I know of most of the web resources on the subject, and of the UNH stuff...
But is anyone out there running any pilot projects?
At 15,000 gallons per acre annual yield, based on the work done under
the "Aquatic Species Program", a demonstration facility seems like a given.
Anyone know of any?
Any implementation?
No, not particular to biodiesel. There is something in Hawaii that does
algae for Spirillena(???) and a place about 6 hours north of Perth in
Western Australia that does algae for Beta Crotene. Both of these are
meant to be large scale
The technology seems very pretty straight forward.
Where can one learn more about implementation?
Seems like growing the algae would be simple enough, but what about
extraction?
Is this simply drying, and pressing, centrifugal separation?
What are the properties of the oil content?
On these points, I just went to a local Uni and did a catalogue search
for algae. I then spent the rest of the day looking through books, books
that covered everything from the sex life of algae through to what they
eat and what they do if you starve them of nitrogen.
The remaining lipids then to undergo something like transesterfication?
Yes
Are they usable as-is for boiler fuels, or in WVO/SVO modified diesel?
No idea
Also why don't more people know about this??
As a former Sierra Club staffer, I am amazed that neither they, NRDC, or
any of the other environmental awareness groups, which have alt fuel
projects , have any idea of this. I hear the same canned response about
the supply-side limitations of biodiesel, as if this 20 year, federal
program never existed. Arg!
At the moment biodiesel is relatively small scale. It can survive on
the waste oil from the food industry, tallow from the meat industry and
rape/canola/palm oil when it is in good supply and cheap enough. If the
world ever gets around to recognising that Biodiesel is a in/out
replacement for dinodiesel, rather than chasing around after hydrogen
powered vehicles, then the demand will grow drastically, but supply of
the base oils will get more scarce. It is then that someone, probably in
an oil company, will remember an old report they saw about algae and oil
production. Next thing you know, because the oil companies want to do
it, various govenrments will find huge sums of money to back research
and hey presto, fuel from algae.
Sorry...I have so many questions, but can not seem to be able to find
any technical resources on the subject. Perhaps someone out there may be
able to direct me.
The only thing I've found on large scale production is this book
Micro-algal biotechnology
ISBN: 0521323495
Thanks!
-Rob
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