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| Joined: | Mon Nov 21st, 2005 |
| Location: | California USA |
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And the fourth-generation fuels?
We're using a unique type of algae that we've genetically engineered to turn sunlight and CO2 into C8 and C10 and larger lipids. The people that initially grew algae viewed it as farming—you know, you grow a bunch of algae and then you harvest it. But it's totally different if the algae are chemical factories. Ours continuously secrete these molecules, so we get constant production of something that can basically be used right away as biodiesel.
So they perform better than traditional biofuels—but will they actually be better for the environment?
Because we actually have to feed them concentrated CO2, we can take CO2 streams from power plants, cement plants and other places. People view CO2 as a contaminant—they want to bury it in the ground or pump it into wells to hide or sequester it. We want to take all that waste product and convert it into fuel.
If the smallest modular unit can produce more power (algae fuel) than the cost of production (purchasing power including the cost of construction and maintenance of the smallest modular unit) then anyone who can afford to invest in the smallest unit can farm their own motor fuel.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ToojK_MJd0