Great News: I paid > $3.00/gallon for gas today

[Ivan Seeking]

Hi This is Tarun from India.
I am a microbiology student.I would like to do project on oilgae.So anyone can tell me which strain of algae gives good amount of oil and which is the proper method for the oil extraction?
I am new to this forums, anything wrong please forgive me.
waiting for your precious answer
Tarun

Hi Tarun,
There are at least hundreds of strains that could be viable. Probably one of the most famous is botryococcus braunii, which has a high yield by weight but is slow growing. Many others have been and are being investigated, and note that there are even a number of bbraunii strains that might be considered. Right now the goal is to identify the best strain for the location, and then to hybridize that strain for maximum oil yields by weight, and maximum growth rates.

Note that development of cost effective photobioreactors [PBRs]is critical.

As for extraction, this is also a key aspect of the process. It is very energy intensive so people are working hard to develop the most cost effective, and the most energy effective methods. Here are some that are discussed in the links below.

Expression/Expeller press
Hexane solvent extraction
Supercritical Fluid Extraction
Enzymatic Extraction
Osmotic shock
Ultrasonic-assisted extraction -

The classic method of doing this is by using a combination of pressing, and solvents like hexane.
Here are a few links that provide a good deal of information
http://www.oilgae.com/algae/oil/yield/yield.html
http://forums.biodieselnow.com/default.aspx

This is considered to be the bible of the industry - the original work on this by the US Dept of Energy
http://www1.eere.energy.gov/biomass/pdfs/biodiesel_from_algae.pdf

[Note] Some algaes are better than others for producing biodiesel. Some BBs may lack the triglycerides needed for the transesterification process.

 

[Astronuc]

I paid less the $2.70/gal for regular in parts of the NE recently, but locally its about $2.89/gal.

Meanwhile - Biodiesel Demand Grows Across Continents
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14063007

Germany

Europe is the king of biodiesel; it makes an estimated 77 percent of all biodiesel, worldwide, and Germany alone makes half of this amount. Part of the secret to its success has been a tax break at the pump.

Berliner Dieter Weigel says he buys biodiesel because of the tax break. He filled up his station wagon with 100 percent biodiesel before heading on vacation this month.

"It's 10 cents cheaper. The environmental aspect is not so important," Weigel says. "I think people should drive less for the environment, and not fill up biodiesel."

Biodiesel is made in Germany with rapeseed oil, a seed similar to canola. In most cars, it mixes easily with ordinary diesel. Its share of the market is expected to grow as Europe pushes for 10 percent of transport fuels — and 20 percent of overall energy use — to be renewable by 2020.

But is the German system sustainable and is it economical on a larger scale?

 

[cristo]

I don't see why people are complaining about $3 gas, ppl in Denmark pay $7+

I agree-- here in the UK we're paying about £1 per litre.. which is a lot more than $3 a gallon!