Algae-to-Fuels Project Wins Research Grant From California Energy Commission

(Updated 2/26 to include research grant's value.)

The nitrogen-rich agricultural runoff than can choke the life out of lakes and ponds with thick green algae "blooms" might someday help fuel our cars and trucks.

That's the hope of a California company, QuantumSphere, that has received a $100,000 research grant from the California Energy Commission's Energy Innovations small grant program for a year-long project to develop an algae biogasification process that can turn the aquatic vegetation and other biomass material into methane, hydrogen or other synthetic gases.

Because algae grows so rapidly, is so rich in carbohydrates and needs so little care, it is considered a prime feedstock for biofuels - if a cost-efficient method of breaking it down can be developed.

QuantumSphere, which will use engineered nano-metals as catalysts for turning algae into gases, says the slimy green stuff (it comes in other colors, too) can produce as much as 60 percent of its biomass in the form of oils or carbohydrates.

The oil can be turned into biodiesel and the carbohydrates into alcohols - for ethanol production - or into synthetic gases for fuel or industrial use.

"Our vision for this project was to use this process to take wet algae produced in a place like the Salton Sea in the Imperial Valley of California and convert it into renewable fuels," said Subra Iyer, QuantumSphere's principal technologist.

"The Salton Sea is a place for large amounts of agricultural runoff which sometimes creates large algae blooms. If successful, we envision a large plant" on the shore of the inland sea that could convert large amounts of algae into renewable fuels, he said.

Iyer said the process QuantumSphere plans to use is designed to convert any biomass, including leaves, algae, vegetable waste and corn stalks, into fuel.

The company's plan calls for it to build a small-scale demonstration plant to show the feasibility of its conversion process.

John O'Dell, Senior Editor

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John O'Dell February 26, 2009, 4:00 AM

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