I’m a great fan of algae to fuels via gasification – specifically, macroalgae to fuels via gasification. Hence, the following news item kind of made me glad:
“Genifuel wants to turn the pond scum into something different: natural gas. The company, which has obtained a license from Pacific Northwest National Labs for its technology, is using catalytic hydrothermal gasification to create natural gas out of algae in a quick and efficient manner.
…The algae gasification process works by putting algae in ponds and placing it in gasifiers while it’s still wet. A chemical catalyst allows the algae to cook at low temperatures and pressures. A synthetic gas (65% methane, 35% CO2) is produced and the carbon dioxide is pumped back into the algae for food.”
Now, I checked out Genifuel’s site to see with the fond hope that they are using macroalgae. Nopes! They use microalgae.
I still am wondering why folks aren’t using macroalgae and gasification together – to me, these appear to be a winning combination. I think I will get to know why very soon, as I have asked my team to dig up on all aspects of macroalgae to fuels during this week.
Related posts:
- Biomass Gasification Cannot Supply All Our Energy Needs, But…
- Gasification Technology Council Urges Congress to Support Gasification
- Latest State-of-Art in Gasification Technologies
- The Gasification FAQ & Guide
- Kruger Products Canada to Install Biomass Gasification @ Tissue Mill
Hey, I haven’t checked in here for a while, but I will put you on my bloglist so I don’t forget to check back.