Sapphire Energy Turns Algae Into 'Green Crude' for Fuel

A San Diego company claims it can turn algae into a green-colored crude yielding ultra-clean versions of gasoline and diesel without the drawbacks of biofuel production.

Sapphire Energy uses algae, sunlight, carbon dioxide and non-potable water to make "green crude" that it says is chemically equivalent to the light, sweet crude oil that has been commanding record-high prices recently.

In a press release issued Wednesday, the one-year-old company claimed its green crude could be processed in existing oil refineries and that the resulting fuels could power existing cars and trucks without any modifications.

Sapphire wouldn't discuss the production process in detail. It said expects to introduce its first fuels in three years and reach full commercial scale in five years.

Biodiesel and corn-based ethanol have helped displace petroleum. But corn-derived ethanol and soybean-based biodiesel eat into land used to grow food, and their production and distribution consume large amounts of energy.

Don Anair, vehicles analyst for the Union of Concerned Scientists, was quoted in a Los Angeles Times article as saying he'd want to see the greenhouse-gas effects of Sapphire's entire process – from production to combustion – before passing judgment on its green crude.

"Changing to this green crude could certainly have very good benefits in terms of greenhouse-gas emissions, but it may not address some of the traditional tailpipe pollutants that are responsible for smog or ozone," he said.

But even if the green crude isn't any cleaner than petroleum crude, it would further the pursuit of energy independence. And it wouldn’t be any worse than petroleum crude, environmentally speaking.

That said, Green Car Advisor wishes Sapphire good luck in bringing green crude to market.

Scott Doggett, Contributor

Posted by

Scott Doggett May 30, 2008, 9:47 AM

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Alternative Fuels, Biofuels, Diesel, Emissions, Fuel Economy