Wave of algae in tanks

crude vegetable oil, diester, bio-ethanol or other biofuels, or fuel of vegetable origin ...
freddau
I posted 500 messages!
I posted 500 messages!
posts: 641
Registration: 19/09/05, 20:08
x 1

Wave of algae in tanks




by freddau » 17/08/08, 18:11

http://www.terra-economica.info/Vague-d ... ?bravo=oui

Abandoned in the 1980s, research on microalgae finds a second breath thanks to expensive oil. Are we going to roll in green algae? Visit of the laboratories that are fueled; they are green, blue or red. They measure only a few microns but, strong of several hundreds of thousands of species, they colonized the surface of the globe, inhabiting the marine environment, fresh or brackish water. Already used as a food supplement or coloring for farmed salmon, microalgae could become the main source of energy of the future. Judge for yourself: these organisms are capable of producing and storing lipids - up to 50% of their mass - from which biofuels will then be obtained. Some algae are even capable of naturally synthesizing hydrogen.

Their fatal weapon is called photosynthesis. Plant-friendly, this biological mechanism is well known: it transforms light energy into chemical energy. The icing on the cake, to "work", these tiny aquatic plants would need only water and sun! A dream that requires some adjustments before it can really take shape.

In Montpellier, Nantes or Cadarache, a greenish liquid dominates the benches of many laboratories. In the eyes of the visitor, these flasks do not look pretty. Recently, however, their content has aroused "very, very great enthusiasm", underlines Olivier Bernard, researcher at the National Institute for Research in Computer Science and Automation (Inria) in Sophia Antipolis (Alpes-Maritimes). Whether it is to fight climate change or reduce dependence on fossil fuels, microscopic algae are ideal candidates. Better still: they respond point by point to the criticisms addressed today to agrofuels. Indeed, all of French agricultural land is not suf fi cient to produce suf fi cient oil to meet the country's transport needs [1]

These algae - impossible to distinguish with the naked eye - are twenty times more abundant than terrestrial plants and benefit from rapid growth: they at least double every day. They offer a yield per hectare 10 to 30 times higher than that of oilseeds. And they can be grown on land unsuitable for traditional agriculture. With them, we end the competition between crops for our dishes and those for our cars, which leads to soaring prices and deforestation.

Pumping nitrogen and phosphorus

Agrofuels are also suspected of contributing twice as much to global warming as fossil fuels. In September 2007, the Nobel laureate in chemistry Paul J. Crutzen pointed out intensive agriculture, “fed” on nitrogenous fertilizers which degrade into nitrous oxide (N 20), a greenhouse gas much more powerful than carbon dioxide (CO 2). On the contrary, the algae fix the CO 2 from the atmosphere and pump nitrogen and phosphorus into the water! No harmful emissions for the environment therefore, except of course the carbon dioxide released during the combustion of biodiesel by the vehicle. Would this solution be miraculous? No. But it is attractive enough that about sixty teams around the world decide to seriously study this alternative.

In France, the Shamash project - name of the Sun God in Mesopotamia - has brought together, since December 2006, seven laboratories and an industrial partner. The entire industry is represented there, from modelers to engine manufacturers, from biologists to specialists in oil extraction. With a budget of 2,8 million euros, part of which is granted by the National Research Agency for a period of three years, Shamash has already selected three species of microalgae from a large sample. Their cultivation outdoors, in Vendée and Brittany, is even planned for this year.

A collection of 300 micro-organisms

However, there is still a major problem: the bill. Olivier Bernard, coordinator of the Shamash project, does not hide it: "There is a gap between what is conveyed by the media and the real situation. Of course, we know today grow algae, produce lipids ... but at prohibitive prices! "Crisis oil or climate change may well point the nose to the window, no consumer is willing to ruin each time at the pump. "2 euros the liter, it would be won. But we are still a factor 10 above what is needed! Evaluates the researcher.

It is on this stumbling block that the first research on algae rich in oil has already come up against. In 1978, in the United States, the National Laboratory for Renewable Energies (NREL) launched a large study program, the ASP (Aquatic Species Program), to assess the feasibility of producing biofuel from 'algae. A collection of 300 microorganisms was then assembled, a multitude of data collected - they still serve as a benchmark. But, in 1996, the program was condemned for questions of profitability.

How can we therefore understand the return of microalgae to the fore? Nothing's easier. “In 1996, the price of a barrel of oil was below $ 20 and the NREL estimated that it had to be three times that for an algal biodiesel to be competitive. Today, this is the case since the barrel exceeds 100 dollars! »With the recent surge in the price of crude, Americans, Chinese, Israelis but also Australians and Europeans, all are looking to get their hands on the species that will best meet all the criteria: an algae rich in oil, easy to cultivate. and harvest, not too demanding in energy (see opposite).

Married to waste

Olivier Bernard does not hesitate to speak of "bubble effect": "It is suggested that all research has been done and that there is more to invest. " Mistake. Because the brakes to a large-scale production are not lacking. "For an alga to produce lipids, it must not work very well," says Jean-Paul Cadoret, head of the laboratory of physiology and biotechnology of algae at Ifremer, a member of Shamash.

It must be subjected to various stresses (nitrogen deprivation, sudden increase in light) to boost its fatty acid content, but must nevertheless be spared to continue producing. Its culture in the open air is complicated because the ponds are invaded by algae of different species, forcing an impossible sorting at the time of harvest; that in a closed environment, in a photobioreactor, is excessively expensive. And then, the more the algae multiplies, the more it shadows. So many pitfalls that scientists should be able to overcome sooner or later.

The hope for better profitability could however come from elsewhere: the combination of the production of “algal” biofuel with another sector, if possible more lucrative. Some are betting on the synthesis of hydrogen, a gas that could meet all our needs in the medium term. But the research is still at the experimental stage - this is the object of the European Solar H program in particular. Others rather praise microalgae ready to feed on our waste! Coupled with thermal power stations or wastewater treatment plants, pig or avian breeding, the culture ponds would absorb carbon dioxide, nitrates or phosphates.

Founded in 2001 within the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the company GreenFuel Technologies is exploring this avenue in the United States. Finally, algae are rich in omega 3 or antioxidants, molecules highly valued in the food industry and in pharmaceuticals. With all their potential, the craze for microalgae is not about to (re) take water. -

Factories and floating nets

Producing energy from seaweed: projects are multiplying and ads are following each other. But in a context of intense competition, motus and mouth sewn about the sums invested and / or the species used.

- Hawaii: Shell announced in December 2007 the “immediate” construction on the island of a pilot plant in collaboration with HR Biopetroleum, a company based in Honolulu. Marine algae will be cultivated in ponds discovered on the Kona coast to produce vegetable oil, which is subsequently transformed into biofuel. Cellana, the joint venture responsible for this project, is majority-owned by the Anglo-Dutch oil company.

- Italy: ENI, the national oil company, seeks to produce diesel fuel from algae fed by landfill water at the Gela refinery, off the coast of Sicily.

- New Zealand: Boeing and Air New Zealand would collaborate with Aqua ow Bionomic Corporation to develop a mixture of kerosene and algae. On February 24, a Virgin Atlantic Boeing 747 has already used a hybrid fuel based on babassu and coconut oils.

- Japan: the country, which suffers from its small area, can draw on the formidable reservoir constituted by its territorial waters. Hence its interest in macroalgae, although its yield is much less interesting. The Tokyo Gas company plans to recover those that accumulate in the ports, in order to generate methane by fermentation. At present, these algae are incinerated which swallows up 30 m3 of town gas per tonne of plants. In addition, the Tokyo Fisheries Promotion Foundation wants to set up this year a pilot project, funded by the government, to produce bioethanol from brown algae grown on floating nets. The use of 1% to 2% of Japanese territorial waters would make it possible to harvest 150 million tonnes of algae for 4 million tonnes of bioethanol per year.

- The Shamash project

- The European Epobio report on the industrial applications of micro and macroalgae (in English)

- The results of the former American algal biodiesel production program (in English)

- Ademe's biofuels dossier (heading "Energy and renewable materials", then "produce biofuels")

- On the same theme, "Biofuel: the ecological mirage"
0 x
the middle
Econologue expert
Econologue expert
posts: 4075
Registration: 12/01/07, 08:18
x 4




by the middle » 26/09/08, 08:37

:!:
Ha !, if Bil invests in this sector, it becomes serious :D
http://energiesdelamer.blogspot.com/200 ... ns-le.html
0 x
Man is by nature a political animal (Aristotle)

Back to "biofuels, biofuels, biofuels, BtL, non-fossil alternative fuels ..."

Who is online ?

Users browsing this forum : No registered users and 139 guests