14 DAY TRIAL // Brainics working with the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s Department of Energy say that they have developed a method of turning algae into crude oil in just 60 minutes.
In nature, organic matter needs several million years to become oil, so being able to speed up the transformation to such an extent is nothing short of impressive.
The researchers detail their work in a paper recently published in the journal Algal Research. In their report, they explain that the algae are placed into a so-called continuous flow reactor system.
Here, they are subjected to intense pressure and temperatures, much as they would were the transformation to take place deep in the Earth's belly and not in a laboratory.
More precisely, they are exposed to temperatures of up to 350 degrees Celsius (662 degrees Fahrenheit) and a pressure of around 3,000 PSI (pounds per square inch).
As scientist Douglas Elliot puts it, “It's a bit like using a pressure cooker, only the pressures and temperatures we use are much higher.”
Furthermore, “In a sense, we are duplicating the process in the Earth that converted algae into oil over the course of millions of years. We're just doing it much, much faster.”
After about an hour, the reactor system lets out crude oil, water and several byproducts, i.e. fuel gas and nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium.
The crude algae oil can be used to make aviation fuel, gasoline or diesel, and the fuel gas can either be burned for electricity or turned into compressed natural gas and used to power vehicles.
The water and the nutrients, on the other hand, can be used to grow more algae, the researchers say.
The algae goo that the scientists pump into the reactor and turn into crude oil contains some 80-90% water. Interestingly enough, this helps reduce the costs and the energy consumption associated with turning algae into an energy source.
“Cost is the big roadblock for algae-based fuel. We believe that the process we've created will help make algae biofuels much more economical,” explains specialist Douglas Elliott.
“Not having to dry the algae is a big win in this process; that cuts the cost a great deal. Then there are bonuses, like being able to extract usable gas from the water and then recycle the remaining water and nutrients to help grow more algae, which further reduces costs,” he adds.
Biofuels company Genifuel Corp has licensed the technology, and is now looking to build a pilot plant that uses this method of obtaining crude oil from algae.
Check out the video below to see the researchers and their reactor at work.
