An algae growing operation in South Texas has confirmed it is about ready to go commercial scale. Aurora Algae says after six months of testing and evaluation, it has the potential to go commercial-scale, and the company is expanding its test facility with four, one-acre cultivation ponds and a harvesting system. “We have successfully tested our algae cultivation system in …
UC San Diego Has Top Algae-Biodiesel Programs
Plenty of warm Southern California sun must be helping fuel the brains of algae-biodiesel researchers, as two programs at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) are rated tops in the Nation. This article from the school says the U.S. Department of Energy bestowed the high marks. A program at Scripps Institution of Oceanography was rated the best in the …
Better Sites for Algae Helps Biofuels Production
A new process for identifying and evaluating algae production facilities could help with biofuels production. The article, “Siting Algae Cultivation Facilities for Biofuel Production in the United States: Trade-Offs between Growth Rate, Site Constructability, Water Availability, and Infrastructure,” in the journal Environmental Science and Technology, talks about the new method developed by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Sapphire Energy …
MSU Increases Odds of Algal-Biofuel Success
A team of Michigan State University (MSU) scientists have invented a new technology that they believe increases the odds of helping algae-based biofuels bridge the gap to success. The environmental photobioreactor or ePBR system is the first standard algae growing platform and it stimulates dynamic natural environments. The system is featured in the current issue of Algal Research. To better …
Advancements in Algal Biofuels: Year in Review
The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) has released its Advancements in Algal Biofuels: Year in Review. The goal of BETO is to support advanced in the production of algal biofuel – especially those that lower the cost of production. The report highlights several notable R&D breakthrough including: Fast algae-to-bio-crude oil process reduces production costs – DOE’s …
Heliae Algae Techology Headed to ASU
Heliae’s algae production technology is heading to Arizona State University’s (ASU) algae testbed facility. The company is partnering with SCHOTT North America to install a Helix photobioreactor at ASU’s Department of Energy (DOE)-funded algae testbed facility. Over the next several years, algae research staff at ASU will leverage the Helix photobioreactor, built by Heliae, for pioneering research that will forward …
Algae Biodiesel Fuel From Utah State
Rhesa Ledbetter from Utah State University was one of the students who attended the 2014 National Biodiesel Conference. Chuck caught up with her for an interview and she explains her research in algae biodiesel fuel. Rhesa finished her master’s in micro-biology and then decided she wanted to do a project that was really applied. To her biodiesel products seemed to …
Researchers “Milk” Algae to Get Biodiesel Feedstock
Usually, when biodiesel producers are using algae to provide the feedstock oil to produce the green fuel, they have to destroy the algal cells to get the oil. But this article from Phys.org says Australian researchers might have found a way to “milk” the oil from the algae species Bortyococcus braunii so they can keep producing more biodiesel feedstock. Murdoch …
OriginOil Launches Aquaculture Showcase
OriginOil has launched its Permanent Technology Showcase with a demonstration of its EWS Aqua Q60 and EWS Algae A60 models at Aqua Farming Tech, a sustainable fish farm in Thermal, California, located in the Coachella Valley. “Worldwide, more fish is now being farmed than beef,” said Riggs Eckelberry, president and CEO of OriginOil. “While this is good news, the aquaculture …
Sapphire & Phillips 66 Embark on Algae Partnership
Algae-based Sapphire Energy and Phillips 66 have announced a joint development agreement with the goal of taking production of algae crude oil to commercial scale production. The companies will work together to collect and analyze data from co-processing of algae and conventional crude oil into fuels. The goal is to complete fuel certifications to ready Sapphire Energy’s renewable crude oil, …