Algae: the fuel of the future

How many ways can algae be used to replace petroleum?

Lots of them, clearly.

(Image: An algae cocktail--dipped from a fishpond.)

For centuries—perhaps millenia—humans have been dragging kelp and other seaweeds out of the ocean and spreading them on fields as fertilizer. Long before the manufacture of chemical fertilizers that require vast inputs of energy.

But among the newer uses of algae are to actually create fuel rather than to supplant it.

Research teams across the globe are experimenting with the development of industrial-scale growing of varieties of algae that can be converted into a vegetable oil product—for use as biodiesel.

Royal Dutch Shell and HR Biopetroleum have formed a joint venture, Cellana, to develop this sort of fuel.

Says the U.S. Department of Energy's Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy news site: “Algae grow rapidly and can have a high percentage of lipids, or oils. They can double their mass several times a day and produce at least 15 times more oil per acre than alternatives such as rapeseed, palms, soybeans, or jatropha. Moreover, algae-growing facilities can be built on coastal land unsuitable for conventional agriculture.”

The work will be done at the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawai'i on the Kona coast.

“The Cellana facility will grow only non-genetically modified, marine microalgae species in open-air ponds using proprietary technology. It will also use bottled carbon dioxide to test the algae's ability to capture carbon,” EERE says.

Then there's another company, Algenol, that says it will make ethanol from algae. Among the benefits of this process over others, says the company website, www.algenolbiofuels.com:

1. Does NOT require food based feedstocks like corn or sugarcane.
2. Does NOT require harvesting.
3. Does NOT require fossil fuel based fertilizers.
4. Does NOT require fresh water.
5. Does NOT require large amounts of fossil fuel.
6. Does NOT require arable land.
7. Does use desert land and marginal land.
8. Does make fresh water from seawater during the process.
9. Does use treated manure instead of fossil fuel based fertilizers.
10. Does have an energy balance over 8 : 1 (energy output : fossil fuel input).

Is that not enough for you? A Berkeley biologist, Anastasios Melis (epmb.berkeley.edu/facPage/dispFP.php?I=25), is working with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to develop techniques to get hydrogen out of algae—see www.nrel.gov/docs/fy08osti/42285.pdf.

It turns out that some algae and blue-green algae (cyanobacteria—not really algae) dump hydrogen as a waste product.

It seems that this particular technology has an extensive research road before it's ready for prime time, but clearly, we'll be hearing lots more about algae in fuel discussions over time.

© 2008 Jan W. TenBruggencate

False killer whales are kama'āina, too

Among the neighbors most of Hawai'i didn't know about is an island community of false killer whales.

After reviewing surveys and photographs dating from 1986 to 2007, a research team was able to conclude that many individuals were being resighted repeatedly over long periods.

(Image: A leaping false killer whale. Credit: Robin W. Baird, Cascadia Research Collective.)

“Individuals were resighted up to 20.1 years after first being documented, showing long-term fidelity to the islands,” said the paper “False killer whales (Pseudorca crassidens) around the main Hawaiian Islands: Long-term site fidelity, inter-island movements and association patterns,” published in the journal Marine Mammal Science.

The crowd of researchers on the paper includes lead author Robin Baird and Gregory Schorr of the Cascadia Research Collective, Antoinette Gorgone and Jay Barlow of NOAA's Southeast Fisheries Science Center, Daniel McSweeney and Daniel Webster of the Big Island's Wild Whale Research Foundation, Dan Salden or the Hawai'i Whale Research Foundation, Mark Deakos of the Maui-based Hawai'i Association for Marine Education and Research, Allan Ligon of the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, and Sabre Mahaffy of Cascadia and Wild Whale.

The false killer whale is so seldom seen that researchers generally have not focused on the species—largely because getting enough sightings is so cost and time prohibitive. The Baird team kept track of the animals while researching other whales, until it had enough data for a research paper.

As the photos and reports built up, the researchers identified individual whales by scars, deformations and a range of other physical characteristics. They were able to identify about 150 unique individual whales. And more than half of them were seen on more than one occasion—often in more than one year.

“Such evidence implies both that the population of false killer whales around the main Hawaiian Islands is relatively small, and that individuals show considerably fidelity to the islands. Resightings of individuals spanned the entire 21-year duration of our study, indicating that such fidelity is table over periods of many years,” the paper says.

False killer whales seem to readily move up and down the island chain. The same ones seen off O'ahu are also seen off the Big Island. Genetic studies conducted previously suggest the Hawaiian whales are a distinct genetic group from those elsewhere in the tropical Pacific.

“False killer whales around the main Hawaiian Islands clearly form a distinct, island-associated population,” the paper says.

“It appears that false killer whales are another of the growing list of pelagic cetacean species that can form strong associations with island ecosystems,and local populations of these species can essentially become island specialists,” it says.

False killer whales are large, long-lived dolphins, with males capable of growing to nearly 20 feet and females to 15 or so feet in length. (See the National Marine Fisheries Service site on the species at www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/mammals/cetaceans/falsekillerwhale.htm.)

They feed on deep-ocean fish like mahimahi, tuna and billfish. They sometimes carry food long distances, and share their food with others of their group. Sometimes they are caught in fishing gear.

They are assumed to have strong relationship bonds, since an entire group will strand when one whale is in trouble, and can be reluctant to abandon that individual and return to sea.

For more information, see Cascadia Research's website, www.cascadiaresearch.org.

© 2008 Jan W. TenBruggencate

X Prize seeks the 100 mpg four-seater automobile

If you end up driving a 100-miles-per-gallon sedan in the next few years, you might be able to thank the Progressive Insurance Automotive X Prize.

The contest has a $10 million prize for the company or team that builds vehicles that meet a series of criteria, including getting at least 100 miles to the gallon or its equivalent in other forms of energy.

(Image: The Tata Nano, a two-cyclinder model described as the world's cheapest car. To be marketed in India late this year. Although this car probably won't meet the requirements of the X Prize, Tata Motors has announced it will compete for the Automotive X Prize. Tata Motors Photo.)

What the contest doesn't do is mandate a technology. Thus, the car that wins could be electric, hybrid, compressed air, straight gasoline, or something entirely different. Learn more about the prize at www.progressiveautoxprize.org.

The prize has generated a lot of interest. In January there were 50 entrants, then 60, and there are now 70 teams from 12 countries. Electric seems to be the leading contender at present.

India's Tata Motors is the most recent entrant. An innovative company, they're the folks with the patent on the MDI compressed air car, and who this year announced plans to build the world's cheapest car, a $2,500 sedan called the Tata Nano.

They key to the new prize is that it will require some kind of technological leap. No production vehicle is currently anywhere close to meeting the X Prize requirements.

Other standards, according to the X Prize draft guidelines, are these.

The car needs to meet strict emissions standards, meaning it can't be energy-efficient but polluting. The limit is 200 grams of carbon dioxide per mile.

It needs to have at least four wheels and seat at least four people. (That's for X Prize's Mainstream Class. An Alternative Class can seat two or more and has no limit on number of wheels.)

Cars must have an enclosed cabin (although convertibles are permitted), windshield wipers, seat belts, standard gauges, heater, air conditioning. They need to meet U.S. safety standards—meaning they can legally be sold for highway use in this country—as well as meeting standards in other nations.

Automotive X Prize cars don't need to be howlers off the starting line, but they must be fast. The draft rules permit 0 to 60 acceleration in 12 seconds, but require the cars be able to reach or exceed 100 miles an hour. Recent comments suggest that top speed may be amended downward.

The cars must have a range of 200 miles before requiring refueling.

Detailed guidelines are available here: www.progressiveautoxprize.org/auto/prize-details/draft-guidelines. The rules, clearly, are not final, and could change over time.

The ultimate test is a pair of long-distance races during 2009 and 2010, a qualifier and a grand prize final. The winners of each will share the prize. The Mainstream Class will get ¾ of the purse and Alternative Class 1/4.

The cars will need to meet fuel efficiency and emissions standards, and if they qualify on those grounds, the fastest to the finish line will win the honors.

© 2007 Jan W. TenBruggencate

See also other automotive pieces in on this website:

raisingislands.blogspot.com/2008/05/hot-new-car-class-extended-range.html.

raisingislands.blogspot.com/2008/05/lingle-hawaii-electric-car-network.html.

raisingislands.blogspot.com/2008/01/cheap-nimble-inflatable-car.html.

raisingislands.blogspot.com/2007/12/air-cars-in-our-future-probably-but-not.html

Unique ocean voyagers at sea in small boats

At least three small boats are plying the Pacific with environmental missions as you read this.

Two of them are single-handed efforts, the other having a two-person crew.

(Image: Rower Roz Savage in her little boat, from her website, rozsavage.com/blog.)

Here are some details on each, and where to track them.

Japan sailor Kenichi Horie, 69, is bobbing the Pacific between Hawai'i and Japan, a 4350-mile trip, aboard his boat Suntory Mermaid II. He left Honolulu March 16, 2008.

The twin-hulled vehicle has a pair of aluminum fins under the bow that convert the power of waves into forward movement. So his "engine" uses no fossil fuels.

Horie is more than three-quarters of the way to Japan. See his progress at his website, www1.suntory-mermaid2.com/english/index.html.

Meanwhile, long-distance rower Roz Savage left San Francisco May 24 and is nearly two weeks into an attempt to row her aluminum boat from the West Coast to Hawai'i.

Her attempt last year was cut short when she was repeatedly rolled over in rough weather. This year her boat is outfitted with 200 pounds of lead in the keel to be more stable.

Follow her voyage on her website, where she's blogging and posting photos from sea: www.rozsavage.com/blog. There's lots of environmental information on the website.

As this is written Friday afternoon (June 6, 2008) Savage is beset by a storm off the California coast.

A few hundred miles south, another unique boat is waiting out the storm in at San Nicolas Island after departing Long Beach Sunday (June 1) before heading across the ocean to Hawai'i.

This is one of the stranger boats you'll see. It is made of trash. Its hulls are constructed of 15,000 plastic bottles encased in netting. Its cockpit is an old single-engine Cessna 310 airplane body. The deck appears to be supported by a framework of old sailboat masts.

The boat's name is Junk. The crew is Marcus Eriksen and Joel Paschal. They plan to sail downwind to Hawai'i behind a big square sail, which is used. Their goal is to bring more attention to the issue of ocean pollution and marine debris.

They expect the voyage to take six weeks, which should put them in Hawai'i in mid-July. Follow Junk's progress at the blog junkraft.blogspot.com.

© 2008 Jan W. TenBruggencate

Algae biofuel is airlines' new best friend.

One of the accepted truths of the alternative energy business has been that we'd always need oil to fuel big jets--but tiny algae could refute that assumption.

(Image: NASA photo of an apparent algae bloom in Canada's Lakes Winnipeg (right) and Manitoba. Credit: Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA/GSFC)

News reports in recent months include new efforts by at least two airlines to wean themselves of petroleum-based kerosene fuel.

And that's important for Hawai'i, where 90 percent of our energy comes from fossil fuel, and, in the words of the federal Energy Information Administration, "The transportation sector leads energy demand in Hawaii due in large part to heavy jet fuel use by military installations and commercial airlines."

Hawai'i is actively involved in the effort to produce biofuels, including ones made from algae--which are being touted as a source of jet fuel. More on that later.

In February, Virgin Atlantic flew one of its 747s from London to Amsterdam on a mix that included 20 percent biofuel mixed with petroleum jet fuel.

"It makes great business sense to investigate lower carbon alternatives to existing technologies," the airline said on its website.

More recently, the Dutch airline KLM has announced it plans test flights later this year, using biofuel made from algae. (See the Radio Netherlands report at http://www.radionetherlands.nl/currentaffairs/region/netherlands/080526-klm-algae.)

KLM has identified the planes it feels can move to algae-based fuel first, and it says it hopes to eventually run the entire fleet on the stuff. As with Virgin, its initial flights will use a mix of algae-based vegetable oil and petroleum-based kerosene.

In its pilot program, KLM is working with a firm called AlgaeLink (see www.algaelink.com.)

But there are plenty of others in the business.

See www.greenfuelonline.com for information on GreenFuel Technologies Corp. and its efforts. One of the keys ot GreenFuel's effort it that it would pull carbon dioxide out of industrial emission stacks, converting it onsite into fuel.

"GreenFuel uses a portfolio of technologies to profitably recycle CO2 from smokestack, fermentation, and geothermal gases via naturally occurring species of algae. Algae can be converted to transportation fuels and feed ingredients or recycled back to a combustion source as biomass for power generation. Industrial facilities need no internal modifications to host a GreenFuel algae farm. In addition, the system does not require fertile land or potable water," the firm's website says.

Hawai'i's most recent involvement in algae-based fuel came late last year, when the energy firm Royal Dutch Shell announced it is collaborating with HR Biopetroleum to study growing oil-producing algae in salt-water ponds at the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawai'i in Kona. Their joint venture is called Cellana and Shell is the majority partner.

While there is discussion elsewhere of using algae genetically modified to improve their suitability for the production of oil, Shell says it's not going that route.

"The facility will grow only non-modified, marine microalgae species in open-air ponds using proprietary technology. Algae strains used will be indigenous to Hawaii or approved by the Hawaii Department of Agriculture. Protection of the local environment and marine ecosystem has been central to facility design. Once the algae are harvested, the vegetable oil will be extracted. The facility’s small production volumes will be used for testing," Shell said in a press release.

Scientists will work with the program to identify those microalgae species that produce the most oil.

“HR Biopetroleum’s proven technology provides a solid platform for commercial development and potential deployment worldwide. Shell’s expertise and commitment to next generation biofuels complements our own strengths, and makes this a truly collaborative partnership," said Mark Huntley, HR Biopetroleum Chief Science Officer, in the press release.

But none of this is really new. The U.S. Department of Energy has been researching biofuel from algae since the 1970s. Here is a report on that research: www1.eere.energy.gov/biomass/pdfs/biodiesel_from_algae.pdf.

One of the amusing points of this 1998 report is that it suggests algae-biofuel doesn't make economic sense because it would be two to three times the cost of petroeum. However, that was written when oil was selling at between $20 and $30 a barrel.

For airlines, algae biofuel provides a way to be greener--to reduce an airline's carbon footprint--but it might also be cheaper than oil, which at this writing stood at $126 a barrel.

© 2008 Jan W. TenBruggencate