DOE looks to invest $4.4 million in non-food biofuels like Algae
Looks like the US Government has finally gotten on the bandwagon that food based biofuel (like corn, soybeans, etc.) are not the cure all for our oil dependence. Lets hope they also begin to see the crop-based fuel sources in general don’t have nearly as much potential as algae biofuel. Anyway, they have decided to invest some money into researching what type of algae is the best source of oil. Take a look:
Montana State University will partner with Utah State University to evaluate the oil content of algae cultures available to the universities and identify populations that naturally have higher rates of oil production. In this project, they will test the oil producing microalgae in existing open ponds for growth characteristics and oil production and determine the optimal algae type and most efficient biorefinery design.
University of Georgia plans to develop novel approaches to supply nutrients to oil-producing algal systems resulting in cost-effective algae-biofuel production systems. The project will take advantage of the abundance of litter from the poultry industry as a source of low cost nutrients, and develop a nutrient delivery system to grow algae sustainably. Additionally, this project aims to develop process methods for the harvesting of algae from open ponds and subsequent processing to biofuels and other value added products from algae.
