Scientists in the St. Louis, Missouri area are hoping to get some help from local residents in finding the ideal algae to turn into biodiesel. During the upcoming 2nd annual Algaepalooza, held Saturday, May 7, 2011 from 10am to 4pm in the Life Science Lab at the Saint Louis Science Center, people will be able to pick up algae-collecting kits …
PA Awards $1.3M Grant for Coal-Biomass-to-Liquids Plant
The state of Pennsylvania has awarded a $1.3 million grant to Accelergy Corporation to enable construction on their integrated coal-biomass-to-liquids (CBTL) facility to move forward. The CBTL plant is located at Intertek PARC, located at the U-PARC facility in Pittsburgh. Prior to this award, the company received a $175,000 grant for a feasibility study that included recommended site locations. Once …
New Bioplastics Logo Unveiled
Biomass is not just for energy. Crops like potatoes, corn, wheat, tapioca, sugar, and algae can also be used to produce plastics, or “bioplastics”, a more sustainable alternative to petroleum-based plastics. Bioplastics are biodegradable and compostable and for those consumers looking to make a “greener” choice, Cereplast has unveiled a new bioplastics logo. The winner was announced on Earth Day …
How to Decrease Algae Culture “Crashes”
Arizona State University through a $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is studying the factors involved in algal crop failure known as culture “crashes.” Grazing zooplankton are considered predators to algae and can cause loss of productivity. According to scientist Qiang Hu and his research team, except for a few algal strains that can tolerate extreme …
DF Cast: Researchers, Advocates Clash on Algae Biodiesel Feasibility
Some researchers say that, at current production levels, algae biodiesel is not a commercially viable product. But some algae advocates believe researchers might have some ulterior motives for coming to that conclusion. One of the study’s authors, Dr. Peter Pfromm, a professor in Kansas State University’s department of chemical engineering, says that while they found that it’s possible to produce …
Rural America Will Provide Energy Solutions
There are advanced biofuels on the horizon and one such fuel will be algae fuels produced from the waste streams of a first generation corn-ethanol plant. In the future, many believe that more co-located biofuel refineries are on the way and the model will be the Green Plains Renewable Energy (GPRE) / BioProcess Algae plants. BioProcess Algae is in the …
Avjet Biotech, NC State Ink Deal for Aviation Biofuels
A company that develops 10-15 million gallon per year refining systems has signed a deal with North Carolina State University to use the school’s technology for producing biofuels from triglycerides (fats) and for producing products from genetically modified marine microalgae. Avjet Biotech, Inc. (ABI), parent company of Red Wolf Refining, will use the technology to make aviation biofuels: “We are …
ABO Goes to Washington
The Algal Biomass Organization (ABO) may be relatively young, having been formed in March of 2006, but they have made some significant strides in Washington, D.C. in lobbying for advanced biofuels such as algae, to play on the same field as cellulosic biofuels. I caught up with Mary Rosenthal, ABO’s executive director after her multi-day trip to D.C. to learn …
BioProcess Algae Dedicates Grower Harvester Bioreactors
On Friday April 15, BioProcess Algae, dedicated its Grower Harvester bioreactors signaling the final phase of construction for its commercial scale algae biorefinery. On hand for the event in Shenandoah, Iowa, were USDA Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack along with Green Plains Renewable Energy (GRPE) CEO Todd Becker and Mary Rosenthal, the executive director of the Algal Biomass Association. After touring …
Study: Algae Could Replace 17% of Oil Imports by 2022
In a new study released by the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (NPPL), algal fuels could replace 17 percent of the United States’ imported oil by 2020. The paper was published in the journal of Water Resources Research but warned that biofuels production, including algal fuels, can require a lot of water so the study cautioned that being …