Algua Could Become The Most Efficient Biofuel
I recently stumbled upon a very interesting, and possibly world-changing, discovery.
We all know there are nowadays biofuel factories working at transforming common grains, oils and fats such as soybean, wasted frying oils, fish oil, and animal fats. Although intended to replace fossil fuel, the feedstock required to create that much biofuel to fully replace fossil fuel is sadly considered irrealistic.
Animals requires lands to graze, and although yields are good, ultimately, there just isn't enough lands, but most of all, of sustenaince crops, to allow a complete production and full replacement for fossil fuel. Additional issues are the impacts of animal grazing upon arable lands, and the resulting pollution from their wastes.
Vegetable-based oils are thus the foremost used way of creating biofuel. As an example, 90% of the United-States' biofuel production is from soybean oil. Vegetable oils can not only come from farming the necessary crops (the most productive ones are soybean, rapeseed, palm, coconut, flaxseed, and mustard seeds), but also from wasted frying oils donated by the restaurants, fast-food, and diners.
However, that too has issues. Productive farming to yield a high output requires uses of pesticides and fertilizers, but once again, of land area. Moreover, the plants used require specific climate conditions to yield at their maximum. Soy is the most used, because it is the most adaptable plant of them all. But despite good yields, its still nowhere near good enough to fully replace fossil fuel, and here are the numbers:
Current United-States consumption of fossil fuel for transportation and home heating use, is 160 millions tons yearly.
In comparaison, still for United-States-only production, animal-based fat biofuel yields only 5.3 millions tons yearly; despite a higher yield, vegetable-based oil biofuel still yields merely 11 millions tons yearly.
Here is where researches into alguas-based biofuel is sparkling interest. Not only are alguas grown with saltwater, the most abundant irrigation source against the rare freshwater, researches into various algua species have also revealed exceptional drought tolerance, making deserts ideal for farming algua, in addition to slowing down desertification; but even more interestingly, New Zealand researchers have succeeded to farm biofuel-intended algua in... sewage systems! Although somewhat a gross concept, sewage systems were up until now useless beside being a waste disposal system; but with this discovery, they could become yet another farming option for algua-based biofuel, without invading necessary land spaces.
But the utmost advantage of algua is that its the only source of biofuel that would actually be able to realistically yield the 160 millions tons of fuel necessary to fully replace fossil fuel... without great sacrifices of land area.
In order to barely reach the 160 millions tons of fuel necessary, soybean plantations would require 470 millions acres (1.9 million square kilometers) of land area... the entire arable land area of the United-States!
In comparaison, 160 millions tons of algua-based biofuel production will require only 152,000 square kilometers, or the size of the state of Georgia! Although seemingly big as an area, lets not forget that algua won't actually require arable lands to grow. It will grow in saltwater environments, sewage systems, and even more extraordinary, deserts!
I sincerely hope they keep on exploring this amazing discovery. Not only could deserts actually serve as biofuel production, instead of fossil fuel (not to speak that currently useless sewage systems, beside waste disposal, could also serve a secondary and better purpose as a farming area), but alguas would actually provide for a revolutionary energy source.
Sources:
Errol Kiong (May 12, 2006). "NZ firm makes bio-diesel from sewage in world first". The New Zealand Herald.
Glenn, Edward P.; Brown, J. Jed; O'Leary, James W. (August 1998). "Irrigating Crops with Seawater" (PDF). Scientific American (USA: Scientific American, Inc.) (August 1998): 76–81.
Promising Oil Alternative: Algae Energy". washingtonpost.com. 2008-01-06.
Michael Briggs (August 2004). "Widescale Biodiesel Production from Algae". UNH Biodiesel Group (University of New Hampshire).
We all know there are nowadays biofuel factories working at transforming common grains, oils and fats such as soybean, wasted frying oils, fish oil, and animal fats. Although intended to replace fossil fuel, the feedstock required to create that much biofuel to fully replace fossil fuel is sadly considered irrealistic.
Animals requires lands to graze, and although yields are good, ultimately, there just isn't enough lands, but most of all, of sustenaince crops, to allow a complete production and full replacement for fossil fuel. Additional issues are the impacts of animal grazing upon arable lands, and the resulting pollution from their wastes.
Vegetable-based oils are thus the foremost used way of creating biofuel. As an example, 90% of the United-States' biofuel production is from soybean oil. Vegetable oils can not only come from farming the necessary crops (the most productive ones are soybean, rapeseed, palm, coconut, flaxseed, and mustard seeds), but also from wasted frying oils donated by the restaurants, fast-food, and diners.
However, that too has issues. Productive farming to yield a high output requires uses of pesticides and fertilizers, but once again, of land area. Moreover, the plants used require specific climate conditions to yield at their maximum. Soy is the most used, because it is the most adaptable plant of them all. But despite good yields, its still nowhere near good enough to fully replace fossil fuel, and here are the numbers:
Current United-States consumption of fossil fuel for transportation and home heating use, is 160 millions tons yearly.
In comparaison, still for United-States-only production, animal-based fat biofuel yields only 5.3 millions tons yearly; despite a higher yield, vegetable-based oil biofuel still yields merely 11 millions tons yearly.
Here is where researches into alguas-based biofuel is sparkling interest. Not only are alguas grown with saltwater, the most abundant irrigation source against the rare freshwater, researches into various algua species have also revealed exceptional drought tolerance, making deserts ideal for farming algua, in addition to slowing down desertification; but even more interestingly, New Zealand researchers have succeeded to farm biofuel-intended algua in... sewage systems! Although somewhat a gross concept, sewage systems were up until now useless beside being a waste disposal system; but with this discovery, they could become yet another farming option for algua-based biofuel, without invading necessary land spaces.
But the utmost advantage of algua is that its the only source of biofuel that would actually be able to realistically yield the 160 millions tons of fuel necessary to fully replace fossil fuel... without great sacrifices of land area.
In order to barely reach the 160 millions tons of fuel necessary, soybean plantations would require 470 millions acres (1.9 million square kilometers) of land area... the entire arable land area of the United-States!
In comparaison, 160 millions tons of algua-based biofuel production will require only 152,000 square kilometers, or the size of the state of Georgia! Although seemingly big as an area, lets not forget that algua won't actually require arable lands to grow. It will grow in saltwater environments, sewage systems, and even more extraordinary, deserts!
I sincerely hope they keep on exploring this amazing discovery. Not only could deserts actually serve as biofuel production, instead of fossil fuel (not to speak that currently useless sewage systems, beside waste disposal, could also serve a secondary and better purpose as a farming area), but alguas would actually provide for a revolutionary energy source.
Sources:
Errol Kiong (May 12, 2006). "NZ firm makes bio-diesel from sewage in world first". The New Zealand Herald.
Glenn, Edward P.; Brown, J. Jed; O'Leary, James W. (August 1998). "Irrigating Crops with Seawater" (PDF). Scientific American (USA: Scientific American, Inc.) (August 1998): 76–81.
Promising Oil Alternative: Algae Energy". washingtonpost.com. 2008-01-06.
Michael Briggs (August 2004). "Widescale Biodiesel Production from Algae". UNH Biodiesel Group (University of New Hampshire).