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Algae as Alternative Energy Source
Sapphire Energy is a company with quite a dream: to make algae-based fuel ready for commercial production by next year. There’s a lot of advantages to algae-based fuels. It’s carbon neutral, it uses salt water to grow, it doesn’t compete with food commodities and, with a possibility of gas hitting $5 per gallon, figuring out a way to swap out the fuel we use in our cars is a huge business.
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On April 28th, 2011 at 5:00 pm Thomas Hardy Said:
The Governor of Wyoming, Dave Freudenthal has stated several times, that by the end of the day, we will be solving America’s energy needs in a variety of ways, and that ALL will have merit.
Algae is a good candidate, because it can produce hydrogen, oxygen, up-take CO2, high quality, protein-rich plant matter, and oil. All of these products/functions/and by-products will be useful in tomorrow’s diversified economy. Dried algal matter (20% protein) can be mixed w/ a variety of agricultural by-products to fabricate animal feeds in order to bolster profits in the face of droughts, which are a given w/ climate change.
Algae grows best in the desert southwest where big cities like El Paso, Albuquerque, Phoenix, Tucson, and San Bernadino can supply the fertilizer needed to drive abundant growth. Many areas in the southwest have abundant sources of salty/alkali water, and or blackwater/greywater sources. Excessive evaporation can be reduced by using containing greenhouses or framework-supported clear, plastic “waterbed” arrays to circulate/contain algal bio-systems, oriented toward the sun’s rays.
Also, waste transport can be more conveniently transported by removing water (witness the difference between a dried “cow chip” and fresh material). Sapphire Energy is poised to present the long-awaited first practical “green” energy break-through!
On May 10th, 2011 at 12:46 pm Joel Goldberg Said:
Hello Thomas,
Algae has engrossed our discussion of alternative energies. I love reading your specific data and algae growth strategies. Would you mind submitting an idea that cites references for this information?
Thanks for participating in our online forum!
Joel Goldberg
Planet Forward Intern
On August 2nd, 2011 at 3:45 am Van Breakdown Cover Said:
Really it is a wonderful blog post I know it is a very informative to every visitors.
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Alpinto.