Way back in 1912, Dr. Rudolf Diesel remarked “The use of
vegetable oil as fuel might seem of no importance in our times. However, such
products can gain importance in the course of time and reach an equal status
compared with today's petroleum and these coal-tar products”, which stands true
today.
In the wake to look for alternative energy, researches
all over the world are trying their hands hard at creating more and more energy alternatives. Algae is one of them. Today, algae are being used at a wide scale
to produce oil from it. Microalgalroute to biodiesel is a potential alternative
to vegetable oil and overall economics of the process needs improvement to be a competitive substitute to petrodiesel.
Algae consume carbon dioxide as they grow, so they could be
used to capture CO2 from power stations and other industrial plants that would
otherwise go into the atmosphere. Algae has a rapid growth rate and certain
species of algae can be harvested daily. Algae biofuel contains no sulphur, is non-toxic and is highly bio-degradable. And thus, does
not harm the environment at all.
Various factors like selected Algal strain, light conditions,
the temperature, water flow rate, supply of carbon dioxide, minerals and
vitamins in the water, etc can collectively determine the growth rate of the
algae. Selection of Algal strain remains another very important criteria. Some
algae naturally manufacture hydrocarbons that are suitable as high energy fuels.
Botrycoccusbraunii, a common species, can contain more than 50% oil, mostly in the form of hydrocarbons. Algae biodiesel is carbon neutral that ensures no net accumulation
of CO2 in the atmosphere.
Looking at the various benefits of Algae-Biodiesel we can
certainly, imagine a healthy environment for our future generations to come and
provide them with a natural source of energy formation.
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