Seaweed based and other biofuels

Is the growing of the kelp substainable and what problems will arise from
doing so. Using corn to make biofuel has a dark side, will this.
 
Fuels from algae blooms might have another beneficial effect, cleaning the ocean.
 
As in most cases of biofuel, the answer is: up to a point. One complication with biofuels is that, because of the nature of the feedstock, the composition, and hence the storage and combustion characteristics will vary over time and place. This is not what engine manufacturers or legislators like. Technically this is no problem. We have the capability to make a biofuel with just about any characteristics you like, but it adds another layer of complexity and hence cost to the process. The real challenge is to do it reliably, at an industrial scale and at an acceptable cost (including environmental issues)
 
Perhaps a catalyst to encourage molecular bonding/stability would help.
 
Some additional practical concerns from the top of my head
- these things grow underwater, so I suppose there is a non-zero risk of employees drowning
- I'm guessing you need to get to rid of a lot of seawater somewhere in the process. Salt water is typically not what you want in a fuel. This will cost energy.
- what kind of residue does this produce, and what to you do with it?
- can you build the processing plants right near to where the seaweed is harvested, or does it have to be transported inland?

Now, there are solutions to all of this, and some of them are readily available. But if you are an industrial investor looking to make money, this is the kind of thing that eats away your profit.
 
The fundamental problem with Algae oil is single species colony stability. It’s only one sub species of algae that produces high cell fat fractions and these are not good at establishing large colonies. In open water trials, mainly in New Zealand (Companies such as Aquaflow), the non fat bearing varieties tended to take over from their fatty cousins and indeed completely wiping them out. Genetic engineering a robust fatty Algae species has proved to be much more difficult than originally hoped. Exxon are still active in the area exploring the opportunities of using cold inland lakes in Canada.

Surprisingly the idea has been around since the mid seventies.
 
Last edited:

Similar threads

Back
Top Bottom