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Green ponds of algae could someday join golden waves of corn in Iowa's renewable energy industry if a project advanced for likely state funding through the Iowa Power Fund board this week is realized.

The Iowa Power Fund board agreed Wednesday to entered funding negotiations for the state's first algae-to-biodiesel project, offering the promise of a new feedstock for Iowa's renewable fuels industry.

A pilot plant proposed by Green Plains Renewable Energy would use three byproducts from the company's Shenandoah plant - waste water, waste carbon dioxide, and waste heat from dryers - as feedstock to grow algae. The algae would then be harvested and processed into biodiesel

The Iowa Power Fund board authorized final negotiations for $2,190,407 state grant for phase I of the two-phase project.

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Nature gave us oil from algae; perhaps we should try Nature's way again

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New Zealand-based Aquaflow Bionomic may be getting close to achieving its goal of becoming the world’s first company to viably produce large amounts of biofuel from wild algae.

Barrie Leay, Aquaflow’s chairman, said his company had successfully achieved “commercial-scale continuous harvesting of tons of wild algae” in a recent interview with Ethanol Producer Magazine. He outlined what he believed will become the new energy model -– “distributed” production –- which would do away with the inefficiencies he believes are inherent in the central plant model used by both the oil industry and ethanol producers.

In practice, this means Aquaflow would seek to spread its algae-to-biofuel production process over many harvest areas - typically 1,000 acre oxidation ponds located around the U.S.

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Nature gave us oil from algae; perhaps we should try Nature's way again

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A new public company, GeoBio Energy, Inc., is putting the finishing touches on two algae-to-energy pilot projects. Each is designed to yield volumes of algae-derived biofuel that can be sold at a profit.

The first GeoBio Energy project would locate an algae-to-energy facility at a coal-fired utility power plant. Carbon dioxide from power plant exhaust gases would be sent to the algae facility to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

The second project would place algae-to-energy facilities at a gas and oil drilling site. The goal of that project would be water reclamation, showing how brackish water used in drilling can nourish algae for biofuel and how algae can improve the water quality for use in agriculture by removing salts and minerals it uses to grow.

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As Canadian energy companies face growing constraints on their greenhouse gas emissions, researchers believe they have found an answer in pond scum.

Backed by oil companies and utilities, Canadian researchers are plowing ahead with plans to develop algae farms that will convert carbon dioxide from oil sands projects and coal-fired power plants into biofuels, chemicals and fertilizers.

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Nature gave us oil from algae; perhaps we should try Nature's way again

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Scientists at Argonne National Laboratory, the University of Illinois and Northwestern University are collaborating to design plants that use photosynthesis to churn out hydrogen, which could be a clean alternative to fossil fuels.

And they think the single-celled algae is well-suited to the task.

"This is long-term research," said David Tiede, a senior chemist at Argonne. "Hydrogen is one generation or two generations away as the basis for our energy, but we have to start now to find efficient ways to extract it."

Algae has no roots, can be grown in water anywhere and creates an enzyme, hydrogenase, that separates hydrogen gas from water. Like most plants, algae combines carbon dioxide, sunlight and water to create biomass, biological material that can be used as fuel or for industrial production. With excessive sunlight, some unwanted byproducts are converted to hydrogen by the enzyme.

Tiede and his colleagues believe they can incorporate that hydrogen into the algae's core photosynthesis process, making hydrogen a primary product.

Nature gave us oil from algae; perhaps we should try Nature's way again

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An Arizona energy company is betting big on algae. PetroSun Biofuels has opened a commercial algae-to-biofuels farm on the Texas Gulf Coast near scenic Harlington Harlingen Texas. The farm is a 1,100 acre network of saltwater ponds, 20 acres of which will be dedicated to researching and developing an environmental jet fuel.

PetroSun's gameplan is to extract algal oil on-site at the farms and transport it to company bideisel refineries via barge, rail or truck. The company plans to open more farms in Alabama, Arizona, Louisiana, Mexico, Brazil, and Australia in 2008.

Of all the options for future jet biofuel production, algae is considered one of the most viable. It yields 30 times more energy per acre than its closest competitor, and requires neither fresh water, arable land used for cultivation, or consumable food, giving it an advantage over ethanol. PetroSun asserts that an area the size of Maryland could produce enough algae biofuel to satisfy the entire fuel requirements of the United States.

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Nature gave us oil from algae; perhaps we should try Nature's way again

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National Algae Association Press Release

The Woodlands, Texas - May 4, 2008 - The National Algae Association announces its Algae Commercialization Business Plan, Research, and Networking Forum. Algae oil production companies, algae researchers and algaeprenuers will present leading-edgetechnologies for commercialization of the "new oil" on July 17th in The Woodlands,Texas

The NAA brings companies and researchers together to share ideas and exchangeinformation to overcome technological hurdles and commercialize this fast growingrenewable oil industry.

Current high oil prices, the collapse of food-for-fuel initiatives and concerns about increased levels of CO2 emissions in the atmosphere have all created awarenessof the need for alternative fuel solutions. Algae has emerged as one of the lowestcost feedstocks for the biofuels and cellulosic industries. Algae is considered to be a promising source of renewable oil which can be processed and refined intoa variety of transportation fuels.

Recent breakthroughs in pond development and closed end loop systems put algae oilproduction companies on the leading-edge of the renewable oil industry.

Some challenges:
a) identifying the best suitable algae strains with the largest extraction rates.
b) standardizing photobioreactor (PBR) technologies
c) developing new CO2 injection methods
d) monitoring nutrient levels for efficient algae growth rates
e) finding cost effective oil extraction methodologies

Algae can be refined to make biofuel, jet fuel, bio-gasoline and cellulosic materialssuch as pharmacueticals, cosmetics, plastics and green packaging.For additional information contact: www.nationalalgaeassociation.com, or 936.321.1125

Nature gave us oil from algae; perhaps we should try Nature's way again

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CNN Money has a recent detailed article on oil from algae, with mention of GreenFuel

See here

Nature gave us oil from algae; perhaps we should try Nature's way again