Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Not really aquaponics but an insight into where BIG business is heading.

http://www.heatusa.com/energy-conservat ... -biofuels/

bout time!

To be fair Exxon's 600m investment in algae/biofuel is only a tiny bit of thier profits. I believe the CEO makes that in a year. The tax credit may equal the investment. Like the parent company, Standard Oil, Exxon is not benevelant. Their whole interest is in profits and control.

Exactly. The only reason they invest is to make a profit. So there must be a reality in this project for them, which in turn can only be a good thing?

Yeah but there is also a TON of wasted money being thrown at it. I literally had a technician from Exxon Mobile call me and ask me what algae makes the most oil... (I work in aquaculture but sell F2 fertilizer and other things they use in the bio fuel industry.)

I mean seriously? Arent you supposed to know that exxon?

Are you not flattered Ryan!? Maybe they dont have all the knowledge, just all the money.

Anyway, nice to know readers of this forum are involved in forward looking technologies at that level.

Algae is simple and cheap to make and almost identical to oil from the ground. Harvesting the algae is where the research is being invested. A university in my state sells any strain you could want. It would be better if they used poop and not chemical fertilizer.

It would sort of negate the benefits to a large extent if fertilizers were seen as the way to do it.

For my small scale liquid fuel requirements I use waste veggie oil (WVO). It takes energy to collect and convert to biodiesel but far less to burn it without conversion. The same is true of algae oil except that it will require even more energy to make the algae and press out the oil. I experimented with making spirulina for food. I learned how and managed to make enough for a food supplement. But i have shelved the project untill the stuff can no longer be purchased and food is scarce. It is to time consuming and requires to much energy. I cant imagine the cost in equipment, energy and time to make enough for my fuel needs.
On a large scale, production would be inhanced by more CO2 than is available from the air. Scrubbing stack gas from coal fired plants is one source and would help clean the stack. Yes, nutrients from poop has been used to grow algae at reduced cost. Perhaps they are preparing for $10.00 diesel oil and $300 a barrel crude.