by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The state of R&D so far. 4 NAABB advances have brought the cost of algae biocrude oil down to $7.50 per gallon. 3 roadblocks remain between today’s cost and $3.00. In our two-part series, we look first at the breakthroughs that have radically changed the costs and outlook. In Part II, we look at where the opportunities lie to reach $2.00 per gallon algae biocrude oil.
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By 2009, as oil prices reached $100 per barrel, amid rising concerns about domestic energy security and greenhouse gas emissions, the DOE re-embarked in a major way on a voyage in algae biofuels, and issued a “Development of Algal/Advanced Biofuels Consortia” funding opportunity.
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When NAABB (National Alliance for Advanced Biofuels and BioProducts) got underway, it established a starting baseline cost of $240 per gallon (for algae biocrude) based on the production, harvest, extraction and upgrade technologies developed to that point. Everyone agreed that the baseline could be radically improved — but how much, how fast.
In a close-out report released this past summer, NAABB noted that the consortium reached a $7.50 per gallon cost for algae biocrude, or an improvement of two orders of magnitude, in its three-years of existence.
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Let’s look today at the 4 major breakthroughs — and the three major challenges going forward. As NAABB reported, its breakthroughs were:
- New strain development—Discovery of a new platform production strain, Chlorella sp. DOE1412, which has the robust ability to produce good oil yield under a variety of conditions. When combined with genetically modified (GMO) versions of the strain the cost of algal biocrude would be reduced by 85%.
- Improved cultivation—Development of a new open pond cultivation system, the Aquaculture Raceway Integrated Design (ARID), which uses little energy, extends the growing period, improves productivity, and provides a 16% cost reduction.
- Low energy harvesting technology—Demonstrated use of an electrocoagulation (EC) harvesting technology, which is a low-energy, primary harvesting approach using commercially available equipment that provides a 14% cost reduction.
- High-yield extraction-conversion technology—Creation of a unique hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) system that combines extraction and conversion to provide high biocrude yield without the need for extraction solvents, resulting in an 86% cost reduction.
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… fishmeal market… Mineral content—The presence of heavy metals in the water supply or significantly impact the mineral profile of the LEA, with potential impact in palatability and toxicity.” READ MORE and MORE (NAABB report)
Part II
… NREL, in a 2012 scenario tracing the pathway from $9.28 per gallon to $2.27 per gallon biofuels, identified:
1. Increasing the growth rate from 25 grams per square meter per day to 30 grams.
2. Increasing lipid content from 25% to 50%
3. Cutting harvest cost by 50%
4. Cut extraction cost by 50%
5. Sell Lipid Extracted Algae residual biomass for $500 per ton.
Of these, the easiest targets, after the NAABB work, will be in productivity, assuming that crop protection develops. As NAABB principal investigator José Olivares told the Digest: “A genetically modified strain of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii…provided 3x the productivity of the wild type. That modification is being placed into a production strain of Chlorella sorokiniana. The maximum productivity of the Chlorella wild type strain was around 16 g/m2/d. The productivity was modeled depending on season from 50%-200% increase.”
Perhaps the toughest target will be the $500 in co-product value, as “NAABB valued LEA as a feed supplement for animals at $160/ton and for mariculture at $200/ton. Whole algae for mariculture was valued at closer to $400/ton.”
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If CO2 recycling is included as a CO2 mitigation strategy by states (and OKd by EPA) for the purpose of greenhouse gas emission regulation, supply will blossom and cost can be expected to fall.
But there are other ways to source CO2. One of the most interesting is to partner with a CO2 emitter for feedstock, possibly capital, possibly land. That’s the case with Pond Biofuels and the St, Mary’s cement plant in Ontario, or BioProcessAlgae and Green Plains, in Iowa. In that case, the CO2 is monetized against interest in the venture — which is to say, it isn’t required to be paid for as part of the operating costs, but rather is reflected on the balance sheet as a contribution in kind to equity — or simply a factor in the issuance of shares. So, it’s dilutive to other non-feedstock investors, but does not cost the project.
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As NAABB principal investigator José Olivares remarked to the Digest:
“The report looked at real data that came from open ponds (for the most part) in the SW region. If this is the section that you are referring to, the ash content varied severely, sometimes this was due to just the natural ingredients left over from the nutrients and make up of the algae, but often our highest ash content was associated with blown in and settled dust/sand, residual salt from the saline waters, etc. It is a real world issue. Even Sapphire provided a similar observation and challenge.”
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Get the dust to the bottom, and out of the light.
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Think like a farmer. Crop protection, input frugality, and field prep cost are huge factors. Just as with any farm. The threats tend to be microscopic — dust so small it suspends in water and blocks light, and two-celled predators that snack on algae. But they also tend to be about recycling residue — nutrients, CO2, water, even waste materials for pond liner inputs.
Make do with less. That’s the focus, that’s the road to $3.00 biofuels. And a lot of it is less about the lab and more about the field. The last mile might literally be in the last mile — the mile of ponds that form a modern algae farm. READ MORE