Sapphire Energy turns algae into ‘green crude’ for fuel
Los Angeles Times (sent to me by a friend)
A San Diego company said Wednesday that it could turn algae into oil, producing a green-colored crude yielding ultra-clean versions of gasoline and diesel without the downsides of biofuel production.
The year-old company, called Sapphire Energy, uses algae, sunlight, carbon dioxide and non-potable water to make “green crude” that it contends is chemically equivalent to the light, sweet crude oil that has been fetching more than $130 a barrel in New York futures trading.
This is almost certainly the portable energy solution of the future. It takes advantage of existing infrastructure, it is economically viable (current estimates are about the same as getting oil from oil sands or deep sea extraction) and fairly environmentally friendly.
It also has the nice feature of not starving anyone to produce it.
I expect that future advances in the process and some genetic engineering of the algae will make this even more economical.
Now this has the potential of being a bit of a “stir”.
One of NZ’s larger insurance companies has an on-going campaign using the Australian penchant for nicking things NZ as their own – like claiming Phar Lap as an Aussie icon, several of the modern NZ pop groups were said to be “Australian”, and Scott Dixon has now been claimed (though the Brisbane paper was careful to point out that he was “Brisbane born”. Yes he was, to NZ parents and he returned to NZ at the age of about 6 weeks if I heard the story right).
Anyhoos, now we have the Cal-eye-for-nay-ans getting in on the act as well.
Well, from the 16th June, you will be able to read this in full.
“Biofuels are getting bad press, but a Nelson-based company believes it can deliver a fuel the world is waiting for. If its revolutionary algae-harvesting scheme succeeds – and some experts have their doubts – it will change our world.”
Essentially it is going to be the same old problem.
Do you get more out than you have to put in…