Bioalgene

Every drop of oil on earth comes from the buildup of algae and other natural residue... buried, compressed, and eventually drilled--supplying our energy for over a century (and still counting).

And, consider that we're going to deplete that resource in less than 300 years, what took millions of years to form. So, with the inevitable global depletion of oil, and the desire for energy independence, alternative forms of energy have begun to emerge.

Algae is a leading contender.

Research at leading universities suggests that algae could supply enough fuel to meet all of America's transportation needs in the form of biodiesel... using a scant 0.2% of America's land.

In fact, enough algae can be grown to replace all transportation fuels in the U.S. on only 15,000 square miles, or 4.5 million acres of land.

Technology exists right now to cultivate algae that can be used as fuel, using municipal, agriculture and industrial waste as nutrients.

Some strains contain 20 to 40 percent fats, suitable for biodiesel. The U.S. government has been experimenting with algae off and on for 18 years. There may be hundreds of thousands of species not yet identified. Like plants, algae require primarily four components to grow:

• Sunlight
• Carbon-dioxide
• Water
• Nutrients

Photosynthesis is an important biochemical process in which plants, algae, and some bacteria convert the energy of sunlight to chemical energy. The existing large-scale natural sources of algae are: Bogs, marshes & swamps - Salt marshes and salt lakes. Microalgae contain lipids (fats) and fatty acids as membrane components, storage products, metabolites and sources of energy. Algae contain anywhere between 2% and 40% of lipids/oils by weight. To extract the oil, the following process is necessary:

• Cell lysis (breaking the cell wall)
• Separation of lipids from the biomass  
• Processing into biofuel
• Utilization of remaining biomass

Petroleum is widely believed to have had its origins in kerogen, which is easily converted to an oily substance under conditions of high pressure and temperature. Kerogen is formed from algae, biodegraded organic compounds, plankton, bacteria, plant material, etc., by biochemical and/or chemical reactions. Several studies have been conducted to simulate petroleum formation by pyrolysis. On the basis of these findings, it can be inferred that algae grown in CO2-enriched air can yield oil that can be converted into biodiesel. Such an approach can contribute to solving two major problems: air pollution resulting from CO2 emissions, and a future crises due to a shortage of energy sources.