Algae has been a source of nutrition for thousands of years, and it’s potential as a supplement isn’t lost on modern agriculture. At a Symposium this month held by Kentucky-based food giant Alltech the spotlight was on algae.
“We can really change the way we feed the world…but feeding them in a better way,” said Rebecca Timmons¸ global director of applications research and quality for Alltech.
Read here how Alltech is working to ways for algae to enhance feed for livestock, and be valuable source of Omega-3 for consumers.
Sapphire Energy’s Green Crude Farm in Columbus, N.M. There are currently 100 acres of ponds developed and the site is approximately one mile long by one-quarter of a mile wide.
What do you get with continuous cultivation of algae and breakthrough processing technology? From Sapphire Energy you get renewable Green Crude oil. Sapphire has been among the companies leading the charge to coax algae into renewable biofuel production and today they announced a deal with Tesoro, a major refiner and marketer of petroleum products. Tesoro has agreed to purchase Green Crude from Sapphire’s algae farm in Columbus, NM—one of the first deals of its kind.
The goal of filling our tanks with renewable oil is another step closer.
Sapphire’s Green Crude can be refined into a range of products you can also get from petroleum. Gasoline, jet fuel, diesel; they are all possible from renewable algae grown in ponds that never run dry—unlike wells drilled into the ground.
More details about the deal, and Sapphire’s innovative wet extraction method for processing algae into crude oil, can be found at Biodiesel Magazine.
Harvesting algae for processing into Green Crude at Sapphire Energy
And if there was any doubt algae will be the fuel of future generations, the article closes with this description of who is making these renewable fuels a reality:
“For now, it’s mostly scientists under 40 who fill Sapphire’s labs. They care about things like climate change more than their parents, I was told, and are keen to work on an emerging technology”
