CO2 chomping Algae to fuel cars, cut greenhouse gas and create jobs

Stan Beer
Wednesday, 04 March 2009 04:17

Opinion and Analysis

A CSIRO discovery could lead to a new boom industry that would not only solve the world's energy problems but also its greenhouse gas concerns, while creating much needed employment. It might sound too good to be true, but the CSIRO, Australia's flagship research organisation, is no pie in the sky organisation and it is deadly serious about this.

According to the CSIRO, the production of biodiesel from algae could reduce greenhouse gas emissions, help to address future fuel shortages and create jobs in rural Australia.

CSIRO Energy Transformed researcher Dr Tom Beer and his team discovered the humble organisms’ green credentials during a detailed life-cycle analysis of the benefits of algal biodiesel.

“Our research has shown that under ideal conditions it is possible to produce algal biodiesel at a lower cost and with less greenhouse gas emissions than fossil diesel,” Dr Beer said.

“The greenhouse gas reductions are the result of avoiding the use of a fossil resource for fuel production, capturing methane produced by the processed algae to generate energy and taking into account the potential greenhouse gas offsets from industry.”

Algae thrive on carbon dioxide (CO2), which means that environmentally damaging CO2 emissions from industry could also become a useful resource.

Algal biodiesel could also offer a number of other benefits, according to Dr Beer and his team.

CONTINUED Page 2