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Showing posts from January, 2010

Algae: Fuel Of The Future?

We live in a world where lifestyles and human activities consume an increasing amount of energy. How we obtain that energy is determined by many factors and the results are not always preferable in the end sum; it's the part of the equation people have been trying to solve and algae may be a huge step forward. Oil, ethanol, methane and hydrogen are some examples of what can be produced from algae. Algae can be harvested more often (rapid growth rates), has a high per acre yield, is biodegradable / non-toxic and produces more oil than other biofuels . Some algae strains are even 50% oil. The fuel is already being tested in real-life applications and algae is being considered for other uses such as foam for windmill blades, fish and livestock feeds, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and antibacterial products. One aspect of growing algae is that CO2 is required in the process. Power plants that burn fossil fuels can literally pipe the exhaust to an algae growth facility. Instead of rele