I have touched on algae biofuel over the past few years, but the recent cross-country trip of the Algaeus brings attention to a biofuel that makes more sense in the long run than ethanol, biodiesel, or purely electric vehicles that burden the power grid.
The biggest problem with producing ethanol from corn and biodiesel from soy is that from the start you have a crop that takes all season to grow and then places a demand on the food stream. It generally takes more energy to produce these fuels than is extracted. Switchgrass, when used to make ethanol, still takes a season to grow.
A promising future:
- Algae grows very quickly (doubling overnight) and can be cultivated in places where crops won't grow.
- It is not a food crop that is currently a traded commodity.
- It has an appetite for carbon dioxide
- Processing and distribution uses existing infrastructure.
- The end product is gasoline that can be burned by older vehicles
About a trillion of our yearly national debt is due to a trade imbalance created by importing fossil fuels.
The U.S. has spent
...
importing fossil fuel.(zfacts.com)
ExxonMobil expects to spend more than $600,000,000 on an algea fuel project.
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