The Long Road: Algal Biofuels
“Why algae fuel is going to take so long? As promising as the technology is, it hasn’t proved that it can produce fuels in sufficient quantities or at a low enough cost to make a dent in U.S. liquid-fuel consumption.”
The author Michel totty has given us the clear picture of algae fuel’s current status in this interesting article
Read the whole article here: The Long Road: Algal Biofuels
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| | posted by Narsi
March 3rd, 2010 at 9:51 am
Sounds like yet another case of the Law of Receding Horizons. Mass scale production of algae fuels is wishful thinking. The first law of thermodynamics overrides all other considerations. Do the arithmatic, factor in the photosynthetic efficiency, considering the overall conversion of PAR and then look at plant respiration.
NPP = GPP – (Ra + Rh)
NPP = net primary productivity
GPP = gross primary productivity
R = respiration
a= autotrophs
h = heterotrophs
Turning carbohydrate into lipids takes energy, and carbohydrate has about 50% of the energy of lipids. Put all this together and you are going to need one hell of an area to grow all the algae to a make any difference, and a large source of carbon dioxide. How many power plants have large flat unused area of land around them? Is taking carbon from fossil power plants carbon neutral? How are you going to supply the P and K nutrient demand.