THE FUEL OF THE FUTURE COMES FROM THE SEA
That is the conclusion of an article in a recent MAN newsletter, from which we quote here. The production of biofuel from algae is currently one of the hottest stories in the already booming green energy market. Just a few years ago it was mocked as a fantasy: now, even the US Department of Defense has ordered 76,000 liters of algae-derived biodiesel from the Californian start-up company Solarzyme, in order to conduct comprehensive testing. BP has invested $10 million in the new technology; Microsoft founder Bill Gates, has also come on board with $60 million.
“It isn’t difficult to get excited over algae,” comments Raya Widenoya, a biofuel expert with the Worldwatch Institute in Washington, DC. The marine organisms create biomass from the climatically dangerous gas carbon dioxide of all sources—with the help of merely a few nutrients and sunlight. And they are enormously productive: “On a one hectare field you might be able to harvest something like six tons of wheat, or 10 tons of corn in a year. With algae cultivation, the same area will yield 30 to 50 tons of biomass,” explains Olaf Kruse, Professor of Algae Biotechnology at the University of Bielefeld, Germany. Multiple harvests are possible, not just one per year, as is cultivation on fallow land or even in the desert—so unlike other energy plants, they would not compete with food crops for growing space.
As for the type of fuel, here the micro organisms offer a number of alternatives. Out of some 8,000 known species of algae, some store an oil content of up to 80 percent, from which biodiesel can be produced by esterification—namely through the addition of methanol and a liquid catalyst such as sulfuric acid. Algae-based biomass is also suitable for the production of biogas, and a few species even produce pure hydrogen, which can be used directly as a fuel. Even multiple exploitation is a possible option, by first generating oil and then using the residue to produce biogas. The hitch, however, is that the technology is still ten times too expensive to compete with petroleum-based fuels.
Nevertheless, many engaged in the green technology industry believe that algae-based biofuels are more than just a hopeful silver lining on the horizon. After all, other substances for alternative fuel production have failed to live up to the initial enthusiasm they called forth, and have increasingly acquired a poor reputation. “Back in 2006, making bioethanol from corn still seemed like a miracle,” says Steve Kay of the University of California in San Diego, who directs the San Diego Algae Biotechnology Center, an association composed of 16 companies and research institutes. “It then turned out that ethanol production from corn was causing considerable damages. We simply need new forms of energy production that are environmentally acceptable.”
As Eberhard Hipp, head of Pre-Development at MAN Nutzfahrzeuge, explains: “Especially trucks and buses will remain dependent on liquid fuels on the basis of diesel, if with differing admixtures. The emissions standard currently in effect ensures that conventional diesel fuel is also completely consumed. In its engine development, MAN is open for the diversification of fuels and pursues its research in a target-oriented fashion.”
