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Dow and Naples-based Algenol Biofuels Inc. could produce 100,000 gallons of ethanol per year for use in making plastics. The algae-based biorefinery will be built on 24 acres at Dow’s site in Freeport, Texas, where it will use carbon dioxide produced at a nearby Dow manufacturing facility.
Algenol applied for $25 million in stimulus funds to cover half the costs of the Dow project, according to Algenol CEO Paul Woods. He expects the Department of Energy (DOE) to announce the awards between September and December. The funding will be divided into three phases: final plans and permitting, construction and operation.
"Our engineering work is done," Woods told ClimateBiz.com and GreenBiz.com Monday, adding the companies would like to pursue "a timeline as accelerated as they would allow. We’re ready."
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In addition to CO2, Algenol’s technology also requires salt water, sunlight and non-arable land to produce the ethanol. The company grows the algae in clear photobioreactors, where the algae secrete ethanol that can be easily captured. The process can produce 6,000 gallons of ethanol per acre of land, compared to corn-based ethanol, which produces 400 gallons per acre; Algenol’s ethanol’s carbon footprint is 80 percent smaller than that of petroleum.
Aside from supplying the CO2 from its manufacturing plant, Dow will develop advanced materials and specialty films for the bioreactors. The project would consume about 2 tons of CO2 daily, twice the minimum 1 ton-per-day threshold required under the DOE grant program. Woods estimates the pilot would operate for four to five years, or long enough to prove it can be scaled commercially. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Georgia Institute of Technology and Membrane Technology and Research Inc. will also contribute to the project.
Algenol, founded in 2006, has a similar but much larger project underway in Mexico with partner Sonora Fields S.A.P.I. de C.V., a subsidiary of Biofields. The $850 million project now in the permitting stage is a demonstration-scale project that will have the capacity to produce 1 billion gallons of ethanol per year.
By 2011, Algenol would like to have the permitting in place for another three algae-to-ethanol plants in the U.S., Woods said, split between Texas and Florida.
Algae image licensed by stock.xchng user gnmills .
The point of this exercise is....
to spend as much government money as possible before being found out as a fraud. Of course this isn't cost effective! Dow is just doing this for PR. Algenol has been touting the non-existent Mexico deal for several months. All they ever hire is lawyers to scrutinize their press releases. There was supposed to be production of several million gallons per year in 2009 in Puerto Libertad Mexico! Where is it? Interesting how the new lie has changed to making plastics, since they have already figured out how to replace all the ethanol in the US.
This would all be cool if they were scamming private people; alas they are using public funds for this garbage.
on the bunny trail
you are more accurate than u know.
Photobioreactors too expensive
Interesting to see DOW is investing in photobioreactor technology. We examined them last year and found they are way too expensive for biofuels. Not sure that making plastics helps a lot. Capital cost reductions would have to be colossial to make it work cost-effectively, and automization of much of the process to save on personnel costs as well. We didn't see a way to achieve that, but maybe DOW does? Wonder how.