algal biofuels: the next wave

Using a third-generation biofuels technique to create ethanol from algae in seawater, one company claims it "will be the largest consumer of CO2 on the planet". Algenol Biofuels says it will be able to create 100 million gallons of ethanol from 1.5 million tons of CO2 at a facility in Mexico, with a yield of 6,000 gallons per acre per year. In comparison, corn yields only 360 gallons per acre per year, and sugarcane 890 gallons. Expecting to be producing at scale by the end of next year, the company hopes to produce "the cheapest fuel on the planet".

Comments

[Audrey]

Rory, can you explain - I'm not sure exactly what they mean when they talk about "third generation"? Thanks!

[Rory]

According to Wikipedia, first generation biofuels are often seeds or grains such as wheat, which yields starch that is fermented into bioethanol, or sunflower seeds, which are pressed to yield vegetable oil that can be used in biodiesel.

Responding to food security issues, second generation fuels were developed from non-food crops (and waste from food crops), and the third generation is from algae.

There is even a fourth generation using genetically engineering microorganisms to produce fuel directly from carbon dioxide.