The growing global demand for energy has caused a steep rise in energy prices, notably for petroleum-based fuels which are the prime source of energy for most of the world’s power plants, machinery, and transportation. As more and more so-called “fossil fuels” are burned to create energy, there has also been a steep rise in the emission of polluting gases around the world. Personal automobiles are the main culprit, since they produce most of the carbon dioxide (CO2) released daily into the atmosphere. CO2 is considered a “greenhouse gas,” trapping heat from the sun at the surface of the earth much the way a greenhouse traps heat inside its glass walls.
Biofuels are by definition any fuel that, by being burned, can be converted to energy, and that is produced from a biological source. Since a biological source is also a renewable one, biofuels are reproducible. Unlike fossil fuels of which there is a fixed amount on earth, biofuels can continue to be produced so long as a source of biomass is available. The types of raw material that be converted into biofuel include organic plants, animals (especially animal fat), and even animal and human waste material.
One type of fuel already being produced from biological sources is biodiesel. This fuel, which burns cleaner than its petroleum-based cousin, can be used by most diesel engines without any need for conversion. Many companies are already involved in the production and distribution of a form of biodiesel known as B20. B20 is a mixture of petroleum-based diesel and biofuel “diesel equivalent.”
Biofuel is already being made from corn and soy, for example. But using corn and soy has correspondingly driven up the demand for both foods, which while being ideal for biofuel production, are also consumed as food by people around the globe. Using these foods for biofuel has pushed up their cost considerably, which in turn has created food shortages in some areas of the world. This has produced an unexpected quandary for biofuel proponents.
If biofuel is ever to become a true alternative to fossil fuels, a way is needed out of this quandary. One possibility is the use of algae as a biofuel foodstock. Algae have the advantage of being a non-food source which can be produced in areas not already being used to grow other types of food. Corn, soy and cottonseed must be grown on arable land. Algae can be grown in pools, in warm climates around the world, and acre per acre algae yield over a hundred times the quantity of biomass of soybeans.
Since algae take in, rather than produce, carbon dioxide, the very foodstock being used to create biofuel can itself be a cause for a reduction in a significant greenhouse gas. Algae biofuel farms could therefore benefit from a dual income stream. The first is from the sale of the algae itself to refineries for the production of biofuel. The second is income generated from the use of the algae farm as a consumer of other forms of pollution.
Some companies have recognized the benefit to poorer communities of developing the market for biofuels while at the same time encouraging the development of foodstock supplies such as algae farms. These companies are planning to encourage production of foodstock for biofuel in poorer countries to supply the energy needs of more developed areas of the world should raise everyone’s quality of life, both in economic terms and in terms of encouraging a cleaner global environment.