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May 5, 2009 (from earth2tech.com)
Another technology venture looking to capture carbon dioxide and use it to grow algae has thrown itself into the ring. BioProcessAlgae, a joint venture among filtration giant Clarcor, wastewater treatment startup BioProcessH2O, ethanol producer Green Plains Renewable Energy, and renewable energy developer NTR, has been awarded a $2.1 million grant from the state of Iowa to build what the venture claims would be one of the first photobioreactor systems attached to an industrial plant in the United States. The pilot project, which is supposed to be installed by the fall of this year, would capture CO2 from a Green Plains corn ethanol plant in Shenadoah, Iowa, and use it to grow algae.
Kevin Lynch, chief executive of BioProcessAlgae, said in a statement that the venture's technology had "made significant progress in the engineering, design and development of photobioreactor systems for algae production." A BioProcessAlgae employee involved in engineering, whom we reached by phone and asked not to be named, said that the venture had found a way to produce a higher yield of algae with an economical harvesting technique, but wouldn't describe that process further. The venture did not say how much oil the pilot plant would produce, but Lynch said in the statement that if successful it would expand to full commercial scale.
BioProcessAlgae is not the first company interested in this technological double whammy: capture carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, from a plant and use it to fuel the production of algae. Oil can then be extracted from the organisms to produce a range of products, from transportation fuels to beauty products to pharmaceuticals. Ternion Bio Industries and GreenFuel Technologies are among BioProcessAlgae's competitors.
The nascent algae-based carbon recycling sector could be in for a boost in coming months, thanks to a short, vague clause added to the stimulus bill shortly before it passed Congress. As part of the $1.52 billion allocated for carbon capture and energy efficiency improvement projects, a "small allocation" was designated for "innovative concepts for beneficial reuse of carbon dioxide." As Ternion Bio lobbyist and Pillsbury Winthrop public policy lead Elizabeth Moeller told us at the time, even a small percentage of just $100 million could be significant for the startups in this space.
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Green Plains Renewable Energy, Inc. (GPRE) today announced the formation of a joint venture to commercialize algae production as part of its commitment to "next" generation biofuels. BioProcess Algae LLC, is a joint venture between affiliates of Green Plains, CLARCOR Inc. (CLC), BioProcessH20 LLC and NTR plc. Green Plains has committed approximately $1.4 million initial funding for a 25.5% interest in BioProcess Algae.
"Algae is potentially a by-product of ethanol that makes the process cleaner and greener through carbon sequestration," said Wayne Hoovestol, Chief Executive Officer. "Algae production fits into Green Plains'business model since we are already in the business of marketing biofuel and feed products."
Using advanced photobioreactor technology developed by the company from base technology licensed to the company by BioProcessH2O, BioProcess Algae expects to produce algae at Green Plains'ethanol plant in Shenandoah, Iowa, sustained by the plant's recycled heat, water and carbon dioxide.
"By partnering with Green Plains, we will fast-track our plans for the development of an industrial-scale solution for continuous algae production," said Tim Burns, President of BioProcessH2O. "The modular system will be designed for use in ethanol and other industries that emit carbon dioxide."
In April 2008, Green Plains received preliminary approval for a $2.3 million grant from the Iowa Power Fund to finance research and development in algae production. Green Plains intends to revise the grant proposal to reflect the formation of BioProcess Algae. The revised grant proposal will be subject to review by the Iowa Office of Energy Independence and the Iowa Power Fund board of directors.
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