’t widely used asa transportation fuel today, industry researchand development areworking towards clean,economical, and safe hydrogen production

Advantages of Hydrogen Fuel

The major advantage of hydrogen fuel is its effects on the environment. When used in fuel cells, hydrogen produces no air pollutants or greenhouse gases.

Another advantage of hydrogen fuel is that it can reduce our dependency on foreign oil, because it can be produced domestically.

Also, Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe. The only trick is that hydrogen is usually mixed with something, so it has to be removed through chemical processes

Disadvantages of Hydrogen Fuel

A disadvantage of hydrogen fuel is that it is expensive to produce, and it is currently only available in California.

Another disadvantage is that fuel cell vehicles are very expensive.

Also, hydrogen powered vehicles cannot go as far as conventional gasoline powered vehicles, because hydrogen contains much less energy than gasoline or diesel.

Solar Power

Solar Power is defined to be power obtained by harnessing the energy of the sun’s rays. Solar panels use large silicon crystals that can produce an electrical current when light hits them. The electrons in silicon create electricity when they are exposed to light because they get up and move, instead of vibrating in place to produce heat.

Solar Benefits

One benefit of solar power is that it is a completely renewable energy source. As long as there is sun, then you can have solar power.

Another benefit of solar power is that it is completely silent. They make no noise while extracting energy from the sun.

Finally, solar panels require very little maintenance. Since there are no moving parts in solar panels, they are hard to damage.

Solar Problems

The problems with solar power involve cost. Solar energy is expensive due to the cost of the large silicon crystals. Solar power is about five times as expensive as the electricity running through today's outlets.

Newer materials such as copper, indium, gallium, and selenide use smaller crystals. They are also much cheaper than silicon. But, the problem with this new technology is that it doesn’t harness as much energy from the sun as the expensive silicon can.

Another disadvantage with solar power is that it is useless if there is no sun. If it is cloudy outside, or if there is a storm, then solar panels become useless.

Algae to Biofuel

Algae growth requires CO2, water, optimal temperature, efficient exposure to light, and culture density.

All of these requirements are met by photobioreactors, which are closed systems that provide controlled environments and enable high productivity of algae.

There are also many types of photobioreactors like the MICGRO Deep Water Reactor.

Algae to Biofuel

After growing the algae, the next step is harvesting and dewatering the algae. There are three techniques for harvesting microalgae which are filtration, most common, centrifugation, which uses the sedimentation principle, and flocculation, which uses chemicals. Some examples of technology that can accomplish these processes are the AQ Harvester patented by Aquaflow and the Shepherd's Harvester developed by Algae to Energy.

Algae to Biofuel

The next step is extracting the oil from the harvested algae. The two methods of oil extraction are chemical and mechanical which include technology like the Alginator Technology patented by Algae to Energy. Depending on the technology, some harvesters are able to complete this job as well.

The result is a algal slurry which is then converted into Green Crude which is a derivative that exhibits similar characteristics to crude oil.

Algae to Biofuel

Through algal oil extraction technology, other byproducts are recovered like omega 3; for example, there are pills available that have omega 3 from algae because algae is very high in omega 3.

The last step is refining in which the Green Crude is refined into biofuels, fine chemicals, kerosene, diesel, petroleum fractions, surfactants, pre-cursor for polymer manufacture, and pharmaceutical components.

Algae Biodiesel Process

Algae Biofuel Challenges

There are 5 major challenges to making algae biofuel: 1. Algae strain: Generally the "best" algae for biofuel are not very robust. For

example claims of a 49% oil content algae have been made, but growing such algae is next to impossible.

2. Infection: If you have a very specific algae you are trying to grow in an open pond, it is likely it will get outcompeted by natural algae and bacteria from the environment. The solutions to this include growing a very dense inoculum in a photobioreactor or simply using a photobioreactor instead of an open pond. 

3. Water: This is the biggest issue. Algae grown in open ponds reaches a concentration of about 0.1%. That means for every one unit of algae you have to remove 1000 units of water. This is very expensive and energy intensive.

4. Cell Walls: The unique cell wall of algae can be an issue if you are trying to disrupt the cell to get to the oil. This is also energy intensive and technically challenging.

5. Conversion to biodiesel: The oil from algae has a lot of contaminants in it that prevent easy conversion to biodiesel. The oil has to be purified before conversion adding more cost and technical challenge to the process.

Technology

MicGro Deep Water ReactorAlginator

Closed Rapid Field Deployment Bioreactor

This reduction in CO2 emissions is as a result of the production of algae biodiesel because algae provides a carbon-neutral fuel because it consumes more CO2 than is ultimately released into the atmosphere when algae-based fuel burns.

Corn Ethanol Algae Biodiesel Soybean Biodiesel

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How much land is required to produce 5% of oil consumed in the United States, per

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Amount of land (million acres)

Type of Biofuel

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*Algae biodiesel only requires 353,000 acres of land to produce 5% of the total oil Americans consume in a year! This number is extremely low compared to the second lowest contender, cellu-losic ethanol, which requires 39 million acres.

Here's a chart showing various feedstock and their potential oil yield per acre. (note: g/m2/day is the harvest rate of the algae and % TAG is the percentage of triglycerides) These high yields can be attributed to algae's high growth rate, which is often monitored in hours instead of days, and has inputs of only land, sunlight, water, carbon dioxide (potential for carbon credits) and nutrients.

This graph compliments the chart on the left and shows that Algae has the most potential of oil yield.

Price of Various Fuels per Gallon ($USD)

Corn Ethanol

Algae Biodiesel

Petroleum

Soybean Biodiesel

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Price (in $USD)

The lines on the graph depict what are called “zero net present value (NPV)” curves. These lines represent what a project would need to achieve in total installed and O&M costs to be economically viable from a commercial market perspective.

This graph shows the rapid growth of algal biotechnology over the past decade, and as these technological advancements continue, the price of algae biofuel will continue to decrease.

This slide projects future algal fuel costs under a number of different scenarios.

This slide shows the 2012 selling price for algal products in four categories: Triglycerides (TAG) from open ponds (OP) at $9.28/gallon and from photobioreactors (PBR) at $17.52/gallon, and then the finished diesel (which requires hydrotreating the TAG) at $10.66 from OPs and $19.89 from PBRs.

Benefits of Algae as Future Alternative Liquid Fuel Source

Q:What transportation fuels can algae produce?

A: Algae produce a variety of fuel and fuel precursor molecules, including triglycerides and fatty acids that can be converted to biodiesel, as well as lipids and isoprenoids that can be directly converted to actual gasoline and traditional diesel fuel. Algae can also be used to produce hydrogen or biomass, which can then be digested into methane.

Algae Fuels

Fuel Production

Q: How much fuel can algae produce? A: The United States consumes 140 billion

gallons per year of liquid fuel. Algae can produce 3,000 gallons of liquid fuel per acre in a year, so it would take 45 million acres of algae to provide 100% of our liquid fuel requirements.

For comparison, in 2008 the United States had 90 million acres of corn and 67 million acres of soybeans in production. So growing 45 million acres of algae, while challenging, is certainly possible.

Algae Growth

Q: Where could this type of algae grow? A: Algae perform best under consistent

warm temperatures between 60 and 90 degrees and climates with plenty of sunshine offer optimal conditions. Ideal U.S. locations include many of the southern and southwestern states, such as New Mexico, Arizona, Texas, Nevada, and California (including the counties of San Diego and Imperial).

Cost of Algae Biofuel

Q: How much would a gallon of algae-based transportation fuel cost if it were available at a service station today?

A: Today, the cost would be relatively expensive. Additional investment in research is needed to further refine and enhance the algae strains that generate such fuels. Also, more infrastructure needs to be developed to achieve the necessary economies of scale that will come with large-scale commercial production. Once overall efficiency increases, the cost of producing a gallon of gasoline from algae will dramatically reduce.

Algae as a Future Solution

Q: What can accelerate the commercial availability of algae biofuel?

A: As viable and potentially transformational as algae-based transportation fuels have already proven, we need a much better knowledge base on algae at the microbial level. We also need to build on this platform to develop the tools and train the next generation of scientists that will help usher in the age of accessible, affordable, and sustainable fuels made from algae. That is a central component of the San Diego Center for Algae Biofuels (SD-CAB).

Algae Benefits the Environment

Q: How will algae-based transportation fuels impact greenhouse gas emissions?

A: Production of alternative transportation fuels from algae will help reduce the amount of CO2 in the environment. Algae provide a carbon-neutral fuel because they consume more CO2 than is ultimately released into the atmosphere when algae-based fuel burns. The amount of carbon removed from the environment will depend on the number of algae farms built and the efficiency with which algae can be modified to convert CO2 to fuel products. Eventually, algae farms will likely be located adjacent to CO2 producing facilities, like power plants, resulting in potentially significant CO2 sequestration benefits.

Availability of Algae Production

Q: Is the process capable of being replicated at the local level to increase energy efficiency and promote low-energy overhead?

A: Absolutely. There are huge advantages to locating algae farms near urban centers. The algae consume industrial waste and contaminants, which are usually found in higher concentrations near cities. A perfect location is near a power plant, where the algae can consume flue gas and other waste, or near a wastewater treatment plant where the algae could consume significant amounts of nitrates and phosphates from the waste stream. This could result in cleaner effluent discharge, and perhaps eventually create “new” sources of non-potable water for industrial or agricultural use.

Algae as Practible Replacement

Q: Could algae-based fuels be used in developing countries to help them bypass fossil fuel dependence?

A: Algae-based fuels (and the protein byproducts derived from their production) definitely have the potential to positively impact developing countries. The requirements for farming algae are fairly straightforward and can be done almost anywhere in the world with an adequate supply of sunshine. In Africa, for example, millions of algae acres could be farmed in its less-populated regions, resulting in a reduced dependence on foreign oil and a reliable and sustainable energy supply.

Other uses of Algae

Q: What can you do with material derived from algae production not used for fuel?

A: Production of 140 billion gallons of fuel from algae would also yield about 1 trillion pounds of protein. Since algae-produced protein is very high quality, this protein could be used to feed livestock, chicken, or fish. Presently, all livestock in this country consume about 770 billion pounds of protein per year.

Solution

There are many alternative fuel sources that can be found today from hydrogen fuel to algae biofuel. Hydrogen liquid fuel and solar energy are two alternative fuel sources, but solar energy is not exactly a fuel and therefore its capabilities are not as promising as ordinary fuels even though it is a great alternative energy source. While hydrogen fuel is an ideal alternative fuel source, it faces two significant drawbacks with current technology. The preferred hydrogen fuel requires four times the storage space of ordinary petroleum-based fuels, and it is produced from raw petroleum of which supplies may become limited in the near future. Another two alternatives are corn ethanol and soybean biodiesel, but ethanol also faces drawbacks, such as, rise in corn prices and being incapable of providing enough energy to support a large population while the biodiesel encounters the same problems as ethanol plus its inability to work as fuel other than biodiesel. At last, there is algae biofuel, which faces costs up to three times more expensive than other fuel sources and does not yet possess the technology to mass produce the biofuel. However, future technological advances will allow this and will be needed, as petroleum will become exhausted. Compared to all of the other solutions, algae biofuel is the most abundant, efficient, and plausible alternative liquid fuel source.

What is the most Abundant, Efficient, and Plausible Alternative Liquid Fuel

Source?

Solution: Algae Biofuel

Real-Life Aplication of Algae Biofuel

There are many ways that algae biofuel is applied in real life. Algae biofuel can be grown for a wide variety of purposes. It can be grown for applications such as fuel for transportation from automobiles to planes to boats either using biofuel or biodiesel. Current algae applications include a 150-mpg algae powered Toyota Prius, a giant inflatable airship, a U.S Navy boat powered by algae biofuel, and an algae powered airplane.

Real-Life Algae Powered Vehicles

150-mpg Toyota Prius known as Algaeus

Kevlar’s Giant Inflatable Algae-Powered Air Ship

Computer-Generated Futuristic Photobioreactor Farm