Green fuel of the future: Scientists look to algae

Kwan Weng Kin, Straits Times 30 Jun 08;

TOKYO - ONIGIRI is a ball of cooked rice wrapped in a sheet of dried seaweed, and to the Japanese, this is food for the soul.

Someday, seaweed may satisfy not only hunger pangs but also the nation's demand for energy.

Its potential as an alternative energy source has got scientists all fired up, not only in Japan but also in countries where seaweed is not uncommon, such as Ireland and Denmark.

Algae, of which seaweed is the most complex marine form, have long intrigued scientists.

During the process of photosynthesis, which produces chemical energy using light and carbon dioxide, algae are known to be capable of storing hydrocarbon compounds within their cells that have a composition similar to oil.

Because carbon dioxide is used to produce such oil, no extra carbon dioxide is discharged into the atmosphere when it is burnt.

The problem is finding the kind of algae that will produce high yields of such oil and also creating the right conditions to encourage these algae to reproduce as quickly as possible.

At Keio University's Institute for Advanced Biosciences, located in Tsuruoka City in northern Yamagata prefecture, a team has been quietly looking into such issues for about two years.

The green algae they are studying was first discovered in Japan's hot spring areas. It is said to be the highest-yielding and fastest-breeding algae currently known to scientists, therefore holding out the best promise for mass production.

Using technology that can give an instantaneous 'snapshot' of the physiology of a living organism, the university hopes to determine the most efficient way of cultivating the algae and extracting oil from it.

The biodiesel yielded can be used in cars and ships, as well as in power plants, and can reduce dependence on fossil fuels as a source of energy.

Said Keio researcher Takuro Ito: 'We hope to build an experimental plant by 2011 to demonstrate that the process works and to eventually get other universities and companies involved.'

At Tsukuba University, just over an hour north of Tokyo by car, Professor Makoto Watanabe is pondering similar questions in his laboratory, which is filled with flasks of pale green liquid.

He is studying a different variety of algae, which produces an oil heavier than diesel.

He has developed an extraction process in which the algae does not perish but can be returned to culture tanks to produce more oil.

The beauty of using algae to produce oil is that this does not eat into the world's food supply, unlike the use of food crops like corn or sugar cane to produce biofuels.

Besides, algae are notably more efficient as oil producers.

One report citing US government estimates said that while a 10,000 sq m site can only yield 0.2 tonnes of oil from corn, or 6 tonnes from oil palm, it can produce 47 tonnes to 100 tonnes of oil from algae.

Actually, the idea of extracting oil from algae goes back a long way, at least to the time of the first oil crisis in 1973.

The high cost of doing so dampened research efforts for a long time. Now the surge in global oil prices to record levels has put the spotlight back on the lowly algae.

Last December, Royal Dutch Shell said that it would build a biofuel production facility for algae in Hawaii.

In January this year, Japan's Fisheries Agency also announced a five-year plan to conduct research into producing biofuels from algae.

At the same time, the private-sector Mitsubishi Research Institute is reportedly working with universities and companies on various oil-from-algae projects, including the feasibility of building an enormous seaweed plantation in the ocean to produce biofuel.

The plan is to place 100 floating fishing nets in the ocean, each measuring 10km by 10km, and use them to grow seaweed.

There are many problems though, such as how to ensure that the nets will not be swept away by strong currents and whether they will obstruct the passage of ships.

At present, extracting oil from algae in commercial quantities is still very much in the realm of research. It will probably take many years before it can become a reality.

And should the price of oil drop sharply, or should there be breakthroughs in finding other cheaper alternative sources of energy, interest in extracting oil from seaweed could once again wane.

American biologist and entrepreneur Craig Venter, who led efforts to sequence and publish the human genome in 2001, is now studying the world's oceans in the hope of finding microbes that can suck up excess carbon dioxide from the air and turn it into fuel.

If he cannot find the right microbes, he hopes to be able to create synthetically-made ones that will do the job.

For Japan, rice - which the nation grows far too much of anyway - is increasingly being seen as a practical and immediate alternative source of energy.

A new hybrid variety, which does not require transplanting in order to save labour costs, is being used in a pilot project to produce bioethanol from next year.

The high-yielding strain was originally created to make animal feed but is now being eyed as an energy source instead.

The Japanese could wake up one day to find seaweed and rice not only a staple on their menus but also the source of fuel for their cars.

And Japan might even find itself exporting oil as well.