How Green Can Algae Be?

59 Pages·2011·5.1 MB·English

How Green Can Algae Be?
Alternative Energy from the
Chesapeake Algae Project
Bill Cooke, Karl Kuschner
Dennis Manos, Gene Tracy
Physics Department
College of William and Mary
University of Virginia, December 2, 2011
Can Biofuel Supply Our Need?
Qatar (590)
US (250)
Ranking countries
according to their
China (41)
per capita energy
use.
Bangladesh (5)
University of Virginia, December 2, 2011
Solar Power Requires Area
Qatar (80)
US (31)
China (136)
Bangladesh (1063)
Use population density as the horizontal axis
University of Virginia, December 2, 2011
What’s available from the sun?
US
http://www.inference.phy.cam.ac.uk/sustainable/book/data/powerd/PPPersonVsPDen2.png
University of Virginia, December 2, 2011
Why Algae is Exciting
DARPA projects
claim algae
biodiesel at 2000
gal/acre-yr
University of Virginia, December 2, 2011
Algae out-produces all other plants
US (31)
University of Virginia, December 2, 2011
Using algae biofuel farms can be small!
100 million
acres of algae
could eliminate
all US oil
imports!
University of Virginia, December 2, 2011
But the farms are planned for
non-arable land in the west
University of Virginia, December 2, 2011
With its own set of problems
• Water
• Nutrients
• Transportation
• CO
2
Sapphire Energy plant in Las Cruces, NM
University of Virginia, December 2, 2011
Algae fuel could be a major Greenhouse Gas
Problem
A full life cycle analysis shows that making and using algae
biodiesel generates as much GHG as burning fossil fuel.
Major Contributors:
• Drying algae
• Fertilizing algae
• Water control
Environmental Life Cycle Comparison
of Algae to Other Bioenergy
Michael Matturro, Exxon-Mobil
Feedstocks
C L A R E N S , et al.
Corporate Programs Laboratory,
McIntire School of Commerce
Algal Biomass Summit
University of Virginia
October 25, 2011
Environ. Sci. Technol. 2010, 44, 1813–181
University of Virginia, December 2, 2011