Algae: Truly Green Solution to the World’s Energy Problem

I decided to open this blog up a bit and spread the message encompassing a range of sustainable solutions.

I learnt when doing aquaculture research at the Uni of Western Sydney, Hawkesbury, that algae is one of the fastest growing plants in the world and that under the right conditions including temperature, sunlight, nutrients, water quality, etc, the right species could double its biomass several times a day.

I was more interested at that stage in Gambusia affinis, the introduced mosquito fish, than the base of the food chain, but never forget identifying different types of algae under the microscope for the first time, …. it was quite a magic moment to see such miniature intricacy and structure.

Algae species can be selected for their lipids (oils) which can distilled in standard oil refineries to produce everything from jet fuel to diesel.  Algae can be 15+ times more productive that landbased energy crops such as jatropha, canola (rapeseed) or sugarcane.  The work now is to find the right varieties and selectively breed for oil content and the particular challenges of water quality (salinity, pH and nutrients) and temperature.
see Wikipedia on Algaculture and the Texas State Energy Conservation Office report on biomass crops.

Oilgae.com is the place to go for algae energy revolution and some good DIY info.

Ecogenics Research is doing some interesting work on closed loop and biosphere systems, here’s their biodiesel page. www.ecogenicsresearchcenter.org/new_page_6.htm

This YouTube clip talks about even selecting species tailored to the type of fuel you want to produce. While very industrially scaled in this clip, it is something that could be adapted to backyard and farmyard production.

---