Mad Mike Posted February 14, 2010 Share Posted February 14, 2010 Oh the evils of the "military industrial complex" US scientists believe they will soon be able to use algae to produce biofuel for the same cost as fossil fuels http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/feb/13/algae-solve-pentagon-fuel-problem "Darpa has achieved the base goal to date," she said. "Oil from algae is projected at $2 per gallon, headed towards $1 per gallon."McQuiston said a larger-scale refining operation, producing 50 million gallons a year, would come on line in 2011 and she was hopeful the costs would drop still further – ensuring that the algae-based fuel would be competitive with fossil fuels. She said the projects, run by private firms SAIC and General Atomics, expected to yield 1,000 gallons of oil per acre from the algal farm. McQuiston's projections took several industry insiders by surprise. "It's a little farther out in time," said Mary Rosenthal, director of the Algal Biomass Association. "I am not saying it is going to happen in the next three months, but it could happen in the next two years." But the possibilities have set off a scramble to discover the cheapest way of mass-producing an algae-based fuel. Even Exxon – which once notoriously dismissed biofuels as moonshine – invested $600m in research last July. This could literally change everything. Algae absorbs as much carbon in the creation of the fuel as the fuel releases when burned. Making it carbon neutral as well as renewable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Destino Posted February 14, 2010 Share Posted February 14, 2010 You think the military industrial complex lead the way in Algae research? This has been a long time coming. Even the big oil companies are looking at Algae now... private investors and green energy pioneers lead the way. There are a lot of small companies out there with working algae bioreactors already. The interesting thing about algae is that it need carbon, which is expensive, to grow. They were thinking the ideal solution would be to locate the bioreactors near the factories spewing out the most carbon and directing it towards the algae... lowers the cost for both operations and solves a pollution problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teller Posted February 14, 2010 Share Posted February 14, 2010 Last I heard, we couldn't produce oil from algae in large enough quantities to be practical. Has that changed? Very good news, if so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koolblue13 Posted February 14, 2010 Share Posted February 14, 2010 This is great news. I feel the Earth has the answers to a lot of our problems, without having to burn and destroy it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellis Posted February 14, 2010 Share Posted February 14, 2010 Last I heard, we couldn't produce oil from algae in large enough quantities to be practical. Has that changed?Very good news, if so. The thing is... it's not about "replacing" oil with a new fuel source. It's about creating a new source of fuel that has a solid hold on a percentage of the market, thus creating competitive prices. Oil owns the market at the moment. THIS is the biggest problem with volatile, fluctuating prices. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teller Posted February 14, 2010 Share Posted February 14, 2010 The thing is... it's not about "replacing" oil with a new fuel source.It's about creating a new source of fuel that has a solid hold on a percentage of the market, thus creating competitive prices. Oil owns the market at the moment. THIS is the biggest problem with volatile, fluctuating prices. Right, I follow. I know we can't replace oil. I was just given to understand that we couldn't produce oil from algae in large enough quantities to be a consistently reliable source; much less affect market prices. Like I said though, if that's changing, it's a very good thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kunia5 Posted February 14, 2010 Share Posted February 14, 2010 Yeah, absolutely. Another big government boondoggle. Socialism at work. Liberalism is a pyschological illness. Part of the socialist agenda. Big brother intruding on the private sector. Government is always inefficient. Oh the evils of the "military industrial complex" US scientists believe they will soon be able to use algae to produce biofuel for the same cost as fossil fuels http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/feb/13/algae-solve-pentagon-fuel-problem This could literally change everything. Algae absorbs as much carbon in the creation of the fuel as the fuel releases when burned. Making it carbon neutral as well as renewable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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