Algae is the fastest growing plant life, and as an organism it converts sunlight into oil, scientists theorize that Algal biofuel can produce a whopping 30 times more energy per acre than any other biofuel option. The US Department of Energy has estimated that if Algal Biofuel replaced all conventional fuel in the country, it would require 15,000 square miles of land to harvest the algae... which is roughly one seventh of the area that is used to harvest corn in the US every year. And a diverse group of byproducts, such as neutraceuticals and feedstocks for producing plastics, can be created in algal biofuel operations, making the production more cost effective. But before we start celebrating the great biofuel solution we've been looking for, there are a few problems... the biomass for producing a significant amount of algal biofuel just doesn't exist yet. The algae has to be grown from scratch and harvesting it is very expensive at this point in time. The potential of Algal Biofuel is staggering... but the problem is that, as of now, it's all just potential. It might be years before the technology catches up to make producing algal biofuel on a large scale possible... but when that time comes, we might be able to finally celebrate a more efficient, renewable, and environmentally friendly energy source. For more information on this exciting and developing technology, check out AlgalBioMass.Org. I'm Elizabeth Chambers. Check back here for more eco friendly news and tips, right here on LivingGreenChannel.Com.

• published: 10 Nov 2008
• views: 89227