Renewables: Biocrude from Raw Algae

The use of algae to make fuel, as Kevin Bullis reports.
Algae makes oil naturally. Raw algae can be processed to make biocrude, the renewable equivalent of petroleum, and refined to make gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, and chemical feedstocks for plastics and drugs. Indeed, it can be processed at existing oil refineries to make just about anything that can be made from crude oil.

Alternatively, strains of algae that produce more carbohydrates and less oil can be processed and fermented to make ethanol, with leftover proteins used for animal feed.

The great thing about algae is that they don't need fertile land. They can be grown on ponds, in tubes, or on marginal land not good for much else. They can use water that's not of drinking quality, and even process waste-water for nitrogen, and clean up CO2 from power plants; they are versatile guys.
Source: www.adamsmith.org.



More Cimate Change facts

Globally, all of the 10 warmest years on record have occurred since the beginning of the 1990s, and include each year since 1997. Snow cover has decreased by 10 % since the 1960s and there has been a significant retreat of glaciers and ice sheets. Arctic spring and summer sea-ice extent has decreased by about 10 to 15% since the 1950s.

The locations of plants and animals have shifted pole-wards and upwards. Plant flowering, arrival of migrating birds, the breeding season for birds, and the emergence of insects have all been observed to occur earlier across the northern hemisphere. Coral reef bleaching due to unusually high sea surface temperatures has increased in frequency.

More extreme rainfall events are also expected to be a feature of climate change. A recent report from the Association of British Insurers noted that in 2000 the
UK experienced its wettest autumn for almost 300 years, with heavy rainfall leading to damage to 10,000 properties and nearly £1 billion in insurance claims.

Claims for storms and flood damages in the UK have doubled to over £6 billion over the period 1998-2003, compared to the previous five years, with a prospect of a further tripling by 2050.

Changes in snowmelt, permafrost and rainfall will change the volume and timing of river flows and groundwater recharge. Vegetation is affected by changes in temperature, rainfall, and directly by increased atmospheric carbon dioxide levels. This will affect ecological and physiological processes, alter growing season length, biomass production, competition between species, and lead to shifts in species ranges and possible extinctions. Climate change is likely to lead to irreversible and accelerated losses of biodiversity, with some recent research suggesting that between 16 and 37 % of the land species in the areas studied could be committed to extinction by 2050, under mid-range climate change scenarios. It is not only natural ecosystems that will be affected, crop and animal production will also face changes.

Coastal wetlands comprising of salt-marshes, mangroves and associated unvegetated inter-tidal areas, could experience substantial changes and losses due to sea-level rise. It is estimated that the potential loss of the world’s coastal wetlands could be up to 20%. Coral reefs will also be affected by rising ocean temperatures and CO2 which may cause chronic stress and disease epidemics, mass coral bleaching and the inhibition of calcification. Such changes, together with direct climate effects, will affect human society, putting increased pressure on food and water resources and energy supplies. In turn (and in combination with other factors) this may contribute to the causes of migration, instability and conflict. It is estimated that 1/3 of the world’s population are presently living in water stressed countries. Depending on the emission scenarios, climate scenarios and population change, it is estimated that up to 2/3 of the world’s population will be living in waterstressed countries by 2050 as a result of climate change.

Source: Scientific and technical aspects of climate change, including impacts and adaptation and associated costs www.defra.gov.uk