Algae biofuel yields 154 times more miles per acre than soy biodiesel; solar is king, but as yet expensive

March 19, 2008

Miles per acre is the subject of an article at ecogeek on the productivity of various renewable energy sources. The article credited soybean biodiesel with a productivity of 2,400 miles per acre per year; corn ethanol, 18,000; palm oil biodiesel, 31,000; switchgrass, 32,000; wind, 180,000; algae, 370,000; solar, 2,250,000. The site said that it was clear that installation costs for solar were more than 100 times as expensive than for corn ethanol, and that biofuels can be produced on lands not well-suited for solar or wind.

In the first comprehensive report on the biofuel potential of switchgrass, a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science says that switchgrass has a yield of more than five times the energy inputs needed to grow and process it into ethanol. The 10-farm, five year study was conducted across the Midwest and potentially is key to unlocking the potential of cellulosic ethanol in the US.

Algae yields of up to 100,000 gallons per acre have been projected by companies such as Vertigro.

Algae-based biodiesel myths and realities report published

Renewable Energy Access published a report on algae-based biodiesel myths and realities for the biofuel stock that can produce up to 10,000 gallons of oil per acre. Soy, by contrast, has a biodiesel y...

Today in Biofuels: first commercial algae farm for biofuels in US; sizzling Khosla, Branson articles; 30 Hungarian ethanol projects dropped

Top Story: In Texas, PetroSun will open the first US commercial-scale algae farm for biofuels near South Padre Island. The 1,831 acre site includes 157 separate ponds, and the company said that ext...

AlgaeLink to demonstrate micro-algae production in UK

AlgaeLink will demonstrate its photobioreactors in the UK in mid-October. Strains of micro-algae consist of up to 70% oil, require only water, CO2, sunlight and nutrients to survive, and can produce f...

Bioking to debut algae-based biodiesel in UK October 17th; UK a hot spot for biofuels launches this season

The Dutch firm Bioking will debut its algae-based biodiesel at the UK's Biodiesel Expo on October 17-18. In other October algae biodiesel news for the UK, AlgaeLink will demonstrate its photobiorea...

Australian state government awards $166,000 in bid to jumpstart algae biodiesel industry

In Australia, the Queensland Government awarded $166,000 to James Cook University and MBD Biodiesel towards an algae farm and biodiesel plant in Townsville. MBD said that it would build a 35,000 tonne...

Chicago students realize algae lab-to-wheels demonstration dream

In Chicago, a group of students at Al Raby School, led by teacher David Levine, powered a car on algae-based biodiesel on a 20 mile round trip journey using algae grown in the classroom and converted ...

Written by Jim Lane · Filed Under Research