Chris Mole, Associate Editor
• New method to produce algal bio-fuel.
• Algae contain up to 80% oil.
• Algal fuel “could replace oil.”

Ground-breaking research by Massey University scientists into bio-fuel production from algae has achieved international recognition after receiving an $850,000 grant from Finland’s Neste Oil. Massey researchers led by Prof Yusuf Chisti have found a way to produce bio-diesel from marine micro-algae in special “photo bio-reactors.” These bio-reactors are closed vessels which provide the optimum amount of sunlight and carefully-tuned conditions, which can grow algae much more intensively than in open ponds. It overcomes one of the key problems with using algae for fuel, the vast areas required to grow it.

Prof Chisti has been researching algae-derived bio-fuels for more than 12 years and believes they are the only bio-fuels that can potentially replace oil as a transport fuel. He notes the oil content of some micro-algae is more than 80% of the dry weight of algae bio-mass, compared with less than 5% oil in agricultural crops such as soybean and oil palm. Prof Chisti believes algae could produce almost 100,000 litres of bio-diesel a year per hectare of land, compared to 6000 litres a hectare for oil palm, currently the most productive bio-fuel. He adds bio-fuel from algae is the only sustainable bio-fuel that has potential to completely displace petroleum-derived transport fuels without adversely affecting the supply of food and other crops.

While costs for commercial production of algal bio-fuel are yet to be confirmed, Prof Chisti says “in principle, it is possible to produce algal bio-diesel at roughly the same price as petroleum diesel but extensive research is required to achieve this.” He adds the best locations are in the tropics where there are high sunlight levels all year. Algae are seen by many experts as the most promising source of green fuel in the future. They are the world’s most abundant form of plant life and, via photosynthesis, are extremely efficient at using sunlight and CO2 from the air to make organic material such as sugars, proteins and, under the right conditions, oils.

Meanwhile, a US company claims to have developed a fuel made from algae that is chemically identical to crude oil but which does not contribute to climate change when burned. San Diego-based Sapphire Energy says when its “green crude” is burned it releases into the air only the CO2 absorbed by the algae during its growth, making the whole process carbon neutral.

Sapphire will not reveal details of the type of algae it is using. But observers believe it is genetically-modified cyanobacteria, which can grow quickly (some blooms can double their mass in just an hour). Major investors are already opening their cheque books. Sapphire has raised a total of $US50m ($NZ70.9m) in venture capital in recent weeks, the highest amount ever for an algae bio-tech company. Sapphire says it expects to begin commercial production of green crude in photo bio-reactors within three to five years.

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