Power Sources 3
To the ever growing list of possible alternatives to fossil fuels we add –
Algae culture – Algae Oil
This biofuel is sometimes called Algae oil, and provides the basis for other biofuels as well as being effective in itself. It is being intensively cultivated in various countries including Australia. Some consider it to be more effective that other vegetable sources. It has the advantage by being able to be used directly in diesel engines, it is biodegradable, it can be used to filter exhaust gases and extract CO2 by photosynthesis and the algae then recycled and used in other processes.
Algae produce more oil than other oilseeds and microalgae can produce lipids to the extent of as much as 60% of their biomass. The outstanding properties of Algae are shown in Oilgae’s web report
(See http://oilgae.com/algae/oil/yield/yield.html) to be in startling comparison with other vegetable sources –
Corn yields 18 gallons per acre annually and others show increasing yields of up to Palm oil that produces 635 gallons per acre but Micro Algae figures range from 5,000 – 15000 gallons!
Green algae and also Diatoms are used and experimentation continues with other species of algae now showing a huge potential to solve our fuel production.
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