Monday, July 26, 2010

Will Algae Become the Next Best Thing in Biofuel?

Cellulosic and algae biofuels are being embraced in the U.S. as corn ethanol undergoes increased pressure once again. Sugarcane ethanol is what's being used in high volumes in Brazil, but it's not being seriously considered in this country. Algae biofuel seems to have the most possibility for long-term benefits, but it's still out there in its early stages as an industry. Companies like OriginOil are making strides forward in research and developing new technology to make this happen.

There are concerns about the cost and environmental impact of algae biofuel causing unanticipated menace. As ClimateWire said on July 22: "If the best oil-producing algae crop doesn't comes from strains occurring from nature, the algae may need to be genetically modified to enhance their fuel-producing potential. But if researchers choose to modify them, they will have genomes dotted with genes from foreign species, and it might be difficult to keep the new strains from escaping from open ponds into other ecosystems."

More will be revealed. It's an important fuel to follow.

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