Algae biofuel is filled with promise. Algae grow fast, consume carbon dioxide and spare the need to fallow cropland from producing food.
Sewage wastewater helps algae cultivation overcome its environmental impact
But doubts have appeared about their contribution to the fight against global warming. Algae require CO2 and fertilizer to grow. However the environmental impact of obtaining these necessary ingredients makes algae cultivation worse for the earth than generating biofuel from switchgrass, canola and corn, according to a study by the University of Virginia, Charlottesville. The study was published this week in the Environmental Science & Technology journal.
Fortunately for algae, all this is turned on its head when sewage plant wastewater is used in place of fertilizer and other sources of CO2, say the researchers from the university’s McIntire School of Commerce.
“Wastewater could be used to offset most of the environmental burdens associated with algae,” an abstract of the study states. It provides the necessary nitrogen and phosphorus.
To its credit, algae generate higher energy yields per acre than planted crops. When wastewater is used in cultivation (purifying the water in the process), commercial trials are clearly are worth the most time and money.
This entry was posted on Friday, January 22nd, 2010 at 3:03 pm and is filed under news. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Vulnerable to sounding like a jerk – a few of those footage made me feel better about myself