|
Latest
News
November 2008
The Withrow 40 is a complete 40-acre algae farm using the XL Super Trough Liner. According to XL's CEO, Dennis Corderman, "the Withrow 40 represents the largest size unit of production. Large-scale farms will be developed in 40 acre units. Each 40 acre field has a harvest system to send algae concentrate to a central processing area."
The XL Super Trough System was developed at XL's Algae Development Center. XL Renewables has succeeded in developing an economical, large-scale algae production system for profitable algae biomass production.
* FIELD DAY CANCELLED
Algae biomass products will be produced for various markets. There are many uses for algae biomass including food, energy, and pharma products.
PLEASE NOTE: Field Day Cancelled As of October 2008, XL Renewables, Inc. has changed its business plan from the development and marketing of algae production systems to the production of algae biomass products for mass market customers. For this reason, the previously planned November 1 Field Day has been cancelled.
October 7, 208
The firm's Algae Development Center has refined its patented XL Super Trough System for algae biomass production at the company's facility at Withrow Dairy in Casa Grande. But a field day to kick off marketing efforts for the system has been pushed back as financing complications are worked out.
"The market demand for vegetable oil from algae biomass is a primary driver for the development of this new crop," said Ben Cloud, president and CEO of XL Renewables Inc. "XL Renewables Inc. continues work toward the development of algae biomass as a crop grown in Arizona, and we expect Arizona to be a leading supplier of algae biomass products for food and energy."
Algae was envisioned as a cost-effective source of high-grade oil for biofuel and edible oils, and proteins for food and animal feed. But pressure for biofuels may be shouldering other uses aside.
"The airline industry is investing considerable sums to produce jet fuel from algae oil," Cloud said. "Airline operators, especially those based in Europe, are facing carbon taxes that are estimated to increase jet fuel costs by 30 percent beginning in 2012. Some leading airlines believe the large-scale production of algae biomass is the most practical solution to offset the use of fossil-based fuels that will incur the tax. To meet the potential demand for the airline industry alone could require over one million acres of algae biomass fields worldwide."
That could create quite a market for the XL Super Trough System. The system is expected to go into production in November on a full-sized, 40-acre plot on the edge of Casa Grande, a size XL officials consider ideal for algae biomass production.
"It's an actual site so we can demonstrate, running it at a commercial level," Cloud said. "We expect farmers will take the 40-acre size" and operate multiple-trough fields. Visitors from around the world are expected for a field day at the site, but that has been pushed back from Nov. 1 to sometime in March due to the financial discussions.
Eventually, the company hopes to sell the system to farmers for commercial production. Installation costs should be about $25,000 per acre, Cloud said.
XL says the Super Trough will enable algae biomass producers to extract three primary products from the algae: high-grade oil for biofuel production, fatty acids for omega and edible oils, and animal feed high in protein.
The key component is the Super Trough liner that provides integrated aeration and lighting systems, Cloud said. That makes the algae grow much faster. It can be operated as an open or closed system.
"We believe there are many researchers, farmers and entrepreneurs who have the land resources, management expertise, labor and capital to begin their own algae production efforts using the XL Super Trough Liner as a key tool in their production efforts," Cloud said.
XL also plans to develop a 400-acre algae farm and processing facility near Vicksburg in western Arizona, 100 miles due west of Phoenix near Interstate 10. More than 20,000 tons of biomass could be processed at the proposed facility, and the company has more than 2,400 acres to expand production.
"Algae really is made up of vegetable oils, proteins and carbohydrates - like any grain," Cloud explained. "We believe it will become widespread like corn and soybeans."
The advantages are that algae requires less space and can be produced under conditions considered poor for any other kind of farming.
"It requires fewer acres," Cloud said, "it loves very brackish, poor-quality water, it likes dirty air, it can be grown on the most marginal lands because it's not pulling nutrients from the soil. In theory, it's not competing with other crops for existing farmland."
The theory is that algae biomass can circumvent and relieve the food-for-fuel controversy because it appears to be a cost-effective source of high-grade oil for biofuel and edible oils, and proteins for food and animal feed.
"Algae is very similar to any other crop," Cloud said. "When sunlight hits algae, photosynthesis occurs. The algae absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen, just like a tree or anything else does.
"It's that photosynthesis process we're trying to encourage so the algae can grow rather rapidly. Algae can literally double in size every 24 hours. We would rather say it doubles in size every 48 hours to be conservative on a commercial production rate. On an annual basis, it can achieve yields per acre that are five or 10 times that of other crops.
"It's a very efficient process; the water is recycled," he continued. "With the normal growing cycle here in the desert, you would use less than 1 acre-foot of water to maintain the system per acre. Compared to other crops, it's very efficient.
"Algae biomass can produce substantially more volume per acre than any other crop and meet the increasing demand for renewable energy and food," Cloud said. "Algae biomass has the potential to add significant volumes of oils, proteins and carbohydrates to world markets for energy and food."
XL Renewables has evolved from an agricultural think tank to a renewable energy innovation company on the verge of giving a slingshot start to the algae biomass industry, all in less than three years.
XL Renewables was formed in late 2005 by Dennis Corderman. Weekly meetings were used to look at the future of large-scale agricultural operations, especially for confined animal feeding like dairies.
"From that work, we decided that the future held an integration of renewable fuels production along with animal units," Cloud said, "and from that work we went into forming XL and biorefinery projects.
"There's a tremendous amount of capital being invested in algae development right now. Our focus has been to demonstrate that you can produce algae economically using proven farm practices. We believe people just need the right tools to produce algae. We want to offer our trough technology to other growers so they can grow algae as well."
|
|
Technology
Called the XL Super Trough System, the patent-pending system is a "hybrid-design" that can operate as a closed or open system making it adaptable to a wide range of locations and algae varieties.
* XL is focused on supplying Mass Markets with Algal Oils and Proteins
* Horus Advisory retained for Series A Financing
* Commercial Production to begin in 2009
The combination of the highly scalable system design, operating efficiency, and production trade-secrets position XL Renewables as a producer of algae biomass for food and energy markets.
XL will use this highly efficient production system to satisfy the supply chain demands for mass markets. These markets require a reliable supply of volume products at a low cost. This requires a rapidly scalable production system, cost effective operations, and dependable production to ensure delivey terms.
XL Renewables, Inc. will begin supplying customers in 2009 with the development of the Withrow 40 located in Casa Grande, Arizona. Further development plans include the Vicksburg 400 with 10 40-acre fields located in western Arizona.
In early 2008, Horus Advisory (www.horusadvisory.com) was retained by XL Renewables, Inc. to prepare and manage a $10 million Series A Financing for commercialization of algae biomass production.
|
