Low-Cost Algae Biofuel Production Soon

Military scientists in the US think that the advent of reduced-cost biofuel production from algae – putting the process on an equal par with fossil fuel incineration in financial terms – is mere months away. The scientists represent Darpa (the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) and their February 2010 announcement could mark the beginning of the end of drawing on fossil fuels as a means of power production.

Low-cost renewable energy source-based fuel has potential applications way beyond the needs of the US military – universal applications, in fact.

Algae Biofuel

Darpa’s scientists have already managed to extract oil from algae at a $2/gallon price. Now – said Darpa representative Barbara McQuiston - they intend to launch a refinement programme to make algae jet biofuel out of this oil, and to keep the price below $3/gallon. The whole scenario could – ultimately – represent another instance of a military technology that ends up becoming mainstream. “Everyone is well aware that a lot of things were started in the military”, McQuiston stressed.

The Pentagon is actively trying to lower the US military’s reliance on oil: at present, the USAF, US Army, US Navy and other branches consume an annual total of up to 75 million barrels of it, although it’s the Air Force that uses the majority.

“Darpa has achieved the base goal to date”, McQuiston added. ”Oil from algae is projected at $2 per gallon, headed towards $1 per gallon.”

Algae as Fuel

Use of algae as a fuel source has an advantage over corn-based fuels: food supplies are not imperilled because of it. And because developing algae absorbs atmospheric CO2, the fuel it produces could be considered carbon-neutral in one sense, since the burning process reinstates the carbon back into the atmosphere again. That doesn’t take into account associated fuel processing and transportation emissions, however.

The US military’s ultimate aim is for renewable energy source-based fuels to make up 50 per cent of its overall fuel needs within the next six years. With this in mind, the USAF wants every aircraft type within its inventory to have carried out a biofuels test flight within coming months. Environmental concerns power this goal, as do cost issues, but another factor is the impact that non-fossil fuel power could have in preserving human life: fuel would not need to be transported through frequently hostile terrain, such as in Afghanistan.

“In Afghanistan, if you could be able to create jet fuel from indigenous sources and rely on that, you'd not only be able to source energy for the military, but you'd also be able to leave an infrastructure that would be more sustainable”, McQuiston said, in reference to this.

See also:

New Biofuel Created

US Military Alternative Aircraft Fuel Research Site