Posts Tagged ‘algae’
Groundwork Has Been Laid At Sapphire Energy
Article courtesy of the Las Cruces Bulletin
By Marvin Tessneer
Sapphire Energy is constructing an integrated algal bio-refinery (IABR) to produce green crude oil on a site near Columbus, N.M., in Luna County, the first commercial facility in the country, according to a company newsletter. Sapphire, which is headquartered in San Diego, also operates a 22-acre test and development facility in Las Cruces’ West Mesa Industrial Park.
Sapphire has scheduled a multi-year project to produce green crude. The first production phase will start this summer. By 2014, the company expects the Columbus IABR facility to produce 100 barrels, or 1 million gallons of fuel a year, according to Sapphire.
The Columbus IABR facility is expected to provide 700 jobs during construction and 30 permanent jobs for continued operations. Sapphire has designed raceway ponds at Columbus to grow algae that will cover 100 to 300 acres. In the energy business, the operation is termed “farming under water.”
Government agencies believe Sapphire is on the right track to grow and harvest algae and produce green crude. The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded the company a $50million grant and the U.S. Department of Agriculture has guaranteed a $54.5million loan, according to Sapphire.
Most people consider green mass seen on ponds “green gunk.” But Sapphire is developing that green gunk, or algae, into a renewable and sustainable transportation fuel that will help reduce the nation’s dependence on foreign petroleum.
“All of us on the research and development side are rooting for Sapphire to have tremendous success at its commercial demonstration facility at Columbus,” said Pete Lammers, New Mexico State University biochemistry professor.
Algae are a micro-organism that combines sunlight and carbon dioxide from the air as sources of energy to produce green crude oil. Scientists report algae can produce 10 times or more energy per acre than other bio-fuels crops. Algae don’t compete with food crops. Land at the Columbus site is marginal for crops, and the water is brackish and not suitable for irrigation.
The algal green crude is termed “drop-in” fuel in the industry. The Sapphire newsletter reported, “Sapphire Energy has cultivated algae that create renewable crude oil that can be processed in existing refineries into jet fuel, diesel and gasoline. These drop-in replacement fuels are molecularly identical to petroleum-based fuels and are compatible with existing infrastructure and engines.”
Sapphire Continues On With Expansion
Las Cruces Bulletin photo by Samantha Roberts
Article courtesy of the Las Cruces Bulletin
By Samantha Roberts
You have to see it to believe it. The research on algae biofuel at Sapphire Energy could change the world, literally. Research and development measures at the compound could lead to replacing millions of gallons of transportation fuel a year with pond scum. Currently, New Mexico is a leader in the world in terms of algae-based production because of its environmental conditions.
“Algae like the hot weather and lots of sunshine,” said Tim Zenk, vice president of corporate affairs for Sapphire Energy. “It even likes the slightly cooler temperatures during a New Mexico winter.”
“Algae also like brackish water,” said Denise Gitsham, Sapphire’s director of corporate affairs and legislative council. “Southern New Mexico has an abundance of salty water perfect for algae growth. And we are only using land that can’t be used for other purposes. We are not competing for drinking water or agricultural land. “We are creating the first above-ground renewable oil field.”
These reasons have led Sapphire Energy to name Las Cruces as its research and development facility, a component that will remain when the Columbus, N.M., site, which is currently under construction, is completed. Sapphire Energy started in 2007. The company has 155 employees across three facilities and more than 50 employees in Las Cruces.
“Sapphire purchased 10 acres at market value and promised to invest $6 million and create 30 jobs in three years,” said Christine Logan, economic development administrator for the City of Las Cruces. “In exchange, the city made 90 acres available at no cost. Sapphire surpassed their (promise) short of a year and a half.”
Las Cruces serves as a testing and development center, operating plot farms. The area is small in comparison to commercialization of the algae product and what will be done in Columbus but large by world standards, Zenk said. “We understand the business principles to make commercialized algae biofuel successful,” Zenk said. “We know we have to be concerned about crop protection, (fuel) extraction and crop yield as well as the biology and engineering behind the process. “Historically, 99 percent of crude oil has come from diatoms and algae. If Mother Nature can do this naturally, then so can we in petri dishes. And then take that to small ponds, to large ponds and to commercialization.”
Currently, the Las Cruces facility is operating at four different levels – petri dishes, small ponds, runway ponds and large ponds. The Columbus facility will have more large ponds connected back to back. “Our (final) goal is to produce 5,000 gallons of oil per acre per year,” said Bryn Davis, New Mexico operations manager.
Once the biofuel is capable of being produced on a large scale, Zenk said Sapphire’s initial target client will be the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD). “The DOD has led the way for every energy change,” Zenk said. “There is strategic planning going on right now for the next (energy) transition. There will be an opportunity to be at the forefront of this technology, and a big proposal will soon be released by the U.S. Navy asking for large scale efforts to supply biofuels.”
The Navy is going to look at communities with the technology and the community support. They don’t want to push a technology on a community that doesn’t want it. Therefore, it is very important for the Las Cruces community and southern New Mexico to rally around our efforts and see the benefits for all sectors.”
Zenk said the request for information was due at the end of September. “The (request for proposal) will be released around the beginning of next year,” he said.
The Columbus site is expected to open by the spring or summer of 2012 with 100 acres and will spread over 300 acres upon final completion in 2015. Columbus is expected to produce 100 million gallons of diesel fuel per year. At phase three, the Columbus site will be a demonstration facility that Sapphire hopes to use as an example, attracting investors.
“At that scale, the site will demonstrate operations for a larger facility,” Davis said. Davis said there is little time to talk about algae because developments are happening so quickly. “We are competing with other nations,” he said. “When we broke ground in Las Cruces, I was already shopping for the land in Columbus. We have to think about the next step because there is not a lot of time.”
“China’s No. 1 objective is to develop a new source of energy,” Zenk said. “It is us versus them. We can fight over energy or develop a new source. It is the only hope for our military.”
New Mexico State University also has a large role to play in Sapphire’s success.
“Our goal is to create a center of excellence with advanced biofuels,” said City Councilor Nathan Small.
Currently, more than $15 million has been invested into the Las Cruces community, and Sapphire Energy has hired more than 50 people – many NMSU and Doña Ana Community College graduates – for the Las Cruces facility. Spin-off business will also be created through growth of Sapphire and commercialization of the algae biofuel.
“We use a large amount of CO2,” Zenk said. “To produce one gallon of algae fuel, we use about 20 to 25 pounds of CO2. Finding a consistent source of carbon dioxide is crucial. The pipeline in Lea County is very valuable to us. I can also see a business in managing CO2.”
Gitsham said she expects to see more graduates of NMSU and DACC staying in southern New Mexico as a result of the work at Sapphire.
“We are still at the dawn of the algae business,” Zenk said. “The biology is only four years old, and there is still a lot more ahead of us. If someone told you they knew everything about algae biology, they are probably lying.”
Biofuels Research at NMSU
Article courtesy of the Las Cruces Bulletin
Written by Jay Rodman
Research being done at New Mexico State University on the production of algae-based biofuels would become increasingly important to New Mexico’s – and the nation’s – economic prosperity, if U.S. Sen. Tom Udall has his way.
Udall visited NMSU to announce legislation he will introduce in the Senate to ensure a more level playing field for the algal biofuels industry.
Joining Udall at the news conference were NMSU President Barbara Couture; Pete Lammers, NMSU research professor and the technical director of the university’s Algal Bioenergy Program; Jim Peach, regents professor of economics; and Denise Gitsham, director of corporate affairs and legislative counsel for Sapphire Energy, Inc., owner of a large biorefinery in Columbus, N.M.
The U.S. Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 established a production target of 36 billion gallons of advanced biofuels by 2022, with separate volume requirements for each category of renewable fuel. It also required that life-cycle analyses be used to ensure that each renewable fuel emits less greenhouse gas that the petroleum it replaces.
Udall said he feels the renewable fuel standards established by than law go a long way toward promoting U.S. energy security through domestic production of fossil fuel alternatives. In the current version; however, mandated targets for alternative fuel production favor corn-based and cellulosic ethanol over algae-based and other “advanced” biofuels.
He expressed his belief that Congress should promote research and development of alternative energy sources, but that the market should determine the balance among the various alternatives. The legislation that he and Public Works Committee colleague Larry Crapo of Idaho plan to introduce will mandate parity for algae and other non-cellulosic advanced biofuels, in terms of production requirements and subsidies under the renewable fuel standards. Comparable bipartisan legislation has been introduced in the House of Representatives.
Udall chose NMSU as the site for his announcement because of the university’s established commitment to algal biofuel research. NMSU recently moved into algae bio-oil production mode with a new 4,000-liter Solix BioSystems algal photobioreactor, which joined four smaller algae “raceways” at the Fabian Garcia Science Center in Las Cruces. The university is a member of the National Alliance for Advanced Biofuels and Bioproducts consortium, established through $49 million in grants from the Department of Energy to explore all aspects of algal biofuel production, harvesting, extraction and upgrading to diesel and jet fuels.
Prior to the news conference, Udall was greeted by Couture at the science center. He then met with a group that included other NMSU administrators, New Mexico Secretary of Agriculture Jeff Witte, and faculty and staff members involved in algal research. They showed him the new algal photobioreactor, as well as an automated biodiesel processor, and discussed various ways NMSU’s algal technology might be integrated into dairy and livestock production facilities, or even inland shrimp farming.
Lammer’s stressed the importance of algae research in benefiting humankind. He foresees a situation in the not-too-distant future where converting algae into fuel will not only fill a significant portion of the nation’s energy needs, but will also capture value from waste streams to create a “cradle-to-cradle” approach to industrial ecology. Lammers sees the current push to develop renewable fuels to blend with traditional petroleum products as a turning point in global energy policy, and he believes algae can play a key role.
“I think of algae cultivation as a waste-to-energy process that will benefit the economics of existing agricultural enterprises,” Lammers said. “This is the first step in a long journey. Industrial ecologies capable of sustaining a population of 7 billion people for a thousand years will waste nothing and recycle everything. In the long run, that will include industrial, municipal and agricultural waste streams.”
In his news conference remarks, Udall pointed out the advantages algal biofuel has over other options and the advantages New Mexico has over most other states in producing it.
Comparing algae to corn grown for ethanol and to soybeans used for biodiesel production, Udall explained that algae production requires much less land, can be accomplished with lower quality water, results in the absorption of large amounts of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide – and it is not a food crop, so growing it for fuel production doesn’t impact the food supply.
New Mexico is an ideal place for algal biofuel production. It has plentiful sunshine, an abundance of water unsuitable for consumption or crop irrigation, and land is not scarce.
“I believe New Mexico is well positioned to be a leader in this,” Udall said. “And with policies that encourage the production of clean energy, our state can create an energy economy that leads the nation in developing the jobs of the future.”
Udall shared the results of a survey of 52 Algal Biomass Organization member companies on the issue of potential job growth from legislative and regulatory parity for algae. The estimate based on this survey suggested that “explosive” job growth – more than 200,000 jobs nationwide – could be expected over the next decade if Congress puts algae on a level playing field with ethanol and other advanced biofuels.
Peach and colleague Meghan Starbuck-Downes have studied the potential economic impact of algal biofuel production. Based on their economic model, they estimate that for every 100 million gallons of algal biofuel produced in the state, there would be 450 jobs created, including direct, indirect and induced jobs. State revenues would likely be boosted by $8 million to $9 million.
“New Mexico is an energy state with vast reserves of oil, natural gas, coal and uranium,” Peach said. “Wind and solar are significant parts of the state’s energy industry. Nearly all energy analysts agree that we need to develop all forms of energy. The algal biofuels industry could become an important part of the state’s energy portfolio and could have substantial economic impacts.”
Sapphire Energy Closer to Success
Sapphire Energy photo
Article courtesy of the Las Cruces Bulletin
By Marvin Tessneer
Sapphire Energy has started construction on pond structures eight miles west of Columbus, N.M., in Luna County to produce algae for what is known in the industry as green crude, which can be refined into fuel. AMEC, the prime contractor, is putting up structures that will contain 100 acres of ponds to grow algae, also known as “pond scum,” for green crude.
“This is the first phase of our plan to build 300 acres of a green crude production field,” said Bryn Davis operations manager at the Las Cruces Sapphire office. “This will affect fuel production in New Mexico and ultimately throughout the world.”
Sapphire uses the intense desert sunlight and groundwater to produce the algae. The company owns water rights it acquired with the desert land it has purchased. Since the water is saline, the green crude production will not compete with agriculture, Davis said.
Petroleum is 200 million to 300 million year- old algae that is pumped out of the ground, according to Stephen Mayfield, a Sapphire researcher based from San Diego.
Mayfield was a key player during the startup of Sapphire Energy, Davis said.
“Algae already make oil that looks like crude oil,” Mayfield said. “The oil we extract from algae goes directly into a refinery and gets converted into diesel or gasoline.”
“We’re on line to start producing algae in Luna County at the end of next summer,” Davis said. “That’s the goal, but it’s always changing and progressing.”
When asked how long it would take until drivers would be able to fill their storage tanks with algae biofuel, Mayfield said, “We’re probably 10 years away. Many scientists said the biofuel is worth the wait because there will not be much choice as the world’s population increases along with the need for oil.”
The green crude possibilities are so promising, the federal government and venture capitalists are investing millions of dollars in the San Diego Center for Algae Biotechnology, where Mayfield is the director.
The facility has received a $4 million state grant to train workers in the biofuel industry, Mayfield said in a Sapphire news release.
Algae grow fast in ample sunlight and small amounts of water. It can produce about 5,000 gallons of fuel per acre in a year. The best places to produce the green crude are deserts in New Mexico and the algae research farm in Imperial Valley, Calif. where the land is cheap and doesn’t compete with food production, Mayfield said.
“The enormous advantage that we have is, unlike corn, when you can get one crop a year, which is used to make ethanol, we can get one crop a week,” Mayfield said.
Green crude critics argue that algae-oil is too expensive, putting the cost at $24 per gallon.
“Technology and innovation will drive the price down while gas prices will continue to rise,” Mayfield said. “Within a decade, algae will be a less expensive fuel and the answer to independence from foreign oil. The country that controls energy controls the world. If we can’t find a domestic source for energy to power this country, we will have serious economic problems in the next 10 to 20 years.”
Sapphire also operates a series of research and development ponds in the West Mesa Industrial Park that covers more than 2 acres. The research on the West Mesa in going into the second full summer, Davis said.
NMSU Expands Algae Research with 4,000-liter Photobioreactor
Article courtesy of NMSU News Center
Writer: Jay Rodman, 575-646-1996, jrodman@nmsu.edu
New Mexico State University photo
New Mexico State University is significantly expanding its capacity to accomplish critical algal biofuel research with the recent installation of a new photobioreactor system from Solix BioSystems at the university’s Fabian Garcia Research Center in Las Cruces. The system promises to accelerate the university’s emergence as a leader in this important research area.
“Energy security and sustainability are global challenges,” said Vimal Chaitanya, vice president for research at NMSU. “With the demand for energy in developing nations projected to far outweigh that in the industrialized nations, it is critical to develop clean-energy options. Otherwise, developing countries will have no choice but to implement ‘business-as-usual’ approaches to energy production, with serious negative impacts on the global environment.
“We are happy to be engaged in developing approaches that will not only grow the local economy in New Mexico, but will maintain U.S. leadership in the global environment and energy security while reducing U.S. dependence on foreign oil.”
Funds to purchase the system came from a recent $2.3 million U.S. Air Force grant. Long range operational costs will be covered by a $49 million Department of Energy grant that established the National Alliance for Advanced Biofuels and Bioproducts consortium.
The Solix BioSystems Lumian AGS4000 is an algae cultivation system with a 4,000-liter production capacity that allows faster and denser production of algae than open “raceway” systems. In the new photobioreactor, algae culture will grow in enclosed panels suspended in an open 61-by-11-foot water filled basin. Control of various factors, such as temperature, carbon dioxide content and nutrient supply, is very precise and the panels are designed to optimize solar exposure. The result is a system that can accelerate the rate of carbon dioxide absorption, and therefore the rate of algae growth, up to 10 times the rate of raceways and can produce up to three times the density of algae per liter of water.
“The NMSU team plans to experiment with algae cultivation using the high performance AGS4000 to produce improved algal ‘seed’ culture for cultivation ‘scale-up’ in less expensive raceway systems,” said Peter Lammers, NMSU research professor and technical director of the university’s Algal Bioenergy Program. “Optimizing those steps will allow us to develop cultivation practices for both improved control of ‘weedy’ algae and maximizing oil content.”
Solix engineers, working with NMSU researchers and facilities personnel, completed the initial setup of the complex system April 8. Lammers said the system should be fully operational sometime in May.
In the context of NMSU’s multifaceted algal research agenda, the photobioreactor has a dual purpose, Lammers said. Not only will it help answer major research questions about how best to raise algae in the southern New Mexico climate, it will assume an expanding role as a production facility.
The standardized algal biomass it generates will be used for research on algal oil extraction and fuel conversion technologies, as well as the development of algal co-products such as high-protein animal or fish meal and fish-oil replacements.
“The economics of algae-derived fuel will be very difficult without generating revenue from every portion of the algae biomass,” Lammers said.
Among the researchers in four NMSU colleges whose work will be supported by the new system are Wiebke J. Boeing, Shanna Ivey, Tanner Schaub and Adrian Unc in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences; Meghan Starbuck in the College of Business; Wayne Van Voorhies in the College of Arts and Sciences; and Shuguang Deng and Nirmala Khandan in the College of Engineering.
The Lumian AGS4000 will help researchers answer many critical questions, including: What varieties of saltwater algae thrive in southern New Mexico? What combination of factors will optimize their lipid content? Can industrial carbon dioxide and brackish water be used in their cultivation? Can municipal and/or agricultural waste be used as nutrients? What is the best way to extract the lipid content of the algae and refine it into fuel? How can the production process be engineered to make it economically viable? Can the non-lipid biomass be used to feed livestock? Can water from the Solix system be used to irrigate certain plants?
For more information about NMSU’s role in the National Alliance for Advanced Biofuels and Bioproducts, visit research.nmsu.edu/naabb.
