An interesting alternative fuel from Hawaii
From
The Register:
Shell in Hawaiian algae biofuel pilot
Oil giant Shell announced yesterday that it will build a pilot plant in Hawaii to make biofuel out of algae grown in seawater ponds.
"Algae have great potential as a sustainable feedstock for production of diesel-type fuels with a very small CO2 footprint," said Graeme Sweeney, Shell veep for Future Fuels.
"This demonstration will be an important test of the technology and, critically, of commercial viability."
The oil company, which is mounting the venture in cooperation with tech developer HR Biopetroleum, believes that swiftly-multiplying algae strains native to Hawaii can produce viable amounts of vegetable oil. It is thought that this can be profitably turned into fuel for diesel engines.
And the money shot:
The joint venture is to be called Cellana, and will also feature an academic research project drawing on expertise from universities around the world. Initial analysis by Shell and Biopetroleum suggests that saltwater algae can produce as much as 15 times the oil yield per hectare from landbased crops such as rape, jatropha or palm soya. Selected types of algae can double their mass several times daily, building up a thick layer of scummy gold on the sea surface.
Emphasis mine -- obviously, there are a lot more hectares suitable for growing plants than there are placid lagoons but if this works out, it can probably be scaled up with existing fermentation and growing vessels such as are currently used by the chemical and pharma industries. And for Shell to be taking notice means a lot -- these companies didn't get to where they are by being stupid...
Posted by DaveH at December 13, 2007 8:35 AM