Some Knowledge

Scientists are working on ways to grow algae for fuel.  Certain species of algae produce large quantities of oil.  Using water, carbon dioxide, and sunlight, algae can produce all the fuel the world needs.  Algae is more productive per acre of pond area than most crops and can continue to grow and be harvested year round in suitable climates.  There is little waste in an algae operation, as the plant produces oils, starches, and protein that can be used as feedstocks for fuel production or for food.

An algae farm, or any other farm for that matter, is just a way of converting solar energy to chemical energy.  Photosynthesis is a means of capturing the energy of sunlight.  The advantages of farming over other forms of solar energy is that large areas of land can be covered with some crop and large amounts of sunlight can be captured in a form that is easily utilized by machinery.

The overall efficiency of photosynthesis for converting sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water into carbohydrates is approximately 6.6%.  This is not as efficient as good solar cells.  This is also the plant efficiency, and will be lower when energy inputs for processing are factored in.  There is some waste involved in any biofuel operation.  This waste will occur from costs for drying the product, extraction of oils, fermentation of starches into ethanol, and other costs such as transportation and further refinement.

The overall efficiency of any biofuel operation could be improved by just drying and burning the crop directly in a high-efficiency steam turbine electrical powerplant.  The whole point of growing  algae would be to derive fuel that could be used in motor vehicles, airplanes, and for other uses like home heating.  As the price of petroleum goes up, the economic payoff for an algae farm increases.  The cost inputs of an algae farm are for land, pond construction, maintenance, harvesting, drying, and further processing.  Once set up, however, the system could continue to run with only input from sunlight.

Many of the species of algae being studied for farming are marine species.  This means that algae farms might be located in warm coastal regions where they could draw seawater for their ponds directly from the ocean.  There are algae farms under construction in Texas now, and some in operation in Arizona recycling carbon dioxide from a power plant.  It has been estimated that it would take algae farms equivalent in area to the state of Maryland to supply the United States with fuel.  An area the size of Texas could supply the entire world with oil.

As with any other large scale venture, farming algae for fuel will require a lot of capital.  It costs a lot of money to construct such huge operations.  Algae farms could power the entire world, but it would require a large investment in land and refineries to make this energy available to people.  When the petroleum begins to run out, algae farms may be a good way to supply the world with the power it needs.  As the petroleum was originally made by algae in the ancient seas of earth, this is not such a strange idea.  Man has always used nature to survive, and will continue to do so in the future.