Algae To Biofuel In Portland  

Ron Beasley at NewsHoggers has a post on a planned algae to biodiesel plant in Portland, Oregon - Fuel From Pond Scum - Update.

A few months ago I reported on efforts to make biofuels from algae. Well my local electric utility, Portland General Electric, is going to give it a try - "PGE aims to turn Boardman coal-plant pollution into biofuel".

In the energy equivalent of turning a pig's ear into a silk purse -- and a very green one, at that -- Portland General Electric is testing how to use pollutants from its Boardman coal plant to grow algae for biofuel production.

PGE and renewable energy developer Columbia Energy Partners announced Thursday that they had begun a pilot project for the algae venture at the utility's Boardman facility in Morrow County. The experiment siphons off some of the coal plant's CO2 emissions and feeds them to six 12-foot-long tubs of algae sitting on a nearby flatbed truck.

During photo synthesis, the algae gobble up the CO2 and release oxygen into the air. Oil is squeezed out of the mature algae and used to produce a clean-burning biodiesel. The residue -- a starchy goo -- is turned into ethanol, an alternative to gasoline, and livestock feed.

"This is an opportunity to make a real meaningful difference," said Steve Corson, a PGE spokesman. He emphasized, however, that the pilot project is "tiny" and that more tests must be conducted before determining whether a full-blown production facility is feasible.

The 600-megawatt Boardman facility, about 150 miles east of Portland, is Oregon's only coal plant. It generates about one-fifth of PGE's power and is the state's largest stationary source of CO2, a major contributor to climate change.

The plant has come under fire not only for its CO2 emissions, but also for haze-causing pollutants such as sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides. A study released early this year concluded that the plant is responsible for more than half the haze in the eastern Columbia River Gorge at certain times in the winter.

Jon Norling, vice president of Columbia Energy, said he approached PGE more than two years ago about using Boardman's CO2 emissions to grow algae. Norling owns Portland Biodiesel and said he was quick to recognize algae as a potentially valuable biodiesel feedstock. Algae's attraction to CO2 is a natural, Norling said. "It needs it," he said. "It really likes it."

The pilot project won't make much of a dent in Boardman's CO2 emissions, which total about 5 million tons a year. But, a full-scale plant -- at least 21/2 years away -- could use up to 60 percent of the emissions during daylight hours and produce 20 million gallons of biodiesel annually, Norling said.

As was pointed out in the original post the power plant connection is vital.

Trying to grow concentrations of the finicky organism is a bit like trying to balance the water in a fish tank. It’s also expensive. The water needs to be just the right temperature for algae to proliferate, and even then open ponds can become choked with invasive species. Atmospheric levels of CO2 also aren’t high enough to spur exponential growth.

Solix addresses these problems by containing the algae in closed “photobioreactors”—triangular chambers made from sheets of polyethylene plastic (similar to a painter’s dropcloth)—and bubbling supplemental carbon dioxide through the system. Eventually, the source of the CO2 will be exhaust from power plants and other industrial processes, providing the added benefit of capturing a potent greenhouse gas before it reaches the atmosphere.

Greenbang reports that Bill Gates is among a number of investors funding algae biofuel hopeful Sapphire Energy - Bill Gates goes green with algae biofuel investment.

The world’s richest software geek, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates, is one of the investors behind the latest round of funding for algae biofuel company Sapphire Energy. ...

Sapphire says the money takes it a step closer to bringing the algae biofuel production to commercial scale and plans to use the funds to scale up its production facilities accordingly. The company says it anticipates relying on existing investors to achieve its initial commercial production capability of 10,000 barrels per day. The company is aiming to produce “Green Crude” on a commercial scale within three to five years.

PilotOnline has an article on an experimental algae to biofuel farm in Virginia - Virginia's first algae farm an experiment in biofuel.

There was much ado here Wednesday over the opening of an experimental farm - the first of its kind in Virginia - that grows a single, if slimy, commodity: algae. ...

Algal Farms Inc. is a private-public venture that seeks to build on research at Old Dominion University into alternative energy. Its purpose: determine if algae can be grown, harvested and converted into biodiesel fuel, as well as a byproduct fertilizer, in sufficient amounts to make a decent profit. ...

ODU has spent about $100,000 to get the operation up and running. Local entrepreneur Jes Sprouse said he is investing "a bunch more, pretty much all I've got," on the potential for creating the first commercially viable algae-to-biodiesel farm in Virginia. ...

Pat Hatcher, an ODU scientist leading the project, said the concept has potential to create a new and clean energy supply and to cut a major source of pollution in the Chesapeake Bay. Nutrients - nitrogen, phosphorus and ammonia - are causing too much algae growth in the Bay, choking water quality and threatening aquatic life, such as underwater grasses, crabs and fish.

If those nutrients from sewage treatment plants can instead be used at algae farms, Hatcher said, the Bay would benefit. ODU has been working with the Hampton Roads Sanitation District and now the city of Hopewell to use nutrient-rich wastewater as food for its algae. ...

Only a few ounces of biodiesel fuel are being created each day in this 1-acre setup. But Sprouse hopes to expand his ponds and algae production to about 200 acres over the next two years and to 2,000 acres within six years. That way, he said, Algal Farms could churn out as much as 3,000 gallons of biodiesel per acre, or about 6 million gallons a year.

Asked who he would sell his fuel to, Sprouse did not blanche. "Anybody sick and tired of paying 4 bucks for a gallon of diesel," he said.

Boeing has formed a group looking to develop sustainable biofuels for aviation - Boeing Joins Aviation, Energy and Academic Leaders to Accelerate Development and Availability of Sustainable Biofuels.

Boeing has, with leading air carriers and Honeywell's UOP, a refining technology developer, established a group to accelerate the development and commercialization of sustainable new aviation fuels. With support and advice from the world's leading environmental organizations, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Users Group makes commercial aviation the first global transportation sector to voluntarily drive sustainability practices into its fuel supply chain.

The group's charter is to enable the commercial use of renewable fuel sources that can reduce greenhouse gas emissions, while lessening commercial aviation's exposure to oil price volatility and dependence on fossil fuels. Airlines supporting the sustainable fuels initiative include Air France, Air New Zealand, ANA (All Nippon Airways), Cargolux, Gulf Air, Japan Airlines, KLM, SAS and Virgin Atlantic Airways. Collectively, they account for approximately 15 percent of commercial jet fuel use.

"We welcome the aviation sector's will to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, and appreciate their efforts to ensure the sustainability of their biofuels sourcing," said Jean-Philippe Denruyter, WWF global bioenergy coordinator and Steering Board member of the Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels. "By teaming up with the Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels, the aviation sector can build on an existing solid multi-stakeholder process that will reinforce this initiative."

All group members subscribe to a sustainability pledge stipulating that any sustainable biofuel must perform as well as, or better than, kerosene-based fuel, but with a smaller carbon lifecycle. The user's group pledged to consider only renewable fuel sources that minimize biodiversity impacts: fuels that require minimal land, water and energy to produce, and that don't compete with food or fresh water resources. In addition, cultivation and harvest of plant stocks must provide socioeconomic value to the local communities.

Earth2Tech has a post on algae biofuel company Alegnol - Algenol Makes Ethanol Directly from Algae.

Most algae-to-fuel startups grow algae so they can process the microplants into fuel. Naples, Fla.-based Algenol has a different method — collect ethanol vapors from the algae, which involves neither killing the plants or nor the use of an expensive refining process. The startup’s founder, Paul Woods, has been working on the science since the 1980s and reportedly has $70 million in backing.

The next step is a massive $850 million project with Sonora Fields S.A.P.I. de C.V., a wholly owned subsidiary of Mexican-owned BioFields. Alegnol says the project will start operations next year in Mexico and will eventually deliver a billion gallons of cheap fuel a year. Olé!