Algae - the answer to our Oil Dependency

It will come as no suprise to learn that many families are cutting back on expenditure due to gas prices. The cost of commuting to work for many is now a burden on theior financial resources. This has created a huge interest in alternative sources of fuel for automobiles and a rush to offset our dependence on oil.

Biodiesel was possibly the first alternative fuel to be touted as a possible mainstream option to gas. Produced from crops like soya and corn using simple technology, biodiesel initially became the popular and many reckoned that this fuel was the answer to our needs. However, biodiesel production is not without problems. Using food crops to produce fuel means less food is produced, in addition with many farmers jumping on the biodiesel bandwagon the cost of corn and soya rose sharply as they could sell crops at higher prices for biodiesel rather than food. In any case traditional food crops like soya and corn are simply not very efficient at producing oil, an acre of soybeans produces around 50 gallons of oil and corn is even worse at 20 gallons!

So, although biodiesel seems like a good idea, if it is to be produced in large quantities and at competitive prices, a new source will be required.

Enter algae, once regarded as a nuisance, algae is now being shown in a new light. One acre of algae will produce approximately 10,000 gallons of biodiesel per year (around 200x more efficient than corn). This incredible output is one of the major reasons why many believe that algae biodiesel could be the fuel of the future. It would take just 15000 square miles of algae farms to produce enough biodiesel to power all the vehicles in the USA!

It is even possible to create cost effective algae biodiesel on a small scale, even at home simply for personal use. The process is fairly simple and does not require a great deal of knowledge and skill, reducing or eliminating your dependence on fossil fuels while reducing cost of fuel (small scale biodiesel from algae can be produced for less than $1 per gallon). Algae biodiesel has a number of advantages over other fuels:-

• Algae are not food crops and therfore have no effect on crop prices nor do they displace food production
• Algae grow fast even in areas not suited to conventional crops and no fresh water is requires, algae will thrive in saltwater environments as long there is sunshine
• Algae sequesters massive amounts of CO2 from the atmosphere. Algae was in fact responsible for creating the Earths present day oxygen rich atmosphere millions of years ago by recycling CO2 and producing oxygen