algae based carbon capture technology public companies

This joint effort is working towards the technical ability to produce 10,000 barrels of algae biofuels a day by 2025. Our objective is to develop advanced algae biofuels options and identify the best pathways to make these groundbreaking technologies available to consumers. Today, ExxonMobil and Viridos are carrying out a basic research program to develop advanced biofuels from algae. Other algae strains can be optimized as a source of fermentable sugars, with compositions similar to those derived from corn kernels that are used to manufacture first generation biofuels like ethanol.īasic algae biology research with Viridos Some strains of algae can be optimized to produce bio-diesel precursors. How algae growĪlgae can provide a diverse and highly desirable non-food source of the important renewable molecules that can be used to produce second generation biofuels. We also know that algae can be used to manufacture biofuels similar in composition to today’s transportation fuels. That’s almost five times more fuel per acre than from sugar cane or corn.

Algae can yield more biofuel per acre than plant-based biofuels – currently about 1,500 gallons of fuel per acre, per year.

Algae consume CO 2, and on a life-cycle basis have a much lower emissions profile than corn ethanol given the energy used to make fertilizer, distill the ethanol, and to farm and transport the latter.

Because algae can be produced in brackish water, including seawater, its production will not strain freshwater resources the way ethanol does.Unlike making ethanol and biodiesel, producing algae does not compete with sources of food, rendering the food-vs.-fuel quandary a moot point.Algae for biofuels production Benefits of using algaeĪlgae represents a significant improvement over alternate biofuel sources for several reasons:

These programs are being carried out currently with Renewable Energy Group (REG) and the University of Wisconsin. We are also exploring a variety of biomass conversion processes that could be used with non-food based feedstocks such as whole cellulosic biomass, algae feedstocks and cellulose-derived sugars. Our advanced biofuels research portfolio includes joint research collaborations focused on algae-based biofuels with Viridos, Colorado School of Mines and Michigan State. We are working with leading researchers and have designed our portfolio to progress the science that we feel will be needed to deliver advanced biofuels with environmental benefits. We believe our work with algae offers some of the greatest promise for next-generation biofuels, which is why ExxonMobil has committed hundreds of millions of dollars to algae research. cellulosic biomass, to advanced biofuels. We are funding a broad portfolio of biofuels research programs, including our ongoing efforts on algae as well as programs on converting alternative, non-food based biomass feedstocks, i.e. Examples include algae, corn stover, switchgrass or methane emitted from microbial activity in landfills. Second generation biofuels are defined as those produced from non-edible crops, crop residues or biologically generated gas and therefore do not take away from the total food or fresh water supply. Many peer-reviewed papers in the scientific literature suggest that the direct life cycle GHG emissions are lower than fossil fuels but that indirect consequences of first generation biofuel development, including changes in forest and agricultural land use change, may result in higher total GHG emissions than petroleum-derived fuels.įor these reasons, ExxonMobil is pursuing research into second generation biofuels to determine how they may best fit into our energy future. In 2012, researchers from MIT, ExxonMobil and Viridos (formerly Synthetic Genomics, Inc.) published an assessment of algal biofuels in the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Science and Technology, which concluded that if key research hurdles are overcome, algal biofuels will have about 50 percent lower life cycle greenhouse gas emissions than petroleum-derived fuel. In contrast, there is a robust debate in the academic research community regarding the carbon footprint of first generation biofuels, which the EPA defines as those generated from edible crops (such as corn).

Algae based carbon capture technology public companies