that's great,

I wonder if the fresh water cost of producing biodiesel from algae can
drop to or below 350 L per liter of oil produced even away from
coastal waters, if algae is grown in waste water.

Hala

On Sun, Feb 26, 2012 at 5:55 PM, Scott Edmundson <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Howdy BESTers,
>
> Here's quick quip by Pres. Obama on algae:
> http://www.algaeindustrymagazine.com/obama-and-algae/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+AlgaeIndustryMagazine+%28Algae+Industry+Magazine%29
>
> FYI...the number he cited (17% of imported petroleum for transportation)
> comes from a recent study by the Pacific Northwest National Lab:
>
> Mark S. Wigmosta, Andre M. Coleman, Richard J. Skaggs, Michael H. Huesemann,
> Leonard J. Lane. 2011.
> National Microalgae Biofuel Production Potential and Resource Demand. Water
> Resources Research.
> http://www.agu.org/journals/wr/wr1104/2010WR009966/.
> DOI:10.1029/2010WR009966
>
> "Our study suggests that under current technology, microalgae have the
> potential to generate 220 × 109 L yr-1 of oil, equivalent to 48% of current
> U.S. petroleum imports for transportation. However, this level of production
> requires 5.5% of the land area in the conterminous United States and nearly
> three times the water currently used for irrigated agriculture, averaging
> 1421 L water per liter of oil. Optimizing the locations for microalgae
> production on the basis of water use efficiency can greatly reduce total
> water demand. For example, focusing on locations along the Gulf Coast,
> southeastern seaboard, and Great Lakes shows a 75% reduction in consumptive
> freshwater use to 350 L per liter of oil produced with a 67% reduction in
> land use. These optimized locations have the potential to generate an oil
> volume equivalent to 17% of imports for transportation fuels, equal to the
> Energy Independence and Security Act year 2022 "advanced biofuels"
> production target and utilizing some 25% of the current irrigation demand.
> With proper planning, adequate land and water are available to meet a
> significant portion of the U.S. renewable fuel goals."
>
> Here's to 21 billion gallons of Floridian algal oil!
>
> Cheers,
> Scott