Mimicking Mother Nature: PA Company Turns Algae Into Energy

April 5, 2013

Gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel is distilled from crude oil. But what many people might not know is that the oil itself is a natural byproduct of algae.

Algae is a small plant found in fresh water and oceans. Like other plants, algae harvests the energy in sunlight to make oil. When sunlight shines on it, algae produces a tiny electrical current and joins water molecules with carbon dioxide molecules and makes hydrocarbons. Hydrocarbons are the chemical signature of crude oil and other fossil fuels.

One-celled animals and plants settle on the seafloor and for various reasons, many don’t decompose. As the continental plates pile on top of each other, this organic matter is subjected to incredibly high pressures. It takes millions of years of heat and compression for tiny drops of oil in trillions of algal cells to collect and transform into crude oil.

“We actually do a similar process,” says Rudy Behrens, the president of B.E.A.R Group, a biofuels producer in Montgomery County in Eastern Pennsylvania.

Behrens says his company’s technology is dependent upon a natural phenomenon known as “cavitation.” In cavitation, microbubbles form in the liquid mixture of water and algae. These microbubbles are momentarily at extremely high pressures and temperatures. They change the molecules of algae into petroleum just like millions of years of pressure and heat change the molecular structure of algae into oil.

B.E.A.R Group uses a device they call a "kinetic nozzle" to expose the algae to the same high pressures and temperatures. The elements of the living proteins and carbohydrates are transformed into the different chemical compounds found in petroleum.

“As I like to tell people, Exxon uses plate tectonics and we use a kinetic nozzle, but the raw materials are the same and the end result is the same,” says Behrens.

THE PROCESS

A blend of algae is placed in one tank. Pumps force it through the cavitating nozzle and the oils are collected in the other tank. The biomass itself re-circulates through the nozzles many times during the conversion process.

There are no chemicals involved in the process, unlike some other algae-to-energy processes. One example, says Behrens, is the extraction of natural oils called lipids for biodiesel. The lipids are treated with chemicals to make the fuel. Other techniques ferment algae into alcohol.

The blend of algae species the B.E.A.R. Group uses comes from nearby lakes and streams and is cultivated in a greenhouse. Behrens says there is no genetic modification of the plants.

“We use a variety of species that are found in the water. By having a more complex living system, you produce more biomass than if you just used a single species.”

Biomass is biological material from the algae that can be converted into biofuel.

PRODUCTION ABOUT TO BEGIN

The B.E.A.R. Group is in the process of building its first commercial unit. This unit—which is expected to be completed within the next few months—will initially produce five barrels a day.

“Later we will be able to produce commercial quantities of the fuel and we’ll hope to build from there,” Behrens says.

Behrens says unlike other feedstocks such as corn, a food source for animals and people, the use of algae will not interfere with the food chain. He also says the feedstock his company will produce will be refined and won’t hurt vehicle or jet engines because its chemical properties are identical to petroleum.

“This way you don’t have any engine warranty problems. You don’t have any operating problems. No drivability problems. The transition becomes seamless,” Behrens projects.

But Behrens says his feedstock is not as polluting as petroleum-based fuels because it doesn't contain sulfur and heavy metals. In terms of greenhouse gases, Behrens says his process uses "atmospheric" CO2 which is a re-use of carbon already in the atmosphere. Petroleum-based fuel adds new carbon when it is burned by releasing carbon dioxide that has been stored for millions of years.

And the cost?

The final product will cost far less than petroleum, according to Behrens. He calculates it will take about 70 cents a gallon to produce. He says refiners will mark up the price when sold on the retail market.

Behrens and others don’t expect to shut down the production of petroleum as a fuel source. People in the U.S. use almost 18 million barrels of oil a day. But he does anticipate that many small and regional biofuel companies are on the near horizon. Federal tax credits and research grants will help to promote algae-to-energy projects.