Algae - Is It an Economically Viable Biofuel?

By Judith Ceja

As the world becomes more environmentally aware, everyone is moving towards greener technologies. In an attempt to promote algae research, The House of Representatives introduced a bill to promote investment tax credits for algae-based biorefineries. The need for long-term fuel resources and less dependence on crude oil is behind the drive to develop viable biofuels. This has led many people to take a second look at algae as a potential economically feasible biofuel.

Even large corporations such as Ford Motor Company and ExxonMobil are looking forward and have commissioned research projects to look for viable renewable energy sources. Ford Motor Company is working with scientists at Wayne University to research algae as a potential automotive fuel alternative. In fact, Ford has made the use of alternative fuel sources for future Ford vehicles a long-term business objective for the company.

Additionally, ExxonMobil, in conjunction with Synthetics Genomics, Inc., has established an actual greenhouse for their research on the feasibility of algae as a potential biofuel. They consider this a tremendous step in the right direction because it will most closely resemble the production of algae in its natural environment.

The military, realizing that a need for long-term alternative fuels may be a matter of national security in the future, has also been experimenting with algae as an alternative fuel. This year the United States Navy successfully tested diesel fuel made from algae on a 49 foot long command boat. The fuel was a 50/50 mixture of algae-derived biodiesel and diesel fuel. The Navy's interest in biofuels goes beyond its ships. It is also looking into biofuels which can power jet engines.

There are some major advantages to developing algae as an alternative fuel. One big advantage is that algae grow naturally on land and in water that cannot be used for other purposes such as plant or food production. Another advantage is the rate at which algae can be produced. Algae can be grown all year unlike other sources such as soy beans or corn which can only produce one crop per year. This is not the first time algae has been looked at as an alternative fuel source. However, the biggest stumbling block has been the tremendous cost of producing algae-based fuel on a commercial scale.

Montana State University (MSU) may be on its way to providing a solution. This summer, a MSU grad student named Rob Gardner began looking at experiments done 20 years earlier. He believed that adding baking soda was the key to accelerating the rate of algae growth. Although baking soda had been used in previous experiments to no avail, Gardner made a tremendous breakthrough. He discovered the exact time to add baking soda during the algae growth process proved critical. MSU is in the process of filing a patent on their discovery. This may be a major step towards making algae an economically feasible biofuel.