8 July 2008

Algae - sustainable sources of biofuel?

Some of the earth’s oldest living organisms could provide the solution to mass production of biofuels, according to a leading expert at the University of Dundee.

Geoffrey Codd, Professor of Microbiology at the University and President of the British Phycological Society, said algae were a viable potential source of biofuel which would not compete for land use with food production and other agricultural activity.

In the UK this could involve reviving traditional industries such as seaweed harvesting for new uses.

"It is right that the options for and pros and cons of biofuel production should be assessed in depth and the Gallagher Report issued this week will doubtless be a major milestone in this process," said Professor Codd.

"There is increasing concern that the recent rush to produce biofuels from terrestrial crop plants is diverting the use of agricultural land from food production. The net benefits to the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions by clearing forests to provide more land for plant production for biofuels are also now seriously challenged."

"There are however, additional options in the search for sustainable feedstocks for biofuel production, including the so-called `2nd generation’ and `advanced’ sources, as referred to in the Gallagher Report."

"One source however is not exactly second generation; it was around long before terrestrial crop plants appeared on the Earth - the algae, ranging from the single-celled plankton which grow in our seas, oceans and freshwaters, to the seaweeds on our shores."

"Algae can also grow in some of the harshest environments on Earth - in salt lakes and in desert environments where food crop plant production is not practised or even possible."

"Clearly there is no single fix in the search for sustainable biofuels and there are no quick fixes. However, algae are up there as viable and natural potential and sustainable biofuel sources. We should give more attention to this in the current assessment of the future of biofuel production."

Professor Codd said among the advantages of algae were that they:

• Do not need to compete for agricultural land to produce biomass to yield biofuels
• Can show high growth yields (sometimes 5-10 times higher than the best land crops)
• Are a highly diverse group of naturally occurring organisms which fix carbon dioxide, produce oxygen and already have a major role in CO2 removal from the atmosphere
• Produce a vast array of useful by products in addition to biofuel feedstock.

Options exist for algal mass production or harvesting and are already being pursued in some countries including Australia, Israel and the USA, without using agricultural land

And in the UK Professor Codd believes one solution could lie on our shores.

"There is also a potentially high application in regions such as the British Isles from seaweed, either collected from natural deposits on our beaches, or harvested from seaweed beds," he said.

"Seaweed harvesting was a traditional industry around British and Irish Coasts for iodine production and fertilizer - it seems time to actively consider a return to seaweed as a digestible and fermentable source of biofuel."

The potential of algae as sustainable biofuel sources is a topic of very high current activity in the international algal research and development community. The subject was high on the agenda at a scientific meeting in Galway last week attended by over 400 researchers.

Both effort and investment in this option are developing rapidly with many new small companies emerging.

NOTES TO EDITORS
Research into algae and algal applications are of strong interest in the UK. The British Phycological Society works to promote such work on algae. One of the Society’s aims is to ensure that the prospects of algae in helping to combat CO2 rise, climate change and to provide sustainable sources of biofuels are adequately addressed.

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