Domestic Fuel

All energy of the bio variety – biomass, biogas, biodiesel and biofuels – were represented at the 4th International Biomass Conference and Expo on Monday during a panel featuring executives of seven different industry organizations.

Moderator Tom Bryan, Vice President of BBI International, asked the panel was what the top priorities for their organizations are this year.

“Just getting parity for algae,” said Algal Biomass Organization Executive Director Mary Rosenthal. She says they are also working on educating lawmakers about algae and keeping the funding they currently have for development from departments of energy, agriculture and defense.

Charlie Niebling with the Biomass Thermal Energy Council said they would like to see thermal incorporated into a true federal Clean Energy Standard. “We still face real challenges in just making sure people understand the role that thermal plays in addressing energy challenges in our country,” he said.

Biomass Power Association CEO Robert Cleaves says they support the development of a federal Clean Energy Standard as well and they want to retain the USDA Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP). “BCAP for existing facilities may be the only game in town as a bridge to somewhere,” he said.

Inclusion and parity are also important for biogas, as well as working on a fundamental change in waste management. “Discontinuing policies that simply take all this organic matter, put it in a hole in the ground and create environmental issues. Instead we need to create policies to divert that to higher, better and multiple uses.” said Norma McDonald of the American Biogas Council.

For members of the Renewable Fuels Association, president Bob Dinneen says what is most important is education and certainty. “We’re looking at a situation where our tax incentive expires the end of this year,” Dinneen said. “What we’re trying to do is get to some reform of the existing incentive that reflects the fact that the industry has indeed grown, that will allow the industry to continue to grow and evolve, but do so in response to fiscal realities in Washington DC now.”

“The biodiesel industry is an example of what can happen when you have total policy failures in Washington DC,” said Joe Jobe with the National Biodiesel Board, referring to the non-renewal of the biodiesel tax for a year that caused many plants to shut down. Jobe says the industry is going strong again and plants are re-opening but they would like to see the tax credit extended again at the end of this year. “We just need a little more time to get a little more mature.”

Finally, Advanced Biofuels Association president Michael McAdams stressed the importance of keeping the Renewable Fuels Standard in place. “The RFS2 is the single most important public policy in the United States for first, second and third generations biofuels,” he said.

Listen the panel talk about priorities here: Biomass Conference Panel

Sun and algae go together like peanut butter and jelly. Just ask Karl Seitz, Co-Founder of Heliae. I sat down with Seitz during the Advanced Biofuels Leadership Conference in DC to learn a little more about his company and their technology. The first unique attribute of the company is their name. Heli is Greek for the sun and the ae was added for algae so their name is the combination of the sun and algae.

Heliae was formed about four years ago when the team met two professors at Arizona State University (ASU) who told them about a new process by which they could take algae and turn it into jet fuel. The more they heard and understood about the technology, the more hooked they became.

“We looked in to it more and what was of particular interest to us was that their particular strains of algae grew very rapidly, doubled its weight every day, it was high in oil content, greater than 30 percent, and it had the right oil components,” said Seitz. That means it has a component of carbon that goes from C8 to C16 and that happens to be roughly the same carbon string that kerosene has. Kerosene is the main component of aviation fuel.”

Another pro of algae, said Seitz, is that not only can you produce fuel, but also food.

Listen to my full interview with Karl Seitz: Heliae - Measuring Algae by the Barrel

I asked Seitz about their technology and how they were going to go from pilot to commercial scale. “We’re going to start off with our proprietary strains of algae and improve upon them. We do not use a GMO strain. We use a strain that has been chemically altered and provides us with higher oil content and a faster growth rate,” said Seitz. “We also combine that with our closed photobioreactor and then we use our proprietary and patented extraction formulas and techniques to get the fuel out as well as the protein and carbohydrates.”

Seitz said the other issue they are focusing on is developing algae strains that are suited for different parts of the country or different regions around the world.

There are still questions about whether or not algal fuels and products can be competitive with petroleum based fuels and products. Seitz said their initial goal was to produce one barrel per day per acre and at that rate they think they can be competitive. And while many other companies are measuring success by the liter or the gallon, Heliae is measuring success by the barrel. The reason is that the world needs billions of barrels of renewable fuels to replace just aviation fuels. So in the future, Heliae hopes to play a major role in helping the world achieve that goal.

Click here to view the Advanced Biofuels Leadership Conference flickr photo album.

“When we embarked on this project three years ago, we thought by the time we reached commercial scale, like we have today, there would be plenty of demand for algae biomass to produce these products,” said Todd Becker, CEO of Green Plains Renewable Energy (GPRE) during the dedication of BioProcess Algae’s Grower Harvester bioreactors. This dedication signaled the last stage to commercialization for algae fuels and by-products as part of the partnership between the two companies that was forged several years ago.

“All we wanted to do was become the farmer of this product and grow and harvest algae. What we have discovered is that we’ve moved faster than the downstream markets have developed,” said Becker.

The event was held in Shenandoah, Iowa, the home of the only co-located first and advanced biofuels plant and also the former headquarters of GPRE before growing and moving to Omaha. Today, GPRE is publicly traded, is the fourth largest producer of ethanol in the U.S and owns and operates nine ethanol plants in six states. Directly employing nearly 600 people, the company expects revenues for 2011 to reach the $3 billion mark.

But maybe why GPRE is so excited about this project, is that they are demonstrating to the world that carbon has value. “What this represents is a true intersection between first generation technologies and advanced technology. What we are showing today to the world is not only does carbon have value, but carbon and other by-products from this ethanol plant, like warm water and heat, can create a product that will give Americans food, feed and fuel,” said Becker.

GPRE and BioProcess Algae have discovered as they reach commercial stage, that they will have to help create the markets for algae fuels and by-products. This month, they are beginning feed trails with Iowa State University that they hope will show the value of a high protein animal product for animal feed. In addition, they are looking to produce products for the food markets including antioxidants, pigments, Omega-3s, and protein. In the energy markets, they are looking at producing biodiesel, a biocrude product as well as producing ethanol from the algae.

So what is the vision of the project? Becker concluded, “It’s still very early days of the technology, but if successful, our vision is to create a process that captures carbon dioxide from every ethanol plant in the United States, use that input to grow and harvest algae, reduce the production plant’s carbon footprint from neutral to negative, and takes the output from the reactors, the algae, and produces next generation fuels, ethanol and energy.”

Click here to view the Flickr photo album from the BioProcess Algae/GPRE Grower Harvester event.

Scientists in the St. Louis, Missouri area are hoping to get some help from local residents in finding the ideal algae to turn into biodiesel.

During the upcoming 2nd annual Algaepalooza, held Saturday, May 7, 2011 from 10am to 4pm in the Life Science Lab at the Saint Louis Science Center, people will be able to pick up algae-collecting kits as part of the Backyard Biofuels citizen science research project:

Last year, 1,000 families and individuals were given collection kits, and approximately 170 samples were cultured in the Life Science Lab to isolate individual algae species that produce oil. More than 100 of those isolated strains were sent to the Enterprise Rent-A-Car Institute for Renewable Fuels at the Danforth Plant Science Center, where they were tested for how much oil could be made and used for biofuel production. Those that showed promise are undergoing additional tests.

“Ten samples from last year’s algae gave high readings of oil production. Such encouraging results wouldn’t be possible without the help of citizen scientists.” said Matthew Stevens, senior lab technician at the Danforth Plant Science Center who conducts the research for the Backyard Biofuels program. “This year we have a goal to identify an algae species that boast better oil productivity than last year.”

And since folks will have the option of mailing in their collection kits, organizers expect more samples this year.

Algaepalooza gives visitors the chance to talk with the research scientists behind the project and learn why algae have the potential to be a sustainable source of fuel used to power cars, trucks and jet airplanes. More information is available at backyardbiofuels.org.

The state of Pennsylvania has awarded a $1.3 million grant to Accelergy Corporation to enable construction on their integrated coal-biomass-to-liquids (CBTL) facility to move forward. The CBTL plant is located at Intertek PARC, located at the U-PARC facility in Pittsburgh. Prior to this award, the company received a $175,000 grant for a feasibility study that included recommended site locations. Once completed, the pilot plant will prove out Accelergy’s coal to liquids technology and provide the base needed to move to commercial scale technologies.

“This grant is a strong endorsement of Accelergy and its partners’ technology, and shows the commitment of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to the development of advanced technologies that leverage the state’s abundant natural resources and will bring jobs to the state,” said Tim Vail, CEO of Accelergy. “We are laying the foundation for the commercialization of the domestically sourced fuels that will power U.S. fleets and help the United States achieve its energy security goals.”

During the pilot phase of the project, Accelergy will produce and test various types of non-petroleum fuel including gasoline, diesel and jet fuel. In addition, CO2 will be utilized by algae – another source of liquid fuels. The company is also looking into the feasibility of turning the algae into a bio-fertilizer. Energy Strategy Environment LLC (ESE), a systems integration provider, will oversee the marriage of the technologies and business partners for the algae based carbon capture and recycle components of the project. Accelergy has agreements in place with the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory and the U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering (TARDEC) Center to test and certify the resulting fuels for various applications.

“Recycling industrial CO2 emission into valuable carbon feedstocks for production of additional liquid fuels creates a sustainable pathway for CBTL,” said ESE founder Mark Allen, P.E. “Algal biomass from the project will be adapted for use as a natural bio-fertilizer with the potential to reduce the use of synthetic nitrogen fertilizer and to sequester carbon in agricultural soils and reclaimed mine site soils, further benefitting the environment.”

Biomass is not just for energy. Crops like potatoes, corn, wheat, tapioca, sugar, and algae can also be used to produce plastics, or “bioplastics”, a more sustainable alternative to petroleum-based plastics. Bioplastics are biodegradable and compostable and for those consumers looking to make a “greener” choice, Cereplast has unveiled a new bioplastics logo. The winner was announced on Earth Day Eve as part of Cereplast’s “Make Your Mark” competition. Laura Howard, a graphic design student at the University of Louisville, Kentucky created the logo and was awarded $25,000 for her design that will be easily identifiable on products.

“We are excited to congratulate Laura Howard for designing a symbol that has the potential to become a revolutionary logo representing the next generation of plastics – plastics that protect and preserve our environment and are made from renewable resources,” said Frederic Scheer, Chairman and CEO of Cereplast. “The new bioplastic symbol will be used in a similar fashion to the recycling symbol as it will be stamped on products, and it will serve as an identifying mark of bioplastic material.”

Scheer continued, “Petroleum-based plastics can have a devastating impact on our environment. Approximately 300 million tons of plastic are produced globally each year.  At these quantities, we could wrap the entire planet several times over. Bioplastics offer a more respectful option for our environment, and we believe that this new symbol will help provide consumers with the tools they need to make more environmentally intelligent purchasing decisions.”

The “Make Your Mark” campaign was designed after the 1970 contest that produced the now unmistakable “recycle” logo. The bioplastics logo design campaign received over 1,500 design entries and 2.8 million public votes. The top 200 designs were then judged a panel that included Dr. Gary Anderson, creator of the recycling symbol, Dr. Michael Thielen, Publisher of bioplastics MAGAZINE, and Karim Rashid, world-class industrial designer.

“Cereplast’s bioplastic symbol could likely gain traction much faster than the recycling symbol I designed, as communication in today’s digital landscape runs at lightning speed compared to forty years ago,” said Dr. Gary Anderson, creator of the recycling symbol and “Make Your Mark” judge. “I am honored to be a part of this historic competition that has produced a symbol that will represent the environmental benefits of bioplastics.”

Arizona State University through a $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is studying the factors involved in algal crop failure known as culture “crashes.” Grazing zooplankton are considered predators to algae and can cause loss of productivity. According to scientist Qiang Hu and his research team, except for a few algal strains that can tolerate extreme growing environments, the hazard of predator contamination is so great that sustainable cultivation of many algal crops, in particular, oil-producing algal strains on a large-scale, has not been possible.

Hu is the co-director of the Arizona Center for Algal Technology and Innovation (AzCATI) / Laboratory for Algae Research and Biotechnology (LARB). He says that the cost of crop failures could be in the multi-million dollar range if zooplankton have their way. Zooplankton are microscopic animals that are often identified as amoebas, protozoans, ciliates and rotifers. All are predators on microscopic algae, which represent the base of the aquatic food chain.

“Without a detailed understanding of the factors influencing the occurrence, population dynamics, impact and control of zooplankton, it could potentially prevent algae from being a practical source of oil crops for production of bioenergy and bioproducts,” says Hu.

The team is just getting started in its study and they plan to survey zooplankton contamination in commercial algal production systems, as well as in their own algae testbed facilities located at ASU Polytechnic campus. Simultaneously, the team will determine living and non-living influencers on zooplankton, with the goal of developing an empirical model for assessment and prediction of potential impact of zooplankton contamination on overall algal culture stability and biomass production potential.

The team will use state-of-the-art bio-imaging and DNA fingerprinting techniques to help them develop a rapid, sensitive monitoring and an early warning system. At the same time, they will evaluate several innovative control measures, and ultimately develop a Best Management Practices Plan (BMPP) for prevention and treatment.

“The comprehensive BMPP will be the key to achieve sustainable production of algal feedstock, and thus enable successful commercialization of algae-based biofuels and bioproducts,” explains Hu.

“Results from the research plan to be shared widely with the biotechnology community and the algal biofuels industry, through publications and conference presentations, as well as workshops and training courses provided by LARB and AzCATI.

Some researchers say that, at current production levels, algae biodiesel is not a commercially viable product. But some algae advocates believe researchers might have some ulterior motives for coming to that conclusion.

One of the study’s authors, Dr. Peter Pfromm, a professor in Kansas State University’s department of chemical engineering, says that while they found that it’s possible to produce enough biodiesel to make it a net energy gain over the amount of energy that goes into the green fuel’s production, it won’t make money. In fact, he says the algae would have to produce perhaps three times the amount of oil it currently does in order for algae-for-biodiesel production to be economically feasible, and it would take a pond 11 square kilometers big just to grow enough algae for the green fuel to replace just .1 percent of this nation’s diesel use. Pfromm says the real work needs to go into boosting the level of oil output from the algae.

But But Barry Cohen, the executive director of the advocacy group, the National Algae Association, says Pfromm is not looking at real-world conditions, and Cohen says Pfromm’s assumption that the algae would be grown in open ponds is an old, out-dated technology, and most algae growers are using vertical photo bioreactors and fermenters. He also contends that algae researchers have a financial reason for not seeing algae commercialized as the U.S. Department of Energy is only funding research, not production, done on algae-biodiesel. He says that if researchers ever found a way to make algae-biodiesel commercially viable, that federal money for the research would dry up.

Pfromm says they received no outside money, especially no DOE money, for this project.

Hear more of what both men had to say here: Domestic Fuel Cast

You can also subscribe to the DomesticFuel Cast here.:

There are advanced biofuels on the horizon and one such fuel will be algae fuels produced from the waste streams of a first generation corn-ethanol plant. In the future, many believe that more co-located biofuel refineries are on the way and the model will be the Green Plains Renewable Energy (GPRE) / BioProcess Algae plants. BioProcess Algae is in the final stages to commercialization and last week dedicated its Grower Harvester bioreactors and announced plans for its algae farm. On hand for the event was USDA Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack, who gave the keynote speech during the event.

Vilsack stressed several key issues and one was the need to revitalize rural America and create innovative and creative jobs to bring our bright, young people back home. Today, 16 percent of our country’s population comes from rural areas like Shenandoah, Iowa, the home of the biofuels project, and 44 percent of our military comes from these areas.

“I am a great believer in American ingenuity,” began Vilsack. “I’m a great believer in the capacity of the American farmer and rancher to literally meet any challenge.”

Vilsack believes that projects such as BioProcess Algae will spread across the country and rural communities. “There’s phenomenal innovation and phenomenal growth opportunities to be able to do something for your country that needs to be done and that’s to wean ourselves off of our dependence on foreign oil,” continued Vilsack. “It’s an opportunity for us to create jobs in small towns. It’s an opportunity for American agriculture to continue to respond to the challenges it has met time after time in the country.”

Vilsack highlighted that rural America is the source for our food, most of our water and an ever increasing amount of our fuel. The algae component of the biofuels project uses carbon dioxide, waste heat and waste water from the corn ethanol plant, recycling nutrients and resources in a more efficient way. Both the corn ethanol process and soon the algae fuel process will provide food, feed and fiber.

There are four components that Vilsack believes are the secret for success in revitalizing the rural economy: significant investment dollars, innovation, networking, and a sense of place. Vilsack said these are the reasons why the USDA was supporting this project.

He concluded, “I want to congratulate the folks at BioProcess Algae and I want to congratulate the ethanol industry and the advanced biofuels industry for coming together in this operation because it’s a model for the rest of the country and it sends a strong unmistakable message the ethanol industry and the biofuels industry is here to stay and is going to play an important role in shaping not just opportunity for America but very specifically a wonderful opportunity, an unlimited opportunity for the bright young people who want to live, and work and raise their family in the greatest part of America.”

Click here to view the Flickr photo album from the BioProcess Algae/GPRE Grower Harvester event.

A company that develops 10-15 million gallon per year refining systems has signed a deal with North Carolina State University to use the school’s technology for producing biofuels from triglycerides (fats) and for producing products from genetically modified marine microalgae.

Avjet Biotech, Inc. (ABI), parent company of Red Wolf Refining, will use the technology to make aviation biofuels:

“We are delighted to have completed a license agreement with NC State following several months of discussions with the university on its advanced biofuel research,” said Marty Oliver, president of ABI. “We anticipate a major biofuel refining model will be the result of this landmark deal.”

“Following talks with the management of Avjet Biotech, I am happy to announce that we have arrived at an agreement that favors all parties involved,” said Dr. Terry Bray, senior licensing associate at NC State’s Office of Technology Transfer. “On behalf of the university, we look forward to our continuing involvement with Avjet.”

Red Wolf Refining uses a thermal catalytic process to refine any triglyceride into aviation biofuels and promotes itself as “dedicated to supporting the U.S. military in its goal to eliminate dependence on foreign oil.”

The Algal Biomass Organization (ABO) may be relatively young, having been formed in March of 2006, but they have made some significant strides in Washington, D.C. in lobbying for advanced biofuels such as algae, to play on the same field as cellulosic biofuels. I caught up with Mary Rosenthal, ABO’s executive director after her multi-day trip to D.C. to learn more about their efforts. While in DC, the 26 members met with 51 Congressional leaders from both houses. Compared to last year, Rosenthal said they doubled the amount of meetings and of those they met with, nearly 60 percent had a good base of knowledge about advanced biofuels and specifically algae. However, she noted that there was still some Algae 101 that needed to take place.

While on the ground, the ABO team had three main messages. Maybe the biggest issue is helping algal biofuels achieve parody with cellulosic fuels. Back in 2007, when the Renewable Fuels Standard was passed and since updated (RFS2), algae wasn’t really in the game. As a consequence, Rosenthal and her members are working hard to get algal biofuels included in the advanced biofuels category. In addition, cellulosic fuels currently receive a $1.01 per gallon tax credit but algal biofuels receive no tax credit. Therefore, the organization is lobbying hard to get the same tax credit extended to algae fuels. Bill HR 1149 was introduced in the Congress by Brian Bilbray (R-CA.) and this bill would give algal biofuels the same tax credit. Rosenthal said they expect a companion bill to be introduced in the Senate by Senators Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) and Bill Nelson (D-FL).

“Let’s let innovation led the way. Let’s be technology agnostic and feedstock neutral. Let’s not pick winner’s and losers. Take out the 16 billion carve out for cellulosic and open it up to any type of advanced biofuels including algae,” said Rosenthal.

In addition to these two messages, ABO also spent time reinforcing that the industry is here to create jobs. “We have more than 20,000 jobs either directly or indirectly associated with the algae industry today and we feel we can grow that more than ten-fold in 10 years,” said Rosenthal. She also said an important message was that algae is a new agricultural crop that would help rural economies.

Listen to my interview with Mary Rosenthal here: The Algal Biomass Organization Goes to Washington

I asked Rosenthal how long it would be before we see commercial scale algal biofuel production. While it’s hard to know for sure, Rosenthal is excited about the technology breakthroughs that are happening and she believes we’re about 5 years away. She has the opportunity to see what’s in the pipeline before others and she’s really excited about what’s coming next. Rosenthal participated in BioProcess Algae’s dedication of their Grower Harvester bioreactors on April 15 and she said more major technology breakthrough’s will be announced during their 5th Algae Biomass Summit October 25-27, 2011 in Minneapolis, Minn.

The next step for the group is to continue monitoring HR 1149 and its companion bill and they will also be paying close attention to the upcoming farm bill. She believes that policy makers are now aware of algae and open to its benefits and as a result, anticipates that algae will be included in energy and agricultural policy moving forward.

On Friday April 15, BioProcess Algae, dedicated its Grower Harvester bioreactors signaling the final phase of construction for its commercial scale algae biorefinery. On hand for the event in Shenandoah, Iowa, were USDA Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack along with Green Plains Renewable Energy (GRPE) CEO Todd Becker and Mary Rosenthal, the executive director of the Algal Biomass Association. After touring the biorefinery, Vilsack delivered the keynote address to a standing room only crowd, despite the cold and raining Iowa weather.

The BioProcess Algae technology is unique in several ways; one in that it is sited next to a first generation corn-ethanol plant owned by GPRE. The algae plant utilizes the carbon dioxide (CO2) from the ethanol process to grow the algae. The plant also utilizes the waste heat and waste water from the ethanol plant, creating in essence, one symbiotic biorefinery that will produce biofuels, feed and fiber.

Tim Burns, CEO of BioProcess Algae said during his presentation that they couldn’t have a better partnership in GPRE. He also said that in terms of co-location, he sees the modern day future in farms. “When you fly over Iowa 10 or 15 years from now, you’re going to see corn and soy but you’re going to see concentric circles of algae farms taking the

“This is going to become the big source for feed and fuel for our country and its also going to have a trajectory, in our opinion, similar to the ethanol industry.” Burns believes that the costs to produce algal biofuels will lower dramatically as more and more technologies come to market just as they have with corn-ethanol production over the past 30 plus years.

The first concentric circle of algae will be located right in Shenandoah. “The next step for us is to take our commercial scale reactors and build out an algae farm at our ethanol plant in Shenandoah, which can provide inputs needed for feed, food and next generation algae-based fuels,” said Todd Becker, CEO of GPRE. “The co-location at an ethanol plant has proven to be the right platform to rapidly commercialize the technology.”

As Vilsack and Burns “cut the ribbon,” simultaneously the Grower Harvester bioreactors lit up in the background. With Phase II officially under way, Burns believes commercial scale algae fuels production is less than 2 years away.

You can see photos from the event in my Flickr Photo Album.

In a new study released by the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (NPPL), algal fuels could replace 17 percent of the United States’ imported oil by 2020. The paper was published in the journal of Water Resources Research but warned that biofuels production, including algal fuels, can require a lot of water so the study cautioned that being smart about where the algae is grown can reduce the water needed. Researchers concluded that water use could be drastically reduced if the algae is grown in the sunniest and most humid climates including the Gulf Coast, the Southeastern Seaboard and the Great Lakes.

“Algae has been a hot topic of biofuel discussions recently, but no one has taken such a detailed look at how much America could make – and how much water and land it would require — until now,” said Mark Wigmosta, lead author and a PNNL hydrologist. “This research provides the groundwork and initial estimates needed to better inform renewable energy decisions.”

The research team’s goal was to provide the first in-depth assessment of algal biofuels potential based on the amount of available land and water. The study also factored in how much water would need to be replaced due to evaporation over 30 years. The research analyzed previously published data to determine how much algae could be grown in outdoor, fresh water ponds when using current technologies. The study did not factor in algae grown in salt water and covered ponds.

When taking into account various factors, the research team determined that 21 billion gallons of algal oil, the amount equal to the advanced biofuels category of the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS2), could be produced by algae by 2022.

The researchers found that 21 billion gallons of algal oil, equal to the 2022 advanced biofuels goal set out by the Energy Independence and Security Act, can be produced from American-grown algae. This amount equates to 17 percent of the oil that the U.S. imported in 2008 for transportation fuels. To achieve this amount, the researchers estimate that the amount of land needed to produce this number would be approximately the size of the state of South Carolina. They also found that it would take 350 gallons of water per gallon of oil — or a quarter of what the country currently uses for irrigated agriculture — to produce 21 billion gallons of algal biofuel.

The study also concluded that up to 48 percent of the current transportation oil imports could be replaced with algae, but this higher production level would require significantly more water and land. Therefore the authors focused their research on the U.S. regions that would use less water to grow algae.
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Often times, it appears that people pit first generation biofuel technologies against second generation biofuel technologies. This leads me to ask the question, Why can’t we all get along? Well, now we can with the convergence of conventional ethanol technologies and emerging algal biomass technologies being developed by BioProcess Algae.

BioProcess Algae is based in Portsmouth, Rhode Island and the company is designing, manufacturing and operating systems that enable controlled, economical cultivation of algal biomass using attached growth technology. According to CEO Tim Burns, the technology was developed through its water company, BioProcess H2O when they looked at the attached growth platform and how using their fixed films could be used as an effective way to grow algae. So in 2008 they formed BioProcess Algae, which is the sum of four companies: BioProcess H2O, Clarcor, Green Plains Renewable Energy, and NTR.

Fast forward to 2011. Burns said the company has developed a three-prong business strategy to commercialize the technology. In partnership with Green Plains Renewable Energy (GPRE), they selected Shenandoah, Iowa to be the site where they prove out their technology at commercial scale. In a very simple terms, BioProcess Algae is using the plant’s CO2 emissions (aka flue gas) as a nutrient source to grow the algae. The plants also share waste water and waste heat.

Burns explained that the first phase began in October 2009 when they first integrated their Grower Harvester bioreactors directly to the plant’s CO2 exhaust gases. During this initial phase, they developed a set of metrics that included productivity and uptime targets. They exceeded all of their targets. Next, Phase 2 began. They have completed a 4,000 square foot facility that houses all the infrastructure needed to support their bioreactors including full process control and dewatering.

So what exactly does this sharing of resources mean for both technologies in terms of efficiency and production costs?
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VG Energy, a subsidiary of Viral Genetics, has hired BioProcess Algae to verify the lab results for its biofuel process. VG Energy is preparing to take its process to commercial scale. On the pilot scale level, the company’s proprietary technology has produced algal-biofuels at prices they believe will be competitive with or better than current oil prices. However, before they make that claim at commercial scale production, VG Energy is looking for third-party scientific verification.

“VG Energy’s technology has shown great promise as a viable and cost-effective additive for alternative energy sources,” said Haig Keledjian, CEO of VG Energy and Viral Genetics. “We are thrilled to be working with BioProcess Algae to take the next steps and move from the laboratory to a viable production setting.”

VG Energy’s SVP Monica Ord facilitated the partnership that she said came together very quickly.

“I have Richard Branson and Mike Willis from Virgin Green to thank for the introduction to Green Plains Renewable Energy (GPRE) and BioProcess Algae,” said Ord. “We have repeated our proof of principle research studies multiple times, internally and through Texas A&M, which have clearly demonstrated the effectiveness of the compound on a small scale. Bioprocess Algae gives us the ability to move quickly into full autotrophic, mixotrophic and heterotrophic scale-up studies, and we are excited to begin.”

Dr. Karen Newell Rogers, lead researcher for VG Energy, discovered a process that increases lipid production in algae cells and considerably improves their rate of recyclability. More specifically, when Metabolic Disruption Technology (MDT) is applied to algae cells, the cells stored more lipids, or fat and production was increased by 300 percent or more. In addition, the process enables algae cells to release fats outside its cell walls making more of the algae recyclable.

The research was conducted with the help of Raleigh R. White, Jr. Endowed Professor of Surgical Research at Texas A&M Health Sciences Center and Scott and White Hospital in Temple, Texas. In a modeling study by biofuels expert John Sheehan, it was shown that several different production techniques are enhanced by VG Energy’s process, and the improvement shows potential for lower-cost algal fuels.