algae biofuel (2)

A new greenhouse facility has been opened in California with the aim of enabling the next level of research and testing of an algae biofuels programme. ExxonMobil and Synthetic Genomics are behind the facility in La Jolla, CA, which was opened yesterday and moves the project from a laboratory setting to an environment that founder [...]

Aerospace firm, EADS has become the first to publicly fly an aircraft powered on pure biofuel made from algae. The company known for its Airbus aircraft is the first to showcase a working example of a craft powered by the cutting-edge fuel as an aviation show opened.   The firm displayed its biofuel-powered Diamond Aircraft [...]

For new vehicle fuels to emerge as viable alternatives to petrol and diesel they rely on serious financial backing – and that is exactly what a large scale algae biofuels project has received in Canada. The Canadian government has awarded approximately C$5million to a project to produce fuels on a large scale from algae grown [...]

Toyota may be well established as the hybrid car leader but it hasn’t turned its attention away from other alternative fuels. According to a report in The Nikkei, Toyota will team up with Chuo University and Japan’s Agriculture Ministry to begin a research project with the aim to produce biofuel from the algae Pseudochoricystis. One [...]

A group of biotechnology and biofuel companies and trade associations have appealed for an extension to the tax credits offered for cellulosic biofuels. They want the extension to apply for four years and also believe that algae biofuels should qualify for the credits as well as creating an option for monetising the tax credits as [...]

Students at Illinois University have found a novel new way to produce biofuel and recycle unwanted electronic goods at the same time. Using old computer parts, researchers at the university developed a new algae-growing tank they call Bio-Grow. Using various computer parts, the students developed a reservoir in which they could cultivate algae which could [...]

Heating and squishing microalgae in a pressure cooker may be a new and quicker method for producing bio-oil from the organism. Researchers from the University of Michigan say that the new method of processing the fuel source ‘can fast-forward the crude-oil-making process from millennia to minutes.’ University of Michigan professors are working to understand and [...]

Two companies have decided to combine their efforts in a bid to produce commercial scale algae-based facilities and off-take arrangements with a global reach. Algenol Biofuels Inc and Valero Services Inc have entered into the joint development agreement – Algenol is an algae-to-ethanol company, while Valero Energy Corporation of which Valero Services is a subsidiary, [...]

Could algae to methane fuel meet half of the US’s transportation fuel needs? That’s the verdict from researchers at Auburn University who are proposing the development of algae farms where carbon dioxide (CO2) is received from carbon capture and converted biologically to CNG and LNG transportation fuels. The researchers believe that the open ponds in [...]

The development of algae-based biofuels has received a boost after the US Department of Energy decided to award up to $85million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act towards their growth. The fuels that will benefit include renewable hydrocarbon fuels; and advanced, infrastructure-compatible cellulosic biofuels such as ‘drop in’ renewable hydrocarbon fuels. The DOE is [...]