Pond Scum Power

Here’s another entry vying to be the next big source-crop for biofuels: algae.

Yes, green pond scum can be cultivated, harvested, and converted into fuel,
and a company called Solix Biofuels, is trying to commercialize the idea. In an
article in Popular Science, the company point out several advantages that algae has over crops such as soy, corn or canola, which make it great for growing in high-volume.

For starters, algae grows in water rather than dirt, which means it can be cultivated just about anywhere, not just on a farm. Solix plans to grow algae in long, tubular, plastic bags filled with water. They are clear, so sunlight can shine on the “crop” from every direction.

Perhaps more importantly, algae doesn’t require much in the way of nutrients. Water, sunlight, and carbon dioxide are pretty much all an algae farm needs, and the crop grows quickly. As a result, Solix says that algae can produce more fuel in less space than other plants.

The company estimates that it would take 140 billion gallons of biodiesel to satisfy the United State’s total need for petroleum-based fuel for a year, and that it would take about 3 billion acres of soybeans to produce that much gas. Canola is much more efficient, requiring just 1 billion acres. Unfortunately, there are only about 425 million acres of arable land in the county (and don’t forget we need a lot of that to grow food).

But algae only needs 95 million acres, and it doesn’t have to be 95 million acres of farmland. In fact, the best place to put an algae-growing operation is next to a power plant, where the green stuff can live on carbon-dioxide emissions. Hmmm, it uses space that nobody really wants to use for anything, and sucks up greenhouse gas emissions? What’s not to like here?