Pond Scum Seen Lucrative in Argentine Biofuels Push

by Luis Andres Henao (Reuters) An Argentine company opened Friday the country's first factory to make biodiesel from algae, hoping to use pond scum as a replacement for soy in making biodiesel as part of a push for renewable energy.

Argentina is the world's top exporter of soyoil, but using the edible oil to make fuel is controversial because it cuts into food supplies.

Oil extracted from algae is also seen as an attractive alternative to soyoil and other vegetable oils because it does not use land that could be used for food crops and can absorb carbon dioxide from power plants or factories. The oil-extraction process also produces a protein-rich paste, which is edible. "We're not competing with the food supply but generating food, ...

(Jorge) Kaloustian (president of Oilfox S.A) said the new Oilfox biodiesel plant is the first of its kind in Latin America, and that it is cost effective, partly because the electricity it uses is generated from biogas that comes from sewage waste and compost is fed to the algae to encourage growth. READ MORE