Comprehensive Oilgae Report

A detailed report on all aspects of the algae fuel value chain, the Comprehensive Oilgae Report will be of immense help to those who are on the threshold of investing in algae biofuels. More ››

Algae-based Wastewater Treatment

Compiled by a diverse team of experts, with experience in scientific and industrial fields, the Comprehensive Report for Wastewater Treatment Using Algae is the first report that provides in-depth analysis and insights on this important field. It uses innumerable data and information from a wide variety of expert sources and market studies, and distills these inputs and data into intelligence and a roadmap that you can use. More ››

Comprehensive Guide for Algae-based Carbon Capture

A Comprehensive Guide for Entrepreneurs and Businesses Who Wish to get a Basic Understanding of the Business Opportunities and Industry Dynamics of the Algae-based CO2. More ››


Oilgae Digest

This is for entrepreneurs and businesses who wish to get a basic understanding of the algae fuel business and industry dynamics. More ››

Oilgae Report Academic Edition

Oilgae Report Academic Edition - provides research insights on new methodologies, perspectives and experiments in algae biofuels; this report is customized for academic and industry researchers, and students. More ››

Chapterwise Comprehensive Oilgae Report.

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Algae Biodiesel Research

Algae Production in Open Ocean Environments
Many countries have limited land for farming or growing oil crops, or for that matter algae, but have much larger ocean areas. So a natural question that arises is: how can algae be cultivated in ocean environments for biodiesel. Most research so far into algae-culture have concentrated on inland & controlled sites.

To get high oil yields per Acre the environment needs to controlled to a significant extent in order to keep other species from coming in and taking over. It will be extremely difficult in open, uncontrolled environments to keep lower, undesirable strains of algae from taking over high oil algae, which aren't particularly competitive in such open environments. Also to be considered are problems such as how to harvest in an open ocean, etc. At this stage of research hence, harvesting specific strains of algae in open ocean environments appears to be a considerably difficult matter.

Some recent studies have been directed at investigating the feasibility of using anaerobic digestion as a technique to recover Solar energy embodied in the excessive Algal Biomass production as a replacement fuel. The three major issues restricting the economic and technical feasibility of anaerobic Fermentation of algal sludge are: 1) The low energy density of the dewatered sludge as obtained from algal removal techniques, 2) Green algal sludge is relatively resistant to anaerobic biodegradation 3) The high nitrogen content of algal biomass leading to ammonia toxicity in the Anaerobic Digester environment
In addition, recent techniques have been developed for the large scale production of marine micro-algae under heterotrophic growth conditions, by utilizing organic carbon instead of light as an energy source. Heterotrophic algal cultures can attain up to 1,000 times higher densities than photoautotrophic cultures and can be preserved by spray-drying. For more inputs on heterotrophic algea in the context of Biodiesel see: Replacement Diets for Live Algae – from FAO & Biofuels Production from Microalgae after Heterotrophic Growth (PDF)

Key Questions on which On-going Research are Focussed

  • Algal Strains
  • Algaculture Systems - Open Ponds/Closed Systems/Others?
  • How can Algal Oil be Produced on a Large Scale to Achieve Benefits & Economies from Scale?
  • Research on the Energy Cycle of the whole process - Total Energy inputs and Outputs

Research Links

More articles & news on algal oil / fuel research: Visitors may kindly have a look at the Oilgae Blog Directory for relevant blog articles.

Other Related Sections

Blue Green Algae, Red Algae, Green Algae, Marine Algae, String Algae, Pond Algae, Pond Algae Control, Algae Control

See also: For all aspects of Biodiesel production, uses, research and case studies, please refer to our Biodiesel Section @ Oilgae Energy Portal

! Are you an inventor or equipment producer for fuel from algae, or part of a company that is involved in the algal fuel efforts? Please see this section in order that you can help us list your company or efforts @ Oilgae

Energy & Alternative Energy

Energy Portal – Discussed topics such as alternative & renewable energy,  peak oil, energy industry inventions & discoveries, and more.

Check out the latest inventions and breakthroughs in energy & alternative energy, on the following topics @ NewNergy Blog

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