| For decades scientists have been searching for viable | | | | machinery. This fuel is biodegradable and clean |
| alternative energy sources that don't use up our | | | | burning, unlike the oil-based products widely in use |
| dwindling resources. Recent worries about the | | | | today. The interest in algae-based fuel is growing, and |
| harmful pollutants caused by our traditional fuels have | | | | new technologies are being developed to take |
| made the search for alternative energy even more | | | | advantage of this new fuel source. |
| urgent. One of the most promising new fuel sources | | | | Can we Make Enough? |
| being developed is biodiesel algae. Unlike biodiesel | | | | The interesting thing about biodiesel algae is that it is |
| made from corn or soybeans, the use of algae would | | | | the most viable candidate for biologically replacing all |
| allow us to create large reservoirs of fuel without | | | | of the fuel that is consumed worldwide. If algae |
| having an impact on food production. Biodiesel fuel | | | | were used to replace all of the petroleum that is |
| has already been proven to work, and many | | | | used in the United States today, it would only require |
| automobiles are powered by biodiesel fuel today. | | | | 1/7 of the space that is currently used to grow corn. |
| How Does it Work? | | | | Algae is an incredibly efficient oil producer, and it is |
| The algae that is used to create biodiesel algae | | | | easy to cultivate. Scientists are working with |
| naturally contains a large amount of lipid oils. Those | | | | microalgae, which grows much faster than naturally |
| oils can be strained out of the algae, then processed | | | | occurring algae. It is possible to gain up to 20,000 |
| through a catalyst, which creates a chemical reaction | | | | gallons of oil from one acre in a year. At that rate, |
| that converts the lipid oils into burnable fuel. Once the | | | | algae seems a logical renewable biofuel with very |
| algae oil is converted, the resulting fuel can be used in | | | | few drawbacks. |
| cars, airplanes, or any other gasoline burning | | | | |