Aquaflow Strikes Oil with “Green Crude” from Algae

Editor’s note: This post is a guest contribution by Adam Shake.

Do you remember going to the local pond or lake as a kid and swimming around without a care in the world?  Do you remember the feel of the algae between you’re toes?  Well if New Zealand company Aquaflow Bionomic has anything to say about it, we may be using that same algae to fuel our vehicles.

The company, founded in 2005, says that it has produced the first samples of green crude oil at a commercially competitive price. This could be great news for a lot of Bio-Fuel “Flip-Floppers.”  The question of utilizing land based crops producing Ethanol, or animal / vegetable oil based Bio-diesel, may be coming to a close with this new contender.

• » See also: Scientists Researching How Plants Can Make Petroleum
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Green Crude is made from wild algae grown on human sewage, and as such, would not use valuable acres which could then be used to, say, grow more food instead of fuel.

The company states that Green Crude produces 90 per cent less emissions than regular diesel, and in addition, it produces a great byproduct, clean Water for irrigation or industrial re-use.

Aquaflow chairman, Barrie Leay, said “We can separate fuels such as diesel and aviation fuels, as well as a range of high value chemicals.” He then went on that “Aquaflow’s technology appears to provide solutions to the two most significant issues globally - energy security and water security.”

We live in a world with a steadily growing population, and that population demands more and more fuel.  Our planet only has so many acres of farm-able land, and as a result, the growing need for Corn based Ethanol is leading to deforestation and wold-wide increases in corn and grain prices, not to mention damage to the Environment through unsustainable Farming and overuse of chemicals and fertilizers.

Perhaps the time has come, to look outside the barrel and bushel, and towards the green stuff that squishes between our toes.

More on Algae Biofuels from Gas 2.0:

• First Algae Biodiesel Plant Goes Online: April 1, 2008
• Taking Algae Biofuel to the Next Level: Solazyme Gets $45 Million
• First Heavy-Duty Diesel Powered By Algae Biodiesel

Souces: Aquaflow Group and New Zealand Herald

Image Credit: Jasoneppink via Flickr under Creative Commons License

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