Biodiesel Fuel Production From Algae As Renewable Energy

Biodiesel from algae, also called algal fuel, algae fuel, or algaeoleum, is one of the most promising types of biodiesel due to its rapid growth rate and efficiency in terms of land use. As of 2010, costs remain high and production is far below that of other biofuels.

Concept

• As with any photosynthetic organism, algae uses sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide to produce oxygen and carbohydrate biomass. The algae's carbohydrate content can be fermented into biodiesel, bioethanol, biobutanol, or other biofuels. Because all the carbon dioxide that is released by burning these fuels was removed from the atmosphere by the algae, algal fuels are carbon-neutral.

Efficiency

• Algae is preferred over terrestrial sources of biodiesel such as corn because the entire organism can be used to produce biodiesel. Algae also grows 20 to 30 times faster than even the fastest-growing terrestrial plants, so it can be harvested for oil much more frequently.

Land use

• Algae can potentially produce 10 to 100 times as much oil per acre as other crops such as corn, soybeans, or sugarcane. It can also be produced on land that is not suitable for regular crops, and can be done with seawater or even wastewater.

Economic Viability

• While many of the technical issues surrounding the production of algal fuels are being solved, the cost of production remains high and investors are wary of contributing large amounts of money. Many studies suggest that unless oil prices rise higher than ever before, or a much cheaper way of using algae to produce fuel is discovered, or governments begin aggressively funding the technology, it may never be able to compete with oil.