EcoFactor: This fuel is renewable and good for the environment.
Jet fuels result in significant greenhouse gas emissions, and in such a situation the use of renewable fuel is a brilliant idea. Solazyme Inc, a renewable oil production company, is known to produce the world’s first microbial-derived jet fuel. The company implements a unique algal conversion process that allows algae to produce oil in large tanks efficiently without sunlight. This algae-derived aviation fuel has also passed various tests for density, thermal oxidative stability, flashpoint, freezing point distillation, etc, which makes the company stand out in comparison to its competitors because of its high efficiency and hence, fetches them a large-scale production.
An acre of algae can produce 50 times more oil than an acre of soy, and this oil can be used to make bio-diesel or synthetic forms of petroleum or both. Our planet certainly needs more and more of environmentally friendly alternatives, and Solazyme’s algal-derived aviation fuel certainly is a step toward achieving those options on a wider scale.
The Dark Side:
Algae is neither food nor feed, so there’s no problem in using it as bio-fuel. It can readily grow in salt or brackish water, eliminating the need for traditional fresh-water irrigation. If people work together, algae can be part of the solution to our energy problems or just diminish and become a joke and nobody will know its true potential. The choice is ours, but the real question is can we get the costs down to where it can compete with fossil fuels?
Via: Gadgetlite
