by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The most recent ReEnergize episode webinar looked into liquid-liquid extraction strategies and technology for bioproducts and biofuels. As noted in the session, many biotech companies need help developing optimal separation processes for recovery and purification. Adequate
algae separation
Back TO HOMEAlgae: King Of Renewable Biofuels Or Fad Gone By?
by Grace Wu (Environmental Magazine) In recent years, algae has emerged as a potential renewable and less pollutive energy resource. Some species have high levels of fat, carbohydrates and proteins that can produce up to 30 times more energy than other
May 02, 2024 Read Full Article
Will Algae Biofuels Become Viable? Pioneers of Commercial Biofuel Production Had to Shut Shop or Diversify Their Portfolio
by Rahul Jain (Down to Earth) ... It can synthesise large volumes of oil (20 times more than that of mustard per acre), grow fast (10 times quicker than terrestrial plants) and capture carbon dioxide (CO2). Since then, big industries and startups
September 25, 2022 Read Full Article
2021 Project Peer Review Report
(U.S. Department of Energy) The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) hosted its virtual 2021 Project Peer Review on March 8‒12, 15‒16, and 22‒26, 2021. During the event, 271 projects in BETO’s research portfolio were presented, representing a total
August 29, 2022 Read Full Article
Simple Method to Extract High-Value Bioactives from Single-Cell Algae Oil
(Flinders University/Phys.Org) To save the world's fish stocks and oceans, scientists are racing to find better and sustainable ways to make healthy nutritional products such as Omega-3 fatty acids, biodiesel, aquaculture and livestock food from fast-growing microalgae. New research at Flinders University
July 21, 2022 Read Full Article
Milking Algae Can Produce Eco-Friendly Biofuel
by Hannah C. (The Science Times) ... Furthermore, the costs of culturing, collecting, and extracting algae can be countered by a safer way of milking the algae. Alice Uchida and Masaki Ihara led a team from Shinshu University, Japan in the development of cultivating
July 15, 2020 Read Full Article
What Happened to Nelson's Algae-to-Biofuel Company that Was Going to Change the World?
by Nikki Macdonald (Stuff) ... It was one of many pieces of breathless hype to come out of the Nelson company - the fuel was actually 95 per cent ordinary diesel and 5 per cent bio-diesel. But the stunt received
April 27, 2020 Read Full Article
“The Thing to Remember Is that It’s Agriculture.” Manta's New Way to Think about Algal Biofuel
by Joanne Ivancic* (Advanced Biofuels USA) Not only is the Manta Biofuel system a way to grow, harvest and process algae into oil that can be used for heating or powering heavy duty engines or ocean-going vessels, or as a
November 16, 2019 Read Full Article
High Pressure Homogenisation for the Cell Disruption of Algae
(Biofuels International) ... One of the most critical steps in the bioprocessing of algae to optimise economy and yield is the cell disruption stage. The functionality of algae biochemicals must be maintained while obtaining high disruption yields, hence the need
November 08, 2019 Read Full Article
Exxon Mobil's Designed 2 Scale Challenge DEADLINE: November 15, 2019
(Designed 2 Scale Challenge) Algae-based feedstocks have shown tremendous potential in providing a safe, secure and locally available source of drop-in liquid fuels for the transportation sector. These feedstocks have the potential to not compete with conventional food crops and
September 03, 2019 Read Full Article
Students Study Possible Use of Lake Algae for Biofuel
(University of Wisconsin-Stout) Could the algae on Lake Menomin make biofuel? That is the question some University of Wisconsin-Stout students looked at as part of their research for capstone projects. Jerica Hall, a senior studying mechanical engineering, talked about the findings she and
May 28, 2019 Read Full Article
Algal Biofuel: The Long Road to Commercial Viability
by Chris Lo (Power Technology) The green technology sector has fallen out of love with algae as a feedstock for biofuel production, but there is hope yet for algae-derived fuel in the long-term. What are the recent advances that are refining
April 30, 2019 Read Full Article
Engineers Develop Fast Method to Convert Algae to Biocrude
(University of Utah/Science Daily) A team of chemical engineers have developed a new kind of jet mixer for creating biomass from algae that extracts the lipids from the watery plants with much less energy than the older extraction method. This key
March 05, 2019 Read Full Article
An Algal Biofuel Obituary
by Robert Rapier (Forbes) ... It is true that some species of algae produce oils that can be converted into fuel. It is also true that crude oil originated from algae and plankton that lived millions of years ago, died, sunk
October 25, 2018 Read Full Article
Pyromaniax Unbound
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ... Why the attention? Some of it in the most recent data and news regarding commercial status. TCat-8 has operated for over 2,000 hours with continuous catalyst circulation including a fluid bed reactor, catalyst stripper, catalyst regenerator, quench tower,
October 25, 2018 Read Full Article
From Ponds to Power: $2M to Perfect Algae as Diesel Fuel
by Nicole Casal Moore (University of Michigan) U-M becomes one of the few institutes in the world working on the problem end-to-end -- With $2 million from the U.S. Department of Energy, University of Michigan researchers aim to make the long-touted promise
October 05, 2018 Read Full Article
ODU Algae Research Aims to Fuel Bioeconomy
by Sarah Huddle (Old Dominion University) ... Cutting-edge research in the Batten College of Engineering and Technology at Old Dominion University is fueling the bioeconomy through the discovery of useful applications for algae as well as a proprietary process that can make
September 03, 2018 Read Full Article
Algal Biotechnology Research at Sheffield
(Algae Industry Magazine) Jags Pandhal is a senior lecturer in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, at the University of Sheffield, in the UK. His research involves biological resource recovery utilizing algae from landfill leachate at 300L scale. This project
August 03, 2018 Read Full Article
Why Hydrothermal Liquefaction Hasn’t Taken off Yet
(Algae Industry Magazine/Science Trends) enguang Zhou writes in Sciencetrends.com about work recently published in the journal Bioresource Technology regarding why Hydrothermal Liquefaction (HTL) of microalgae — a bio-oil technology which does not require dewatering and drying of algal biomass — up to now, has rarely
April 02, 2018 Read Full Article
Extraction of Valuable Oils from Algae and other Green Plants: Challenges, Opportunities and Commercial Landscape
by Brian Goodall (First Garden City Consulting/Lee Enterprises Consulting/Biofuels Digest) ... (I)n the case of microalgae the oil has to coaxed out of the whole plant (typically single cells) using chemical or physical means to break open the cells and
January 31, 2018 Read Full Article
From Algae Blooms to Algae Oil: The Digest’s 2017 Multi-Slide Guide to Manta Biofuel
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The promise is this: Manta could one day skim algae right off of the Chesapeake Bay and convert it into oil, simultaneously cleaning up deadly algae blooms and providing the precursor for clean, renewable fuels. Manta licensed
November 28, 2017 Read Full Article
Industrial Algae Measurements 8.0
by Mark R. Edwards (Algae Industry Magazine) he new report, Industrial Algae Measurements 8.0, was released by the ABO Technical Standards Committee at the 11th Algae Biomass Summit (ABS) in Salt Lake City this month. The IAM 8.0collaboration represents contributions of over 30
November 20, 2017 Read Full Article
ASU, CSU, NREL Share in $3.5 Million Algae Project
(Algae Industry Magazine) Colorado State University scientists and Arizona State University’s Arizona Center for Algae Technology and Innovation are partners in a three-year grant of up to $3.5 million from the Department of Energy, aimed at improving how algae-based biofuels
October 11, 2017 Read Full Article
Bioreactors on a Chip Renew Promises for Algal Biofuels
by Alexa M. Schmitz (Cornell University/Biomass Magazine) ... This week, researchers from the Cornell-affiliated Boyce Thompson Institute and Texas A&M University report in Plant Direct exciting new technology that may revolutionize the search for the perfect algal strain: algal droplet bioreactors on a chip. A single
October 04, 2017 Read Full Article
Producing High Productivity Microalgae with Flexible Composition
by Mohammad-Matin Hanifzadeh (Algae Industry Magazine) Editor’s note: Matin is a PhD graduate research assistant at the University of Toledo. He has worked for more than five years on research related to improving economic and environmental sustainability of algae production. During his
October 03, 2017 Read Full Article
New Process for Microalgal Separation by Shape
(Algae Industry Magazine) Researchers from UCLA and the University of Tokyo have demonstrated a new capability to sort microalgae cells by their shape, creating a baseline of uniform cells for a large range of research, industrial and clinical applications. While
September 13, 2017 Read Full Article
Wazzup with Algae? The Digest’s 2017 Multi-Slide Guide to the DOE’s Algae Systems Program
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) What’s the Department of Energy working on with respect to algae? The Bioenergy Technologies Office’s Alison Goss-Eng answered the question in this update, given at DOE Project Peer Review 2017. In this deck, she looks at milestones ahead,
June 20, 2017 Read Full Article
Algae Hard at Work in Hawaii
by Alison Goss Eng (U.S. Department of Energy/Renewable Energy World) The beautiful island of Kauai, Hawaii, is known for its pristine beaches and dramatic mountain ranges. But Kauai is not just a vacation spot; it is also the location of
November 08, 2016 Read Full Article
Heard on the Floor at the Algae Biomass Summit
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) On October 23-26 the algae industry gathered in Phoenix, AZ for the Algae Biomass Summit , its annual get together. Gone are the glory days of algae biofuels capturing headlines and promising to save the world
November 02, 2016 Read Full Article
What To Do With Algae
by Terry Mazanec (Lee Enterprises Consulting/Biofuels Digest) ... So the process removes and processes about 25 tonnes of earth to obtain each gram of Pt, valued at about $35. It is a very lucrative business. Biomass is much like the platinum mine. It
October 20, 2016 Read Full Article
A.I.M. Interview: Dr. Tom Dempster Taking ATP3 Workshops on the Road
by David Schwartz (Algae Industry Magazine) Dr. Tom Dempster works as a research professor – focusing on strain selection and development, biomass production, algal biofuels and high-value products, and air and wastewater bioremediation – at the Arizona Center for Algae
October 19, 2016 Read Full Article
A Breakthrough in Algae Harvesting
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) One of the more perplexing problems of the advanced bioeconomy is getting algae out of the water or the water out of the algae. It simply isn’t a problem in traditional, land-based agriculture and most of
August 22, 2016 Read Full Article
What’s DOE Doing about Feedstock Costs? The Digest’s 2016 Multi-Slide Guide to DOE’s Feedstock Programs
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Is it just cost that bedevils industrial biotechnology in bringing fuels technologies to scale. Not just, says BETO program director Jonathan Male, who adds that a DOE “Tiger Team” indentified many other factors: What about these? Use
August 12, 2016 Read Full Article
2016 National Algal Biofuels Technology Review
(U.S. Department of Energy) Algae-based biofuels and bioproducts offer great promise in contributing to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Bioenergy Technologies Office’s vision of a thriving and sustainable bioeconomy fueled by innovative technologies. The state of technology for producing
July 21, 2016 Read Full Article
Three Algae Companies Awarded $1 Million Each by the Energy Department
by Paul Mullen (Algae Biomass Organization) The Energy Department announced that they will be awarding 23 small businesses with $1 million each over the next two years to help the small businesses advance their concepts. Three algae companies were among
July 21, 2016 Read Full Article
Where’s the Algae?
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ... This week, U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) introduced an amendment that would provide tax credit support for carbon capture and utilization technologies that enable the conversion of CO2 into valuable products such as advanced biofuels,
April 13, 2016 Read Full Article
EPA Awards Grants to 38 Student Teams for Innovative Sustainable Projects
(US Environmental Protection Agency/ForConstructionPros.com) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced 38 People, Prosperity and the Planet (P3) grants to university student teams for proposed projects to develop new, sustainable products and strategies. Each team will receive up to $15,000
February 16, 2016 Read Full Article
Algae Industry Magazine's 2015 International Readers’ Poll — Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5
(Algae Industry Magazine) In any industry, a few incredible people make an enormous impact. The algae industry is fortunate to honor Algae Ambassadors that are great scientists and industry leaders. They are also superb educators for our next generation of
January 11, 2016 Read Full Article
AlgaeTec Cultivation Center Opens in Munich
(Algae Industry Magazine) The Technical University of Munich (TUM) has built a one-of-a-kind technical facility for algae cultivation at the Ludwig Bölkow Campus in Ottobrunn, to the south of Munich, Germany, in cooperation with Airbus Group. Efficient processes for producing
October 27, 2015 Read Full Article
Algae Fuel, Algae Research Clusters: The Digest’s 2015 8-Slide Guide to BIOFAT
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) BIOFAT is a microalgae-to-biofuel FP7 demonstration project that integrates the entire value chain of algae process from optimized growth, starch and oil accumulation, to downstream processing (biorefinery) including biofuel production . The BIOFAT approach integrates
September 21, 2015 Read Full Article
BETO Seeks Stakeholder Input on Achieving High Yields from Algal Feedstocks
(US Department of Energy) The U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) has released a Request for Information (RFI) titled “High Yields through Productivity and Integration Research.” BETO is seeking input from
September 04, 2015 Read Full Article
Algae Fuels, the Earth Room Problem, and Osmotic Shock Around the Clock
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) What is the Earth Room Problem and how is osmotic shock helping us to solve it? You may have wondered to yourself — at some point between 2009’s Summer of Algae and now, in 2015’s Summer of Where
August 27, 2015 Read Full Article
OriginClear and AlgEternal Partner on Algal Fertilizer
(Algae Industry Magazine) OriginClear Inc. and partner AlgEternal have announced that, based on AlgEternal’s field tests, they believe their pure algae concentrate, harvested with OriginClear technology, may reduce conventional fertilizer cost by up to 40 percent. AlgEternal reported these findings
July 08, 2015 Read Full Article
Local Elementary, High School Students Exhibit Algae Projects at Arizona State University
(Arizona State University) Arizona State University's Polytechnic campus hosted the Night of the Open Door on Feb. 20, an occasion to highlight clubs and organizations that dedicate themselves to science. The Arizona Center for Algae Technology and Innovation (AzCATI) was
April 27, 2015 Read Full Article
White House Science Fair Celebrates Student Research
By Emily Conover (Science Magazine) Sixteen-year-old Sophia Sánchez-Maes is all about algae. The slimy green stuff is an attractive candidate for biofuel production, but Sánchez-Maes wondered why the biofuel startups near her hometown of Las Cruces, New Mexico, weren’t having more
March 30, 2015 Read Full Article
Green Expectations
by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine) A Florida algae-to-ethanol operation is poised to go commercial scale with a project colocated with a natural-gas-fired power plant. By harnessing CO2, sunlight, saltwater and algae, Algenol’s technology takes only 25 days to produce maximum concentrations
March 10, 2015 Read Full Article
Energy Department Announces New Grant Topics to Help Small Businesses Develop Clean Energy Technologies
(US Department of Energy) The Energy Department's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) today announced nine topics and 26 new subtopics under its Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Technology Transfer (STTR) programs that will help small businesses
November 12, 2014 Read Full Article
DOE Highlights Algae for Targeted Research Grants
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Washington, the US Energy Department’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy announcednine topics and 26 new subtopics under its Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Technology Transfer (STTR) programs that will help small
October 31, 2014 Read Full Article
Where Are We with Algae Biofuels? Parts 1 and 2
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The state of R&D so far. 4 NAABB advances have brought the cost of algae biocrude oil down to $7.50 per gallon. 3 roadblocks remain between today’s cost and $3.00. In our two-part series, we look first
October 14, 2014 Read Full Article
ABB, Renewable Algal Energy Collaborate to Commercialize Algae Production for Renewable Fuels, Nutraceuticals
(ABB, Renewable Algal Energy) ABB technology for control and efficiency of algae harvesting and conversion process; algae used for nutritional supplements, animal feed and fuel ABB, the leading power and automation technology group, announced that it is collaborating with Renewable Algal
August 04, 2014 Read Full Article
Microbes Chow Down on Latest Fuel-Cell Tech
(MIT News) Cullen Buie manipulates micro-scale phenomena to optimize energy conversion devices. ... Buie's work on microbial fuel cells is just one effort of many at LEMI, where projects draw upon fields including microfluidics, electrokinetics, electrochemistry, and microscale surface engineering. In addition
June 06, 2014 Read Full Article
Fortunately, Unfortunately: Pathways and Barriers to Algae Biofuels at Scale
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Think algae biofuels are real and near? Or, think it’s a promotional scheme for attracting finance for nutraceuticals and academic bridges-to-nowhere? The barriers might be more, or less, daunting than you think. Let’s look at
May 27, 2014 Read Full Article
The Venus Technology: Algae Joins Wood at the Liquefaction and Supercritical Frontier for Biofuels
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) PNNL develops a project that, using conditions usually found on the planet Venus, produces a continuous stream of drop-in advanced biofuels, from algae, with the potential for dramatically lowered costs. It’s another step forward in
December 26, 2013 Read Full Article
Researchers Publish 'Survival of the Fattest' Algae Discovery
(Delft University of Technology/Biodiesel Magazine) ... Researchers at TU Delft have developed a clever way of finding the fattest and therefore the most suitable examples among all the many species of algae. ... “The ultimate goal of our research is to make
November 26, 2013 Read Full Article
New National Algae Association Algae Production Incubator in North Texas
(Algae Industry Magazine) he National Algae Association (NAA) has announced the opening of a new Algae Production Incubator Program, located 30 miles south of Ft. Worth/ Dallas, on 17 acres with 5 available commercial buildings. The algae production incubator program is
October 17, 2013 Read Full Article
New Frontiers: Now It’s Crude Oil from Algae that Is Being Tested
by Herman Wang (Platts/The Barrel) It’s hard to get excited over a producer making a scant 2 barrels/day of crude. But in the case of Sapphire Energy, those barrels represent the beginnings of a potential revolution that it says could upend how
August 22, 2013 Read Full Article
Aurora Algae to Evaluate Potential of Mid West Australia for Commercial Microalgae Production
(BusinessWire/Aurora Algae) In collaboration with Durack Institute of Technology, Aurora Algae has completed construction of a new algae cultivation test site in Geraldton, Western Australia, to evaluate the potential of the Mid West region for the production of microalgae. Aurora Algae
August 19, 2013 Read Full Article
Wei Yu raises $1.6 million for biofuel startup based on research from Chih-Ming Ho’s Micro System Laboratories
(UCLA Engineering) In April 2013, UCLA MAE Ph.D. student Wei Yu raised $1.6M series A venture capital for Lyxia Corporation, a biofuel startup based on research from UCLA MAE Professor Chih-Ming Ho’s Micro System Laboratories. Preceeding this, in July 2012,
August 08, 2013 Read Full Article
Fast Swimmers: 10 Algae Technologies, Where Are They in the Race for the Summit?
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ... The Summer of Algae has passed, but dozens of companies have remained hot in pursuit of a solution for fuels, feed, nutraceuticals, fragrances, flavorings and tailored renewable oils. Their technologies? Closed systems, open-systems, hybrid systems. Hosts
July 23, 2013 Read Full Article
A.I.M. Interview: NAABB’s José Olivares
by David Schwartz (Algae Industry Magazine) José Olivares is a busy man. Not only the founder and kingpin of the NAABB 3-year DOE-backed consortium to ring out the potential of algal biofuel production, he also recently served as conference co-chair,
July 22, 2013 Read Full Article
Crazy 8s: Algae’s 8 Crazy-Fast Cores of Innovation
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Who’s behind the 8-ball, the algae optimists or pessimists? It all comes down to the pace of innovation in 8 cores. ... In a recent survey of its members, the Algae Biomass Organization found that more than 95
May 06, 2013 Read Full Article
UC San Diego/Scripps Use Unique DAF Process to Harvest Algae
by Jim McMahon (Biodiesel Digest) Since 2008, the San Diego Center for Algal Biotechnology (SD-CAB) has been conducting research into algal applications for biofuel. This has been a joint collaboration between several departments of the University of California/San Diego faculty
March 27, 2013 Read Full Article
Team Develops Sustainable Process for Wastewater Algae to Biocrude
(FIS.com) A team at the University of Kansas has demonstrated the feasibility of an integrated wastewater algae-to-biocrude process using hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) that can sustainably cultivate algal biomass for biofuel production. A paper on their work is published in the
February 19, 2013 Read Full Article
How Can Algae Be Converted into Biofuel?
by Susan Cassidy (How Stuff Works) Believe it or not, one day algae may provide at least one part of the answer to our dependence on fossil fuels. But using algae as a biofuel isn't quite as simple as skimming the green stuff
December 03, 2012 Read Full Article
Ennesys Launches “Green Building” Demo in France
(Algae Industry Magazine) French biotech startup Ennesys will today launch its first demonstrator system for “truly green” buildings – in the Nanterre district of La Defense near Paris. It’s a simple idea: to turn buildings into energy production units by
November 29, 2012 Read Full Article
Active and Passive: Competing Voices in Biofuels Design
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...Generally, renewables compete in the short term against fossil fuel prices – but in the long-term, against fossil fuel extraction costs. Even if a new process produces a renewable at less then, say, the equivalent of
November 28, 2012 Read Full Article
A.I.M. Interview: Incitor’s Jacob Berman and Troy Lapsys
by David Schwartz (Algae Industry Magazine) There is a new process that algae producers can use in the conversion stage to help increase their capacity and add to the bottom line, says Incitor’s VP of Business Development Jacob Berman.
November 12, 2012 Read Full Article
One-Step Algae Harvesting, Dewatering, FAME Production
by Ron Kotrba (Biodiesel Magazine) Researchers from the University of Texas at Austin have developed a proof-of-concept design to harvest, dewater and convert algae to biodiesel in a one-step process using resins. In a paper titled, “Use of Anion Exchange
November 05, 2012 Read Full Article
Change the World: Sapphire Energy’s Green Crude Farm, Illustrated
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Growing crude oil as a crop – Sapphire Energy and its Green Crude Farm – can it be the sunlight in your universe and change the world? What does it look like? How does it work?
October 02, 2012 Read Full Article
Student Makes Fuel From Algae
by Jennifer Marino Walters (Scholastic News) A Minnesota teen has discovered a way to power trucks and cars with algae Sixteen-year-old Josh Wolf spends up to 40 hours each week in a portable garage behind his family’s home in Elk River, Minnesota.
September 10, 2012 Read Full Article
Japanese Group Plans to Employ OriginOil’s Algae Harvesting Systems at More Than 100 Sites
(OriginOil) Algae has the unique potential in Japan to both provide renewable fuels and help eliminate radioactive materials OriginOil, Inc., the developer of a breakthrough energy production process for the oil and algae industries, announced today that its longstanding research partner in
September 04, 2012 Read Full Article
The Summer of Algae, Part II
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Launching today – and stretching into early Fall – the Algae Biomass Organization is coordinating a series of events billed as “The “Summer of Algae II” to raise awareness about the promise of the algae
August 20, 2012 Read Full Article
Old Frog, New Tricks: The Rise of Magnetic Biofuels
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Can the harnessing of the powers of magnetism overcome cost challenges in algal biofuels? Researchers across the globe pursue the answers. ...For the fossil molecule, its time within a living system is complete and its development
July 18, 2012 Read Full Article
Power of Algae Unleashed by Protein Technologies
(Manchester Evening News) A biotech business has developed and patented a process which it believes has the potential to fight the world’s energy and food crises. Protein Technologies, based at Manchester Science Parks, specialises in research in the life sciences sector.
February 16, 2012 Read Full Article
A.I.M. Interview: Susan Kunz, BioVantage
by David Schwartz (Algae Industry Magazine) Susan M. Kunz, President and Chief Executive Officer of BioVantage, describes herself in part as a “startup addict,” this being her fourth company built from the ground up. ...As CEO of BioVantage Resources, Inc., Sue is responsible
February 06, 2012 Read Full Article
Microbubbles Provide New Boost for Biofuel Production
(EurekAlert) ...Now, a team led by Professor Will Zimmerman in the Department of Chemical and Process Engineering at the University of Sheffield, believe they have solved the problem. They have developed an inexpensive way of producing microbubbles that can float
January 27, 2012 Read Full Article
OriginOil Announces Commercial Algae Harvesting System
(OriginOil) Algae Appliance set for commercial release in early 2012 will help producers meet rising demand OriginOil, Inc. , the developer of a breakthrough technology to extract oil from algae and an emerging leader in the global algae oil services industry, today
November 16, 2011 Read Full Article
38 Reasons Algae Will Never Replace Oil
(EnergySkeptic.com) ... This is a quick summary of the problems with making fuel from algae: Is more energy used to make algae biofuel than is created? (EROEI) 1) Keep water in ponds or plastic tubing within a narrow range of optimal temperature
October 30, 2011 Read Full Article
Farming for Energy Starts to Gain Ground
by Sonya Kolesnikov-Jessop (New York Times) Pahang State in central Malaysia is about to becomehome to the world’s largest commercial farm project producing microalgae for biofuel. The farm will start to take shape in the first quarter of next year, on a
October 28, 2011 Read Full Article
Algae Processing Technologies: Fueling Industry Growth
by Hoyt Thomas (OpenAlgae) Hoyt Thomas, President and CEO of OpenAlgae, points out that the algae industry is suffering from a case of separation anxiety. To find out the solutions, OpenAlgae developed unique separation technologies focusing on improving processes to
October 07, 2011 Read Full Article
Moving Algae Biofuels from "Potential" to "Practice": Commercial Application of Microalgae
by Greg Schwartz (Kent BioEnergy Corporation) Greg Schwartz, Ph.D., Director of Systems Engineering, explained that Kent BioEnergy (KBE) is active in Aquatic research and development in several fields, such as aquaculture system design, water treatment research, molecular biology research and
September 20, 2011 Read Full Article
Moving Algae Biofuels from "Potential" to "Practice": Next Generation Algae Extraction and Fractionation Technology
By Brian L. Goodall, Puneet Chandra and Tom Czartoski (SRS Energy) Brian Goodall introduced SRS energy which specializes in oil and water purification, separation and related services. For four years, SRS Dexter focused their R&D on algae extraction and fractionation. Goodall
September 09, 2011 Read Full Article
A.I.M. Interview: Los Alamos National Laboratory's Dr. Babetta Marrone and Dr. Jim Coons
(Algae Industry Magazine) Dr. Babetta Marrone and Dr. Jim Coons are in charge of developing the Ultrasonic Algae Biofuel Harvester, as their part of Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL)’s part of the 3-year NAABB project. ...Together, they are working to develop
September 06, 2011 Read Full Article
Separation at the Heart of Algae Industry Challenge
by Hoyt Thomas (OpenAlgae/Biofuels Digest) ...Dealing with the separation issue is perhaps the biggest obstacle we face. But that’s not what you’ll read on most algae companies’ websites. ...Compared to the well-developed soy and palm crops that provide oils for biodiesel,
September 02, 2011 Read Full Article
OriginOil Develops Real-Time Control Network for Large Scale Algae Harvesting
(OriginOil) Sensor array will manage hundreds of interactions critical to large production operations. OriginOil, Inc., the developer of a breakthrough technologyto extract oil from algae and an emerging leader in the global algae oil services industry, today announced it has developed a
August 10, 2011 Read Full Article
A New Japanese Venture to Pursue Mass Production of Algae Biofuel
(The Denki Shimbun) Three Japanese companies of IHI Corporation, a biotechnology venture Gene and Gene Technology (G>) based in Osaka Prefecture, and the Neo-Morgan Laboratory Incorporated (NML) based in Kawasaki City announced July 7 that they would establish a joint
July 22, 2011 Read Full Article
Evodos Improves Algae Harvesting System
by Luke Geiver (Biodiesel Magazine) Evodos BV, an algae technology developer based in Netherlands, believes the company’s spiral plate centrifuge created for the harvesting of algae will give algae harvesting a positive energy balance. ...The core of the technology is based
July 06, 2011 Read Full Article
A.I.M. Interview: OriginOil's Paul Reep
by David Schwartz (Algae Industry Magazine) ...Far from a fresh hire, Paul (Reep)’s involvement with OriginOil actually dates back to the origin of the company that Riggs and his brother Nicholas Eckelberry started in 2007. According to Reep, “Riggs and
June 06, 2011 Read Full Article
Pilot Algae Facility in Holland Targets Wastewater Streams
by Erin Voegele (Biodiesel Magazine) A pilot-scale project in Olgergen, Holland, is investigating the use of algae cultivation as a method to remove nutrients from wastewater. The project, under development by Ingrepro Renewables, is housed at Waterstromen bv, a water
June 01, 2011 Read Full Article
Green and Lean: Secreting Bacteria Eliminate Cost Barriers for Renewable Biofuel Production
(Physorg.com) A Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University research team has developed a process that removes a key obstacle to producing low-cost, renewable biofuels from bacteria. The team has reprogrammed photosynthetic microbes to secrete high-energy fats, making byproduct recovery and
May 27, 2011 Read Full Article
OriginOil Receives Order for Large-Scale Algae Extraction System
(OriginOil) MBD Energy places an order for a large-scale algae extraction system to be installed at the first of three commercial ‘CO2 to Energy’ power station projects in Australia. OriginOil, Inc., the developer of a breakthrough technology to extract oil from algae and
May 25, 2011 Read Full Article
Algal Harvesting Progress Update from DOE
(Algae Industry Magazine) Joyce Yang, Technology Development Manager for the Department of Energy’s Biomass Program in the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, has revealed recent progress made in algal harvesting technology by the Los Alamos National Laboratory in
May 19, 2011 Read Full Article
10 Hot Algae Extraction Technologies (and 5 Stealth Projects to Keep an Eye on)
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...AER Sustainable Energy – enzymatic hydrolysis This Ireland-based group, set up in 2006, applied for license to supply ethanol into the Irish market, and by 2010 was supplying up to 25 percent. The company reinvested a
May 17, 2011 Read Full Article
LSU-AgCenter and Aquatic Energy Recommended for Clean Technology Grant
(KOLD/Aquatic Energy, LLC/PR Newswire) Following a rigorous 3-Phase review process, Louisiana-AgCenter (LSU-AgCenter) and Aquatic Energy LLC (AE) have been recommended 1st for state research funds by the Industrial Ties Research Subprogram (ITRS) component of the Board of Regents Support Fund
May 11, 2011 Read Full Article
A.I.M. Interview: Cal Poly's Dr. Tryg Lundquist
by David Schwartz (Algae Industry Magazine) As an environmental engineering professor at California Polytechnic State University, in San Luis Obispo, CA, Dr. Tryg Lundquist researches how wastewater can make algae biofuel and how algae biofuel can be the impetus for
May 09, 2011 Read Full Article
BARD and OriginOil Announce Co-Venture
(Algae Industry Magazine) BARD Holding Inc., of Morrisville, PA, and California-based OriginOil, Inc. have formed a co-venture to combine their technologies into an end-to-end algae cultivation, harvesting and extraction system. ...“OriginOil’s harvesting and extraction technology coupled with BARD’s commercial algae production
May 09, 2011 Read Full Article
Aurora Algae’s Demonstration Opens for Business in Algstralia
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Australia, Aurora Algae opened its demonstration facility in Karratha, Western Australia, where the Company’s algae-based biomass is being harvested for products in the nutraceutical, pharmaceutical, aquaculture and renewable energy markets. ...The company has also secured
May 04, 2011 Read Full Article
OriginOil Signs First Major Distribution Deal with Process Partner
(OriginOil) Global distribution plan extends to product integration, manufacturing and mutual marketing OriginOil, Inc., the developer of breakthrough technology to transform algae, the most promising source of renewable oil, into a true competitor to petroleum, today announced that a process partner, World Water
April 15, 2011 Read Full Article
Algae Industry Magazine Interview: Algenol's CEO, Paul Woods
by David Schwartz (Algae Industry Magazine) "The conclusions from the Aquatic Species Program are not correct,” says Algenol CEO Paul Woods, taking issue with the 1980’s assessment that photobioreactors cannot be a cost effective means for biofuel creation. He
March 01, 2011 Read Full Article
Diversified Technologies' PEF Pre-Treatment of Algae for Oil Extraction to Help Biorefineries Cut Costs
(MarketWire) Diversified Technologies, Inc. has introduced a low-cost process (patent pending) for the pre-treatment of algae using pulsed electric field (PEF) technology to streamline the extraction of oils from algal cells early in the biorefining process. The Diversified Technologies' PEF Pre-Treatment of Algae
February 28, 2011 Read Full Article
Algae: The Future of Fuel
(Canadian Broadcasting Company) ...Algae : The Future of Fuel is a half hour documentary that reveals the global search that is underway to develop a renewable energy source from an unlikely source: algae. The film explores the ground breaking research
February 05, 2011 Read Full Article
Algaeventure Awarded Loan for Algae Dewatering Systems
Erin Voegele (Biodiesel Magazine) Algaeventure Systems Inc. has been awarded a $1.5 million loan from the Ohio development department’s R&D investment loan fund to support the purchase of machinery and equipment to manufacture its algae dewatering systems. The $2.5 million
February 04, 2011 Read Full Article
A.I.M. Interview: Sapphire Energy’s CEO Dr. Jason Pyle
by David Schwartz (Algae Industry Magazine) Dr. Jason Pyle, the high profile CEO at the even more high profile “green crude” developer, Sapphire Energy, holds a Ph.D. in Molecular and Cellular Physiology, as well as an M.D., from
January 24, 2011 Read Full Article
Lotta Watta: Algal Innovators Pioneering New Extraction Techniques
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Ohio, Algaeventure Systems advises that, today, they are releasing an RFP targeting the nation's leading algae producers to act as demonstration sites for its SLS Industrial algae dewatering technology under its 2009 DOE ARPA-E
January 18, 2011 Read Full Article
Natural vs. Synthetic Flocculents
by Ed Laurent (Water & Oil Technologies, Inc./Algae Industry Magazine) ...In algae production, if synthetic polymers are used to floc the high lipid content algae, and water is recycled back to your algae cultivation area, you are adding residual acrylamide
October 26, 2010 Read Full Article
New Oil Reports Breakthrough in Processing Algae for Fuel without Dewatering
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Louisiana, New Oil Resources announced that it has developed a process that uses hot, pressurized water to treat the biomass in a process commonly referred to as hydrothermal liquifaction or thermal depolymerization. According to the research
October 22, 2010 Read Full Article
Algae Industry Growth and Future Directions
by Mark Edwards (Algae Industry Magazine) ...The 2010 Algae World Europe Industry Survey was conducted in association with the Centre for Management Technology and 2nd Algae World Europe 2010 Conference in Brussels. The 2010 Algae World Survey follows the 2009
October 14, 2010 Read Full Article
Hatcher Team Creates New Process to Boost Biofuel Production from Algae
(Old Dominion University) ...During the past five years, researchers at Old Dominion University have devised ways to cultivate and harvest microscopic algae, and then to convert them into a biodiesel fuel by a proprietary one-step process. Now they have discovered
September 21, 2010 Read Full Article
New Process for Production of Biodiesel Directly From Wet Algal Biomass Could Reduce Energy and Financial Costs
(Green Car Congress/FavStocks) Researchers at the University of Michigan have developed and demonstrated the feasibility of a two-step hydrolysis-solvolysis process to produce biodiesel directly from wet algal biomass. Their process eliminates the need for biomass drying, organic solvent extraction, and
September 01, 2010 Read Full Article
Arizona Set to Become Center for Algae-Based, Biofuel Industry
by William Hermann(The Arizona Republic) Clean, green energy source could replace fossil fuels. ...With its ideal climate and abundance of available land, Arizona is poised to become a major center of a multibillion-dollar, algae-based, biofuel industry. Scientists at Arizona State University's Polytechnic
August 31, 2010 Read Full Article
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.
August 24, 2010 Read Full Article
NSF Grant to NC State U. for Algae Biofuel from Dunaliella
(Algae Industry Magazine) Dr. William L. Roberts, a professor in the department of mechanical and aerospace engineering at North Carolina State University, and his colleagues, four biologists and three engineers, are working on ways to produce and extract lipids from
August 09, 2010 Read Full Article
OriginOil Announces Revenue from First Customer
(OriginOil) Shipment of OriginOil Quantum Fracturing System to MBD Energy Triggers Payment OriginOil, Inc., the developer of a breakthrough technology to transform algae, the most promising source of renewable oil, into a true competitor to petroleum, today announced that it recently
July 30, 2010 Read Full Article
New Development in the Algae Field Could Lead to the ‘Holy Grail’ of Hydrogen Production
by Jonathan Williams (Algae Industry Magazine) ...(O)one of the major roadblocks on the road to a hydrogen economy is the cost to produce hydrogen. If hydrogen is to become a viable fuel source, it will need to be produced cheaply.
July 23, 2010 Read Full Article
Biojet Fuel from Algae – Unitel’s New Technology Overcomes a Major Problem Facing the Algal Biofuels Industry
(BusinessWire.com) Process eliminates the energy intensive and costly oil extraction step. Unitel Technologies, Inc. announced that the company has filed a patent application for a new technology for making biofuels from microalgae. The process involves minimal dewatering, and completely bypasses the
July 12, 2010 Read Full Article
AIM Interview: National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s Al Darzins
by David Schwartz (Algae Industry Magazine) ... I’ve heard a lot of people say that developing algal biofuels is just an engineering issue, that is, all we have to do is engineer more efficient growth ponds and cost effective harvesting and
June 18, 2010 Read Full Article
Microbes Reprogrammed to Ooze Oil for Renewable Biofuel
(Science Daily) Using genetic sleight of hand, researcher Xinyao Liu and professor Roy Curtiss at Arizona State University's Biodesign Institute have coaxed photosynthetic microbes to secrete oil -- bypassing energy and cost barriers that have hampered green biofuel production. ..."The real
June 15, 2010 Read Full Article
World's First Integrated Algae Bio-Refinery Has Just Opened Near Carlsbad
by Reid Wright (Currrent-Argus, CEHMM) It takes hundreds of thousands of years for fossil organisms beneath the earth's crust to simmer into crude petroleum. It takes a single day to make 1,000 gallons of crude algae biofuel at a small
June 09, 2010 Read Full Article
The AIM Interview: Dr. John Benemann
by David Schwartz (AlgaeIndustryMagazine.com) As pioneers go, in the modern business of algae biofuels and co-products, possibly no one has built a longer record of accomplishment than Dr. John Benemann. Involved in algae biofuels and related research since the early seventies,
May 07, 2010 Read Full Article
Algae Industry Magazine Interview: National Algae Association’s Barry Cohen
by David Schwartz (Algae Industry Magazine) Since forming the National Algae Association over two years ago, Barry has concentrated on creating and establishing strong working relationships with what he calls “algaepreneurs” throughout the U.S. Starting the NAA was a direct result
April 23, 2010 Read Full Article
University of Michigan Pressure-Cooking Algae Into Better Biofuel
(Great Lakes Innovation and Technology Report) Heating and squishing microalgae in a pressure-cooker can fast-forward the crude-oil-making process from millennia to minutes. University of Michigan professors are working to understand and improve this procedure in an effort to speed up development
April 22, 2010 Read Full Article
Scientists Developing Algae as Renewable Energy Source
by Loretta Sorensen (Farm & Ranch Guide) ...“There are numerous benefits to extracting oil from algae,” said Todd Hylden, vice president of marketing and investor relations for Energae LP. “I'm a farm boy from North Dakota and have no axe to
April 12, 2010 Read Full Article
From Hype to Reality – Not All Algae Are Created Equally: Solazyme Defies Skeptics on Its Rapid Path toward Commercialization
by Joshua Kagan (GreenTechMedia) Algae biofuels are often considered one of those technologies --- like hydrogen fuel cells --- that are always "ten years away." Well, one company says it might have just cracked the code and could be supplying
April 06, 2010 Read Full Article
Construction Complete on Commercial-Scale Photobioreactor Demo for Algae Production
National Algae Association is pleased to announce that construction has been completed on a commercial-scale photobioreactor (PBR) demo located at Lone Star College in The Woodlands, Texas. “Thanks to donations of materials, time and effort by Ed Baker, Harvel Plastics,
April 05, 2010 Read Full Article
Microbes Reprogrammed to Ooze Oil for Renewable Biofuel
(Physorg.com) Using genetic sleight of hand, researcher Xinyao Liu and professor Roy Curtiss at Arizona State University's Biodesign Institute have coaxed photosynthetic microbes to secrete oil—bypassing energy and cost barriers that have hampered green biofuel production. Their results appear in
April 05, 2010 Read Full Article
Uiversity of Nebraska at Lincoln Team Looks to Tap Algae for Energy
by Kevin Abourzk (Lincoln Journal Star) But algae? A team of University of Nebraska-Lincoln researchers is working to extract oil from that sticky green stuff that gums up boat motors and fishing lines. Then they'll study the feasibility of using it
March 25, 2010 Read Full Article
OriginOil CEO Presents on Algae Extraction Methods, Algae Oil Production
by Riggs Eckelberry (Origin Oil) In his presentation at the World Biofuels Markets conference March 2010 in The Netherlands, Eckelberry reviewed current industry approaches to extraction and harvesting in depth. These approaches typically require high capital investment, heavy energy usage,