Algae Biodiesel as the New Source of Biodiesel Fuel for Mankind
Mankind has been too dependent on petroleum based fuel for far
too long. Big
companies has been making billions of dollars off this trade
and worse, countries that are actively producing these form of
energy has been associated with supporting acts of terrorism
lately, which remains debatable but nevertheless causes plenty
of uneasiness among the western world. We need a fast and
effective solution to end this dependence once and for all.
What do we do at this point?
Consider algae biodiesel for a
change. So what are biodiesel fuels? Biodiesel are fuels that
are created from a renewable source that comes from the plant
and animal kingdom hence the name bio. These sources may
include vegetable oil such as corn oil, soy, used cooking oil
and animal fat.
But the most widely used biodiesel round are those made from
corn, soy and palm oil. The problem with these
sources is the biodiesel has shifted its dependence from
foreign imports of fossil based fuels to another industry-food!
And this causes alarm among world conservationists and activist
for the fear of rising food prices around the world.
So what other sources can we turn to for a reliable supply of
biodiesel fuel without causing any kind of upsets within other
industries? The answer may be simple. Consider the humble old
algae! Yes,
algae for biodiesel are a widely embraced concept by
many due to its ease of cultivation and
harvesting.
Algae is very simple to grow and needs only three things
to survive-water, carbon dioxide and sunlight. It can
grow and thrive well in areas where other plants would
find it impossible to survive. It has the ability to
produce its own food though photosynthesis. It does not
having leaves or branches which is the basic attributes
of most plants.
The lowly algae possess a vast amount of natural oil which
makes it perfect for biodiesel production. Algae for biodiesel
have been a widely discussed concept. Many research is been
done on this topic as well. Algae biodiesel plant
can be grown easily and expands rapidly in colony size making
it ideal for turning into biodiesel. Algae can produce 30 times
more biodiesel in quantity than any other biodiesel plants out
there. The algae biodiesel does not produce any harmful
emissions and is totally renewable.
There are growing concerns that the algae for biodiesel
industry would use lands that should be used to grow food for
mankind.
Fortunately the humble algae biodiesel plant can
be grown almost anywhere at all where there is water, carbon
dioxide and sunlight. This means that climate areas or land
that cannot be used for farming can be turned into algae farms.
And it is cheap and easy to grow these algae biodiesel plants
too.
However, the challenge still lies in the fact that people are
not aware of these opportunities and car manufacturers still
produce petroleum based vehicles. As the awareness grows,
people will demand more of these biodiesel
cars. As
more vehicles that run on biodiesel are produced, the
more these algae farms can flourish.
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