Algae as biofuel

ABOUT THIS ARTICLE: I found out from a source at the local community college that these professors had come up with certain techniques and environments to be used for growing algae and extracting fuel from it. I thought it was a noteworthy local development in the biofuel trend, so I went for it, and out came this Sunday story...

WILMINGTON STAR-NEWS
January 13, 2008
BCC has a slimy solution for fuel supply
By Ana Ribeiro

The answer to the world's energy problems could eventually be found in a slimy little plant.

The little plant, in turn, could be found right now, sprawling across your aquarium.

It's algae. It's better known as a fast-multiplying nuisance than as something that could, if large industrial production is feasible, create a virtually inexhaustible energy source.

Brunswick Community College has caught on to that and is about to begin research into algae as a source of biofuel, or fuel made from plant material.

You might have heard of waste vegetable oil feeding truck engines, leaving a trail that smells like french fries. That trail could come to smell like algae, since the oil that comes from the plant also can produce biodiesel.

Algae culturing has the advantages of taking up a lot less space than growing crops for biodiesel, as it can be grown vertically, and of not competing with the food industry, said Michelle Sabaoun, head of BCC's biotech program.

"It wouldn't have any impact on food oil prices," Sabaoun said.

Several tanks recently rolled onto BCC's campus, purchased with money from the N.C. Community College BioNetwork, which has given the college more than $200,000 in grants toward its biotech program. The 60-gallon tanks will soon be filled with algae, as the beginning of BCC's research of the water plant as a source of biofuel, said Kim Jones, who teaches chemistry and writes grants for BCC.

By fall, the tanks will be ready for biotech and aquaculture students to use in their labs, she said.

Although BCC does not intend to become a full-blown research institution, the biofuel endeavor ties into the school's mission to develop a qualified local work force, said its president, Stephen Greiner.

"It leads to possible training for our students, which could lead to jobs," Greiner said, adding that BCC has the expertise and is located in an ideal area for the algae biofuel research.

Dependence on foreign oil, the pollution generated by fossil fuels and the fact they are a finite energy source have been mounting concerns in the United States. Research has not yet found an economically feasible option to replace that on a large scale, but biofuels are a possibility.

In North Carolina, BCC is joining an initiative, ratified by state law, whose goal is to have locally grown and produced biofuels make up 10 percent of liquid fuels sold here by 2017.

With that in mind, the state is sponsoring biofuel research, and energy companies are also seeking to invest, Jones said.

Jones said she and Sabaoun have asked Brunswick Electric Membership Corp. for $56,000 to purchase a small processor to convert oil extracted from algae in BCC's tanks into biodiesel. They intend to include students in the biofuel production process, as hands-on experience for them, and to provide an alternative source of fuel for BCC's vehicles, Sabaoun said.

Separate from that, the two women are asking the local electric company for a bigger chunk of money: $588,000 to build algae tanks at the Oak Island wastewater treatment plant. Town officials have shown interest in the concept, Jones said, and she is now waiting to hear from Brunswick Electric.

"We'd like to start a large project of growing algae in industrial quantities and extract the oils from it," then selling it to companies that would want to mass-produce biofuel, Jones said.

The Oak Island plant would have appropriate space for tanks where treated wastewater could be used to grow algae, Sabaoun said.

To begin research for the project, Jones and Sabaoun said they started a company with out-of-pocket money and are growing algae in Jones' front yard in Southport.

Jones said she is researching three species of algae to see if they can survive in cold weather; so far, they are doing well through the temperature changes.

Jones and Sabaoun hope the company will lead to much bigger things.

"Wouldn't it be a wonderful vision to have every wastewater treatment facility ... growing algae for oil to produce biodiesel?" Jones said. "To make that happen would require a lot of collaboration from across the board."