Savannahian Investigates Algae as Source for Biodiesel

7/21/2008

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Sketch of an experimental algae farm

John Bebout

Savannahian Investigates Algae as Source for Biodiesel

By Betty Darby

The next time you struggle to kill algae that is stubbornly clinging to your backyard swimming pool, show a little respect. That green slime may be at least part of the answer to our energy problems.

John Bebout, Ph.D., spent 30 years working for the federal government in various energy programs before retiring and moving to Savannah (which he describes as as far south as his New Jersey-born wife was willing to move). But he hasn't given up work. He's formed Bebout and Associates, a renewable-energy consulting operation that consists of him and a changing cast of partners on various projects. Right now, he's gambling on an algae farm operation in the deserts of Nevada that could one day put diesel in your tank, as well as reviving an all-but-gone agricultural economy in that state.

Actually, as he describes it, it's not much of a gamble. The science behind it is sound and not particularly new, and the struggle is to prove and then convince others it can be done on a commercially viable scale.

"There aren't many people out there who will invest in an idea, and you can't blame them. They want you to take them by the hand and lead them out to it and say, 'Here it is, look at it,' " Bebout said.

Bebout has teamed up with Enegis LLC of Virginia and the University of Nevada at Reno to conduct proof of concept studies on the growing and harvesting of algae for biodiesel production.

With the price of gas giving us all a lesson in energy, chances are most business readers have heard something about the biofuels movement - from ethanol to the use of pine-tree waste from the paper industry as an energy source. Algae is just one of the plants, ranging from palm trees to corn, that may ultimately find their way into our cars' tanks. Much algae research has focused on bioreactors - closed environments that involve artificial heating and indoor cultivation. Bebout's project is looking at a lower-tech version that involves outdoor uncovered cultivation in large, shallow artificial ponds.

"Algae can be produced on marginal lands," Bebout said. "I always thought there was sort of a moral issue when so many people in the world are starving to take food and make fuel of it."

Nevada is geographically blessed with geothermal resources - direct access to the planet's underground water heater. Where that water is extremely hot, it can be used for electrical generation. At lower temperatures, Bebout explained, some Nevada farmers harnessed it to operate year-round growing operations to raise everything from roses to onions. But lower-cost imports have decimated those operations. The Savannah scientist thinks algae might turn out to be the ideal replacement crop.

The secret to making algae work as a biodiesel source is year-round production, and that production faces climate challenges. Even in a region as warm as subtropical Savannah, Bebout said, it would take supplemental heating for six months out of a year to keep the most oil-productive algae species thriving outdoors - and that additional heating cost blows the economic viability out of the water. That's where Nevada and its geothermal resources come in. Still, the researcher thinks other algae species and techniques conceivably could one day make algae-farming feasible here.

Construction is likely to begin within weeks on the series of shallow ponds for the algae growing on the campus of the university. Pumps have to keep the water moving a good deal of the time or the algae will sink and die, he said. Additionally, surface area counts instead of depth, since algae of this type grow on or near the surface. To trigger the plants to produce lipids in abundance, they must be stressed, as in an overcrowded environment.

After proving their concept by keeping ponds alive for a year, Bebout said, the next step is to build 200 acres of algae ponds. "That will produce one million gallons a year, which is approaching commercialization," he said, "and from there, yoru are trying to prove you can scale it up."

"There is a tremendous potential market and not just the diesel. The Department of Defense is absolutely desperate to get a supply of jet fuel and diesel that is not subject to some disruption," he said.

When asked if algae could be commercially grown in Georgia, Bebout said he believes his variety of algae would flourish in this area, and he is holding preliminary discussions with potential partners in the Southeast. "The challenge in Georgia," he said, "is finding supplementary heat to keep the ponds growing all year. Among other options, we are exploring passive solar heating and utilizing the waste heat from existing or partner industries."

Bebout retired from his federal government career of more than 30 years as deputy director of the National Energy Office for the Department of the Interior. He had served as national program manager for the geothermal program, which covered all geothermal activity on federal lands.

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