More News: Algae

[Brando14100]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/mcclatchy/20081 ... hy/3116644

Cool stuff. Would never have thought this could be used as a fuel.

8-)

[H]

Why not? Algae turns black in its refuse/death process. Petroleum is the result of organic creatures' death refuse, accumulating over eons. With our current use of petroleum, we'll never die fast nor, certainly, soon enough; I doubt algae production can keep up, either.

8-)

[Mushroom_Farmer]

 This really isn't anything "new." It has only once again popped to the surface due to the previous cost of crude. I remember experiments going as far back as the 1970s. The technolgy is only driven by high oil prices and the recent fall in crude prices has once again made this economically unfeasable. It seems that the only engine that pushes these technologies is to have the cost of oil be above $100 per barrel. Not exactly the perfect model for energy independance, is it?
 The problem is feeding the algae the massive amounts of CO2 needed to feed it. Building these algae farms next to coal power plants to harvest the CO2 is being considered.
 I saw another another project a while back where solar energy was being used to heat the algae to maintain optimum temperature and speed up the process.

[Steve M]

[quote]

[flyboy 28]

Let me know when I can power my car with my own methane emissions. Then I'll be impressed.

[Steve M]

Let me know when I can power my car with my own methane emissions. Then I'll be impressed.

 Now you may be toying with noise pollution.  ;D

[Mushroom_Farmer]

[quote]
Just to add to this the use of corn and soy for biofuels has already driven up our prices at the grocery stores, somewhat anyway. When we are at a gas pump that says 10% ethanol it is likely made from fermented corn. Not sure if its cattle corn or sweet corn, but it uses acreage that would otherwise have been used for food crops. Great for the farms to get a good return on crops. I wonder what spin off effects algae could have?
     

[Brando14100]

Let me know when I can power my car with my own methane emissions. Then I'll be impressed.

No, what you gotta' do is get a cow and collect the "emissions" from that:




8-)

[Mushroom_Farmer]

Let me know when I can power my car with my own methane emissions. Then I'll be impressed.

No, what you gotta' do is get a cow and collect the "emissions" from that:




8-)

EPA Approved Bovine Emmisions Collector.