ALGAE BIOFUELS ROADMAP

DOE Sees Long Road Ahead for Algae Fuels
Jenny Mandel, June 29, 2010 (NY Times)

"Biofuels squeezed from the cells of purpose-grown algae hold promise to help meet the country's need for non-petroleum fuels, but the technology is at an early stage and will require years of development to reach commercialization, the Energy Department said…

"DOE's National Algal Biofuels Technology Roadmap…aims to summarize the state of technology today and point to directions for future work, dives into great detail on the biology of various kinds of algae, means of cultivating and harvesting them, and how they can be processed into fuel."

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"The paper offers little guidance on what strategies hold the most promise to replace petroleum-derived fuels in the long term. But it paints a picture of the extensive research that will be needed to do so…[It] suggests that many years of both basic and applied science and engineering will likely be needed to achieve affordable, scalable, and sustainable algal-based fuels…

"Al Darzins, a contributor to the report and group manager with the National Bioenergy Center at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, stressed… that algae is far less developed, technologically, than biodiesel fuel or corn ethanol…He pointed to the need for work on robust strains of algae and genetically enhanced strains to optimize qualities useful in fuel production, as well as in devising growth systems like open ponds or closed containers that will allow for inexpensive algae 'farming.'"

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"…[R]esearchers are working on building comprehensive life-cycle models of algae fuel production that can be customized for economic analyses on various approaches…[T]hey will help scientists focus on the most difficult and expensive parts of the process in search of ways to have the largest and most immediate impact on the overall economics of fuel production.

"One of the most promising characteristics of algae-based biofuels is the potential to create "drop-in" fuels that would work seamlessly with the existing transportation infrastructure -- unlike ethanol, which cannot be transported in gasoline pipelines or used at full concentration in conventional engines…Liquid fuels also pack more energy per unit of volume than do batteries, making them preferable in some respects for vehicles and…indispensable for some kinds of transportation like heavy trucks, railroads and aircraft…"