Category: Blog

A new study from UC-San Diego shows that algae can be grown in salt water and be just as effective producers of biofuels as they would in fresh water.

Since using water supplies for fuel production is a major concern for any energy crop, the new findings show a big advantage for those looking to harness the power of algae in the hunt for renewable supplies of diesel, gasoline, jet fuel and ethanol.

The latest research also answers one of the key questions asked by the National Academies of Sciences their recent report on the sustainability concerns that will come with large-scale algae production. The NAS committee highlighted the possible impacts on freshwater that big algae farms might have, but in the words of Stephen Mayfield, a professor of biology at UC San Diego, who headed the research project:

“What this means is that you can use ocean water to grow the algae that will be used to produce biofuels. And once you can use ocean water, you are no longer limited by the constraints associated with fresh water. Ocean water is simply not a limited resource on this planet.”

ABO’s statement, which also notes a recent PNNL study that found sufficient saltwater and land resources already exist in the U.S., can be found here.

For more on the story check out Biofuels Digest and Greenwire (subscription required).

Any algae producer knows that CO2 supplies are a vital component to operations, and industrial waste gases high in CO2 concentration are frequently examined as potential feedstocks.

Charles Clerecuzio, President of Solutions4CO2 (U.S.), Inc. and one of ABO’s newest corporate members, recently had the chance to discuss his company’s innovative waste gas platforms and how they are applied to the algae industry.  Charles describes how some of the challenges around separating and using those gas streams are being overcome by Solutions4CO2.

Solutions4CO2, Inc. has operations in Canada and the US. Can you tell us a little about the company’s focus and its relation to the algae industry?

S4CO2 is an industrial developer of waste gas, water, and biomass to co-product platforms utilizing both proprietary and licensed technologies. S4CO2 has developed the Integrated Biogas RefineryTM (IBR) platform that processes agriculture and municipal organic waste via an anaeraobic digester (AD) into biogas, power, water and digestate. S4CO2’s Biogas Purification and Infusion SystemTM (BPIS) separates more than 85% of the CO2 and more than 95% of the H2S from the biogas and infuses these gasses into water for use in the continuous flow Algae Cultivation System (ACS) consisting of modular 10,000 gallon photo bioreactors (PBRs).  This method of delivering CO2 results in 2-3X enhanced algae biomass growth rates versus traditional fine bubble spargers. The final stage in the process is the harvesting, dewatering and extraction system (HES) which results in an algae oil co-product for use in the nutraceutical, pharmaceutical, biofuel or specialty chemical markets.

The IBR platform addresses the economic and environmental challenges faced by the algae industry as the CO2, power, water and digestate from the AD are utilized as the inputs to balance of the platform reducing operating expenses and sequestering greenhouse gases.

Using waste gas as a feedstock is getting quite a bit of attention these days. What are some of the challenges to capturing and separating these gases that you have been able to overcome?

There are numerous solvent based scrubbing technologies currently in use to treat waste gas streams from a wide variety of industrial processes. The challenge with capturing and separating these gases from flue gas, particularly CO2, for downstream use in microalgae production is really economic. The flue gas streams vary widely in the volume of CO2 and contain a variety of contaminants such as mercury and particulate that limit the co-products made from the algae.

S4CO2 is focused on waste gas streams from ethanol plants and ADs with high CO2 yields and low contaminants that can be readily separated using our Biogas Purification and Infusion SystemTM. The BPIS utilizes a membrane technology to efficiently separate more than 85% of the CO2 and more than 95% of the H2S from biogas utilizing fresh, briny, waste or salt water.

Please describe how the Solutions4CO2 process can be integrated with algae cultivation.

The Integrated Biogas Refinery is a fully integrated modular platform that utilizes the waste CO2, water and digestate from the AD to cultivate microalgae. The BPIS meters nutrients and CO2 fully dissolved in water to the continuous flow Algae Cultivation System (ACS) consisting of a series of 10,000 gallon PBRs. The Harvesting and Extraction System (HES) harvests the biomass and extracts the oil to complete the process. The IBR is easily integrated with any AD technology and with any algae cultivation system.

The algae industry is moving quickly, and several large-scale demonstrations are well underway. What are the pathways to commercialization you see for Solutions4CO2?

S4CO2 is developing the first commercial IBR, due for completion in Q1 2013, in New Brunswick, Canada utilizing agricultural waste. A second IBR is planned for completion in Q2 in Ontario, Canada utilizing municipal organic waste. Other opportunities to partner with AD developers in the U.S. are also being developed.

Where do you see the algae industry heading and the role of the ABO?

The algae industry will continue to gain momentum to mainstream commercialization as numerous large scale demonstration projects come on line. The ABO is in a unique position to be the primary advocacy group supporting the development of the industry facilitating innovation, partnerships and government support. S4CO2 is very excited to be a new member of this very vital organization and the energetic network of companies to which it provides access.

Using algae to produce renewable biofuels is an application of our industry that gets a lot of attention. But algae are far more than tools for fuels. They can also be used to produce chemicals, feeds and food supplements.

Just this week one company, Algal Scientific Corp., won the top prize at the Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition for their technology that uses algae to produce food supplements. CBS Detriot has the details, with one paragraph that illustrates the opportunity the company is looking at:

“The company originally proposed converting concentrated food and beverage industry process streams into bioproducts worth $500 to $1,000 a dry ton. Now, the company is concentrating on beta-1.3-glucan, estimated to be worth $10,000 to $100,000 a ton. Beta glucan helps boost the immune system of animals, encouraging more rapid growth and weight gain.”

A host of other companies are using algae to produce feeds, fertilizers and even to treat waste water. Given algae’s incredible efficiency and versatility we can expect more news like this in the future.

You can read more about Algal Scientific Corp and their award here.

 

On Friday the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that the agency has not found evidence to support a finding of severe “economic harm” that would warrant granting a waiver of the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS). The decision is based on economic analyses and modeling done in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).

The news that algae-derived fuel is being offered to consumers for the first time came just a few weeks after the National Research Council issued a long-awaited report on algae’s sustainability. The NRC’s team of independent scientists concluded there were no barriers to the sustainable development of algae fuels in the future, but they did call for more research, development and deployment efforts to get current technologies up to scale.

The news from California from Propel Fuels and Solazyme is exactly the kind of progress that will lead to a future of more sustainable fuels. The San Francisco Chronicle notes that the fuel offered today is already meeting sustainability requirements:

“The end product produces 30 percent fewer particulates, 20 percent less carbon monoxide and 10 percent fewer hydrocarbons than other diesel and biodiesel fuels…

The new gas falls in line with California’s “low-carbon fuel standard,” which forces fuel producers to lower the amount of greenhouse gas emissions in their products 10 percent by 2020.”

The algae industry and research communities are making rapid progress improving the performance of algae from an environmental aspect because those same improvements will also make the technology economically successful. Unlike petroleum algae’s ability to grow in saltwater, recycle fertilizer and consume greenhouse gases will help this industry’s bottom line.

ABO’s statement about the NRC’s report details how a range of sustainability issues can be addressed with algae:

Water: Use of saline and non-potable or recycled water is essential to commercial algae production. According to a Pacific Northwest National Laboratories’ (PNNL) report, algal fuels grown in saline water from existing aquifers and recycling nutrients would be able to provide up to twice the goal for advanced biofuels set under the Energy Independence and Security Act goal (roughly 40 billion gallons or 20 percent of annual transportation fuel demand).

Nutrients: Nutrient recycle and efficient use of resources are essential to achieving the techno-economics of energy production and producing a low carbon fuel.  ABO members are piloting this technology today and the DOE and several universities have ongoing research in this area.  As PNNL points out, use of nutrients is dramatically decreased when recycling is used. Nitrogen fertilizer consumption is reduced 98% and phosphorus fertilizer is reduced by more than 40%.

Land Use: Again we agree land use is an important consideration.  PNNL recently reported there are more than 89,000 suitable sites in the United States for open pond cultivation.

Energy ROI: Industry leaders are already achieving the NRC report’s proposed benchmark for Energy Return on Investment (EROI) of 3x (3 units of energy produced per unit of energy input) in current algae biofuels production processes by recycling nutrients, producing biomethane from residual organics, and engineering designs that minimize energy use.

GHG emissions lifecycle: By qualifying algae-based diesel as an Advanced Biofuel under the Renewable Fuel Standard, the US Environmental Protection Agency’s life cycle analysis found that algae-based diesel reduces greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50 percent, thus qualifying it as an Advanced Biofuel under the Renewable Fuel Standard.