The Dow Chemical Company is planning to team up with Algenol Biofuels to build and operate an algae-based integrated bio-refinery to produce ethanol.
Algenol submitted a formal request for a grant from the US Department of Energy last week with the intention of building a refinery that would be based at Dow’s Freeport site in Texas. If the grant is approved, Dow and other collaborators will work with Algenol to demonstrate the technology to prove it can be implemented on a commercial scale.
Dow is also planning to develop the advanced materials and speciality forms for the photo-bioreactor system, as well as providing the technology and expertise to water treatment solutions and giving Algenol access to a carbon dioxide (CO2) source for the bio-refinery from a nearby manufacturing facility.
The direct to ethanol process used by Algenol links sugar production to photosynthesis, with naturally occurring enzymes within individual algae cells. This enhances the algae to produce ethanol while being resistant to high temperatures.
The CO2 is supplied to the algae in the photo-bioreactors and serves as a carbon source for the ethanol produced. The result is that the CO2 is converted into more sustainable fuels and chemicals.
