Well, the folks at National Renewable Energy Laboratory, in Golden, Colo., USA, are pretty convinced that once that special algal species is found, we'll be able to rely on algae as a continuous and renewable source of energy.
This is an excerpt from the article which explains how exactly they intend to do that:
This is an excerpt from the article which explains how exactly they intend to do that:
I can only say that I wish them the best of luck :)Algae are microscopic organisms, which, like plants, use photosynthesis to convert light into chemical energy while at the same time absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Algae turn the carbon they take in first into sugars and then into oil, which can be made into fuel. But some strains produce much more oil than others.
That algae produce oil isn't a great surprise. The fossil fuels that run our cars likely came from ancient algal cells that dropped to the bottom of former oceans and were covered by sediment. Algae use their oil the same way animals use body fat, as a source of energy when times are lean. For animals, lean times come between feedings; for algae, this happens every night, when there isn't any light to power photosynthesis.
Oil production also helps algae overcome the stress of growing in full sunlight, which can be hard on these cells, particularly when they are starved of one or more nutrients. Such deprived algae tend to generate highly reactive chemicals called free radicals, which can cause molecular havoc within. The conversion of CO2 to oil prevents the buildup of free radicals, helping the cells avoid internal damage. This oil is very similar to the vegetable oil you might buy at the grocery store.
The simple elegance of these microscopic oil factories has motivated a hundred or so start-ups to try to tackle algal biofuel production. Major oil companies, including Chevron, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, and Royal Dutch Shell, are studying this idea. Several airlines have even performed test flights using fuel blends consisting of a petroleum-based fuel, algal oil, and oils from more traditional biofuel crops, such as Jatropha, a genus of succulent plant that produces oil-rich seeds.
