A European Perspective on Algal Biofuel Scaleup
(Algae Industry Magazine) An article by Rene H. Wijffels and Maria J. Barbosa, of Wageningen University in the Netherlands, published in the current edition of Science Journal, details the challenges and opportunities of algal biofuel development from a European perspective. Among the main points of the article, titled “An Outlook on Microalgal Biofuels”: Production of microalgae for biofuels needs to take place on a much larger scale at much lower costs. If all transport fuels were to be replaced by biodiesel in Europe, there would be an annual need for nearly 0.4 billion m³. If this biodiesel were to be supplied through microalgae, 9.25 million hectares (almost the surface area of Portugal) would be needed to supply the European market, assuming a productivity of 40,000 liters per hectares per year. This productivity is based on a 3% solar energy conversion to biomass (theoretical maximum is 9%) and a biomass oil content of 50%, under the solar conditions of Portugal. A leap in the development of microalgae technology is therefore required. On a practical level, the scale of production needs to increase at least 3 orders of magnitude, with a concomitant decrease in the cost of production by a factor of 10. READ MORE Full Study
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