Where to sell raw algae oil...

[jfizzle2cmu]

I'm an interested businessman and have been reading up on algae production. My question is that if I grow the algae, extract the oil from the algae and put it in a barrel...what do I do then? I'm not a chemist or anything like that, so the most feasible answer for me is to sell it to a refinery or something like that. Who buys raw algae oil? Anybody? I can't find a thing about it on the internet. Please someone with some knowledge tell me if this idea is plausible or not...and what kind of money could be made off a barrel a day...

[johnnyboy]

if you where looking to sell one barrel, the best place would probally be to some kind of trading magazine and trying to sell it to someone making biodiesel. or save up a couple of thousand barrels to fill a tanker and then truck it to the refinery. even still they may not be interested as this is not a crude oil product so their processing methods wouldn't be as affective. if your making your oil at home, keep it at home, this product is worth more for home use than selling to somone else. or float a company and produce so much oil at a good price the revinery can't say no. or if you have half a mill, run some cost/production numbers and start one up yourself.


just what i think of the situation at the mo, we are probally a few years away from getting enough producers in the one area to start a co-op, but that also may be a feasible idea.... just some thoughts.....

cheers

[biojet]

I believe the reason you can't find a market for the oil yet is that every drop that is currently produced is used by the companies that are developing the technology. I work for an R&D company that has developed a process for creating jet fuel from algae oil (among other things) and I have been having a difficult time finding oil to use for testing. Most of the companies I talk to will tell you than can get a liter or two at most. That being said, we are developing partnerships with companies that can provide the oil and assuming the cost comes down, you will find a market selling it. Initially it will go to companies such as ours that are using it for testing (we need several barrels for testing and will need a lot more as we scale up). I believe as the market begins to scale, the mechanisms for selling the oil will become more clear. Certainly, biodiesel refineries are a great place to sell the oil, but until the price is competitive the research side is the best place to look.

[afreeman1984]

I am interested in co op type start ups. I'm in the san Francisco bay area and know many tinkerers beginning to work with al gae stuff!