India: success extraction of oil from marine algae

[HoosierRon]

In the U.S., a lot of effort has been spent figuring out how to grow algae on land so that its lipids (i.e., oil) can be extracted and turned into biodiesel. In India, they decided to just scoop it out of the ocean.


Marine biologists at FCRI, Tuticorin extract bio-fuel from algae

Mumbai: Scientists at the Fisheries College and Research Institute (FCRI) at Tuticorin have achieved a major breakthrough by successfully extracting bio-fuel from marine micro algae.

FCRI plans to develop an industrial model for mass production of the bio-fuel from marine micro algae, the institute dean V K Venkataramani said.
...
Algae is widely considered to be a source of biodiesel, and there is sufficient volume of marine algae to meet the demand for oil.

[psece]

Where could this be done the US where the environmentalist wouldn't get hot and bothered? What company would take that on?

[HoosierRon]

Originally Posted by psece

Where could this be done the US where the environmentalist wouldn't get hot and bothered? What company would take that on?

There is a permanent algae bloom in the Gulf of Mexico at the mouth of the Mississippi River. We could have Haliburton attach giant algae vacuums to the oil platforms in the Gulf... oh, never mind.

[johnstarnes]

Originally Posted by psece

Where could this be done the US where the environmentalist wouldn't get hot and bothered? What company would take that on?

I've read that a prime cause of the "dead zones" in the Gulf is the overgrowth of marine algae due to run off from farms, especially corn farms...perhaps this process could serve as a remedial response to that scary problem that environmentalists like me could champion. Perhaps large factory ships anchor in each dead zone (now HUGE), filter out the excess algae, return the cleansed water, extract the oil, bring the solids back to shore as fertilizer?

[psece]

Originally Posted by johnstarnes

I've read that a prime cause of the "dead zones" in the Gulf is the overgrowth of marine algae due to run off from farms, especially corn farms...perhaps this process could serve as a remedial response to that scary problem that environmentalists like me could champion. Perhaps large factory ships anchor in each dead zone (now HUGE), filter out the excess algae, return the cleansed water, extract the oil, bring the solids back to shore as fertilizer?

I am willing to bet that the environmentalist that I am referring to would not like that common sense oriented idea. They would say kill off fertilizer and runoff first. And to make oil from it to feed SUV's would just be too much....