The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports on plans to locate several algae production facilities near existing ethanol plants. Surprisingly the most profitable products produced are Omega 3 fatty acids, fish food and animal feed and not fuels. The lower value oils produced will be sold for biodiesel or other fuels. This is a joint venture between BioProcess algae, LLC and Green Plains Renewable Energy. Recent tests by U of Illinois researchers have found the feed to work well for poultry.
Additional information is available from a 2007 New York Times article on U of MN researcher Roger Ruan.
According to the November 2011 Discover article on Power Plays, an area the size of Montana would be needed to converted to algae biofuel production to replace our current need for gasoline. This compares to approximately 1/4 of the country if we were to use corn. The research into algae is in its early stages. Donald Weeks a University of Nebraska at Lincoln biochemist compares it to the discovery of teosinte 8,000 years ago which was eventually bred into the modern corn. We are at the initial discovery stage investigating thousands of species of algae. At a recent E3 conference the biofuel production between strains and species varied by as much as 10 to 100x. Other variables such as temperature, sunlight and carbon dioxide levels also affected production. I anticipate an update on the research on November 7th at the E3 2011 Conference.
Additional information is available from a 2007 New York Times article on U of MN researcher Roger Ruan.
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| Roger Ruan - NY Times photo |
According to the November 2011 Discover article on Power Plays, an area the size of Montana would be needed to converted to algae biofuel production to replace our current need for gasoline. This compares to approximately 1/4 of the country if we were to use corn. The research into algae is in its early stages. Donald Weeks a University of Nebraska at Lincoln biochemist compares it to the discovery of teosinte 8,000 years ago which was eventually bred into the modern corn. We are at the initial discovery stage investigating thousands of species of algae. At a recent E3 conference the biofuel production between strains and species varied by as much as 10 to 100x. Other variables such as temperature, sunlight and carbon dioxide levels also affected production. I anticipate an update on the research on November 7th at the E3 2011 Conference.
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