Algea from city waste. A common idea actually going forward.

In biofuels there are few unique ideas. What really constitutes a breakthrough (much like artistic projects) isn't the concept but finding a patron to move a project from the drawing board to demonstration.

Reuters UK reports a Dutch experiment going forward. Dutch biotechnology firm Ingrepro is the project developer moving waste streams into biomass.

"The waste of biomethane (biogas) plants has very rich nutrients left over. At the moment they just pump it to the river or throw it away -- but we say next to these biomethane plants you need to build algal ponds to grow biomass."

What I like about this is the co-locate with an existing methane recovery program. The fact that you already have an existing successful energy project sweetens the deal. In a future where CO2 off-set projects are going to be looking for easy to utilize methane to capture I see this as a nifty model to move algae projects forward as well.

So if the capital costs of a algae project are covered by an existing methane project with experienced technical staff capable of managing an algal operation that only leaves the cash value of monetizing the algae biomass. Ingrepro claims their market will be jet fuel.

The Future of Algea - Off-Take Production

The future of algae is finding someone willing to pay you to play with it.

I've talked to dozens of start-up entrepreneurs with dreams of phytoplankton business. All these business models with the hopes of developing a new crude oil for the next century. The "crude dreams" of oil production from an endless uber-productive super-algae that would feed the humanity protein as well as feed our insatiable vehicles carbohydrates distilled into ethanol and fats reacted into biodiesel.

The big issue though. How do you pay for the capital cost of a algae bio-reactor? The device that will take water, light, CO2 and make the bugs into an industrial input. Will angels and VC pay for the magical devices that will make algal goo. This goo in turn being cut, distilled, processed, reacted and made into the endless variety of products that we currently source from petroleum.

Deep pockets in this market though are tough to come by. What is now looking apparent is the need for someone already paying to deal with algea. A current cost stream begging for a better solution.

One such industry is commercial fish farms. To that end I came across a recent article that caught my eye. Though this is not a unique idea its still one to watch. What makes it innovative is the fact that the technology might actually work. In the word of biofuels technical talk is cheap and demonstration is worth millions in Federal funding.

From an article from Greenbang.com:

Under PetroSun’s BioFuels Aquaculture Lease Programme, participating farm operators would receive a rent incentive and monthly royalties in return for access to their pond algae. In future, farmers could also gain additional benefits from a carbon credit program, the company said.

PetroSun (a leader in algae technology in the US) has announced what I would call an interesting and very viable business model. To co-locate with fish farms that have an algae maintenance concern. Instead of these farms paying the internal cost to deal with algal growth they will get a return for partnering with PetroSun to create value from the biological reality association with commercial aquaculture.

Algae:. First biodiesel, then ethanol, now its the silver bullet hope for CO2 sequestration.

The US Department of Energy just put out a release about algae research showing amazing promise. Exciting stuff it turns out as they have mapped a sequence of genes responsible for the conversion of CO2 into sequestered carbon (as well as a host of other potential applications).

"The genome analysis of a tiny green alga has uncovered hundreds of genes that are uniquely associated with carbon dioxide capture and generation of biomass. Among the 15,000-plus genes revealed in the study are those that encode the structure and function of the specialized organelle that houses the photosynthetic apparatus, the chloroplast, which is responsible for converting light to chemical energy. The genome also provides a glimpse back through time to the last common ancestor of plants and animals."

This research is also well discussed in the most recent copy of Science magazine. I took a look at the abstract. To much science for my limited attention span but still enough to spark your imagination.
Shown is an MIT Algae Bioreactor. If you've ever wondered what one looked like, here it is. Pretty much they all look like variations of the same thing. Similar to older solar systems only green. For more about MIT's bioreactor shown and a YouTube interview go to this Sustainable Design Update post.