Lofty Matters

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What would you say if I said that algae may be the solution to the energy problems facing America today?

Algae processed in a Closed-Loop Photo Bioreactor is a very real option for fuel production for our country. The goal is to produce the greatest amount of bio-mass from algae possible. So, they are growing the algae vertically. This means that the surface area is increased and thereby yields are increased. Closed loop means that the system resources (water, etc.) are continually recycled within the system.

Here is how it works. The algae starts in a tank and gets picked up by a pump. Then it goes into a reactor and gravity moves it through the reactor while it gets exposed to the necessary sunlight. The algae returns to the tank and the cycle is repeated again and again.

Algae is the fastest growing plant on earth and it sequesters the greatest amount of carbon dioxide. Carbon sequestration is the process by which carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere by “sinks”.  Examples of natural sinks are oceans and plants. Algae also produces huge amounts of high quality vegetable oil (lipids). The right variety of algae will produce as much as 50% of its body weight as oil.

Choose your desired oil. The right algae species can be selected to produce the right carbon chains to manufacture jet fuel, for example. To make diesel fuel a different algae strain would be selected that will produce the required carbon chains necessary for this type of fuel.

To produce ethanol from corn, one acre of corn will produce approximately 18 gallons of oil per year. Algae will produce 20,000 gallons of oil per acre per year. Incidentally, this algae production figure is for what is called an “open pond system,” not an enclosed “bioreactor system.” The amount of fuel produced in a bioreactor system would be greater due to less evaporation.

If one-tenth of the state of New Mexico was used for algae production, for example, all of the energy demands for the entire US could be met.

So, two great benefits of algae: it sequesters carbon dioxide and will produce large amounts of fuel.

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