You wouldn’t guess that a bit of green slime could do so much. But from from food to fuel, PetroAlgae, Inc. seems to have thought of everything. This Florida-based renewable energy company has developed a technology in which algae and other microorganisms produce fuel to feed cars, animals, and even humans...and say they can do it cheaper than anyone else.

With the addition of a few basic nutrients, algae gather most of their energy from the sun. The result is a protein and carbohydrate-rich slime that can be converted to a variety of products. First, the protein is extracted and processed into animal feed or blended into human food products. PetroAlgae actually lists one of its products as “meal replacer”, conjuring images of our new utopian future in which chewing is obsolete.

After the protein extraction, what remains is a “lipid-carbohydrate mash”. PetroAlgae claims that this material can be sent directly to a petroleum refinery and processed into diesel, gas, or jet fuel without the need to retro-fit any of the refinery’s conventional equipment. Algae cultivation requires very little square-footage relative to conventional crops, can be grown on non-arable land, and consumes up to twice its weight in carbon dioxide as it grows.

In addition to algae, PetroAlgae draws from a large pool of microorganisms including diatoms, cyanobacteria, and micro-angiosperms (tiny flowering plants). While exact species remain unnamed, the company conscientiously notes that they use only species indigenous to the region in which a production facility will be installed. They have already begun licensing their technology to commercial facilities in Asia, and are poised to complete contracts with the U.S. and several European countries this year. Each licensee is promised the potential to produce 1.5 million barrels of transportation fuel per year, or the equivalent of 1.4 billion miles for a single truck. If PetroAlgae’s assertions hold true, the cost of fuel production is essentially paid for by the revenue from food and feed products, meaning that their microbe-derived fuels will remain competitive with fossil fuels, at any price.

PetroAlgae is in the business of licensing its technology rather than building the algae plants itself. It already has deals with algae farms in India and China and is currently working on deals in the U.S., Canada and Europe.

Via BioFuels Digest

Hydrogen seems like a logical choice for fuel - it's energy dense and emits only water upon combustion - but upon closer examination we see that it's extremely expensive to make from water, so all the hydrogen in production today is made from fossil fuels. But Gerardine Botte at Ohio University has figured out an easy and efficient way to break the bonds in urea to produce hydrogen. The process consumes roughly one quarter of the energy needed to electrolyze water. And, yes, the world has a fairly plentiful (and renewable) supply of urea. Maybe not enough to power all our cars, but it's a start.

Very simply, an inexpensive electrode oxidizes the urea creating two H2 molecules, nitrogen gas and potassium carbonate. Success! None of these chemicals are bad for the environment, and, indeed, are useful, saleable byproducts. The urea doesn't need to be pure or anything either, the process works with human urine, meaning that port-o-johns could someday become useful hydrogen-generation stations.

Of course, we don't have oceans or rivers or lakes of urea (good thing) so it is a more limited feedstock than water. The good news is, what we do have of it is a waste product, and (especially in the case of livestock) already needs to be managed more effectively for environmental reasons. So it certainly wouldn't hurt to have an extra source of hydrogen gas while giving the world a reason to more effectively manage its waste.