Algae considered as long-term replacement for crude oil, according to new report

15 July 2009

The global markets for algae based biomass and biofuels are poised for explosive growth over the next decade, according to a new study from Emerging Markets Online. The markets for algae-based biodiesel, biocrude, and biomass-derived green chemicals and plastics will start to enter early-stage commercial production by the end of 2011.

A key finding from the study is algae is now being considered as a long-term replacement for petroleum crude oil to produce biofuels, Biocrude oil, aviation fuel, green chemicals, as well as biodegradable plastics and polymers. Another big appeal from algae is the use of waste streams including: carbon dioxide from power plants, as well as sewage and run-off from agricultural and livestock farms to produce algae oil and biomass. The CO2 capture and environmental bioremediation plays in algae are substantial, and will gain increasing significance as the Copenhagen round of carbon discussions arrives.

‘For an increasing number of private companies, algae is no longer a research project. As of the summer of 2009, more than $1 billion in private and public investment commitments since 2007 have contributed to the acceleration of a surprising diversity of algae-based biofuels technologies, business models, and product strategies. Oil and gas majors Chevron, Shell, British Petroleum have already demonstrated their commitment to algae for biofuels in research labs and private ventures.

This week, Exxon-Mobil’s $600 million dollar commitment to algae based biofuels with Synthetic Genomics represents another affirmative commitment by oil majors in algae. Exxon’s move follows a pattern in the industry by private investors, governments, biofuel leaders, and oil companies looking beyond the research and development phase, and now entering the next stage to scale up and build out industrial-scale systems based on several innovative, emerging and disruptive technologies,’ said Will Thurmond, president of Emerging Markets Online.

The study finds investments are predominantly going into next-generation algae production systems employing low-cost ponds and high-technology production methods, according to the report. For biofuels and green chemicals, algae will be grown in ponds, fermenters, photo bioreactors, and industrial facilities from an increasingly wide range of technologies aimed at improving productivity and reducing production costs.

Over the next 1000 days, the world will witness a series of emerging markets, technologies, players, and strategies for clean fuels, chemicals and co-products from algae, Thurmond said. Emerging Markets Online predicts by the end of 2011 more than a dozen algae projects will graduate from the pilot and demonstration phases and will enter first-stage commercial markets ‘The first ventures will include CO2-capture projects, government funded energy and defense initiatives, and early-stage commercial biofuels and biomass projects,’ he said.

According to the report, co-products from algae outside of biofuels markets, including green polymers, chemicals and animal feed will play a decisive role in the success of established and emerging algae production ventures. The selection of business models and co-product market strategies employed by algae producers will be critical to determining the long-term commercial viability and success of each venture.

Copyright © 2009 NewNet

Tags: algae, biocrude, biofuel

This story was published on Wednesday, July 15th, 2009 at 3:29 pm and is filed under biomass/biofuel, companies, knowledge. You can follow any responses to article entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Leave a Reply