From Algae to JP-8

[machI]

From Algae to JP-8


Pentagon's DARPA Funds Efforts To Make a Green Jet Fuel

By william matthews
Published: 5 January 2009

It's no secret that jet fighters can fly on fuel extracted from algae. What's not yet known, though, is how to squeeze oil from algae at a reasonable price.

One team, headed by General Atomics, says they've already cut the cost of algae-based oil from $30 a gallon to about $6 or $7 a gallon. But the price needs to get closer to a dollar to make it competitive, said David Hazlebeck, the chemical engineer and biofuels program manager who is heading General Atomics' efforts.

An acre of the right kind of algae could produce 5,000 to 15,000 gallons of oil annually, he said. That compares with about 50 to 150 gallons per year that can be squeezed out of an acre of corn or soybeans.

To meet algae's need for carbon dioxide, Hazlebeck said algae farms could be built near power plants, cement kilns, fermentation facilities and coal-to-liquid fuel plants, all of which produce a lot of waste carbon dioxide.

http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=3885995&c=FEA&s=TEC

[Aviation Pro]

1. A classic case of when private concerns (in this case NREL) share....

...information with government entities (in this case DARPA). Good things happen.

[kristopher]

2. NREL isn't private...

"The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is the nation's primary laboratory for renewable energy and energy efficiency research and development (R&D).

NREL's mission and strategy are focused on advancing the U.S. Department of Energy's and our nation's energy goals. The laboratory's scientists and researchers support critical market objectives to accelerate research from scientific innovations to market-viable alternative energy solutions. At the core of this strategic direction are NREL's research and technology development areas. These areas span from understanding renewable resources for energy, to the conversion of these resources to renewable electricity and fuels, and ultimately to the use of renewable electricity and fuels in homes, commercial buildings, and vehicles. The laboratory thereby directly contributes to our nation's goal for finding new renewable ways to power our homes, businesses, and cars....

http://www.nrel.gov/overview/

[Aviation Pro]

6. Oh, yee of little information.....

...I had a long conversation with the DARPA program manager for th JP-8 program and he corrected me on that also. NREL is a private concern, a good one, but private one nonetheless. The are a partner to many DoE programs.

[kristopher]

7. Right back a'cha there, champ...

NREL began operating in 1977 as the Solar Energy Research Institute. It was designated a national laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in September 1991 and its name changed to NREL.

NREL is the principal research laboratory for the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy and also provides research expertise for Office of Science, and the Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability. NREL is managed for DOE by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC.

http://www.nrel.gov/overview/

[Aviation Pro]

11. See the LLC at the end....

...it stands for Limited Liability Company. Again, it is a private concern. I trust the program manager who runs the JP-8 program more than a web site (cause we know web sites are never wrong).

[kristopher]

12. The words "managed for" constitute the operative phrase...

Your claim and logic are totally bogus. I can't believe you want to make an issue of such a silly mistake by trying to claim their website is wrong.

[happyslug]

13. I know out Nuke stock power is down, but does the DOE still spend 2/3 of its budget on them?

That was the stat I heard in the 1990s, that 2/3rd of the Budget of the Department of Energy was making Nuclear weapons for the Pentagon (One of the reason for the existence of the DOE was so the Department of Defense could be made smaller then the Department of Human Services when it included Social Security in addition to Food Stamps and Welfare).

Anyway with 2/3 of its budget defense related do you think this is NOT defense related? The Military has concerns about how it will fights wars in the future if oil is cut off. At present the Strategic OiL Reserves will only provide us about 115 days of oil (and that 115 days includes continued US oil production, the amount in the reserve only equals 33 days of usage).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategic_Petroleum_Reserve

Thus this is viewed as a way to provide fuel for the military if other sources of oil disappear, it is a defense program from day one.

[madrchsod]

3. this was one of obama`s biggest earmark requests....

[Citizen Number 9]

5. What was?

Algae ponds and a big fat coal burning electric plant to enrich the algae?

[madrchsod]

8. algae research

[Citizen Number 9]

9. Goodie.

This technology has potential.

[Citizen Number 9]

4. This cost analysis doesn't seem complete

why would it have to be a dollar a gallon when they're paying as much as $2.50 and more at $100/bbl oil prices?

Is this article only referencing $40/bbl oil?

What would it be worth strategically and technologically to produce our own jet fuel at home instead of sending the dollars to our best buddies in the oil business?

Hell, what's a few billion dollars more?

[Massacure]

10. Because once you have algae based oil you still have to refine it and transport it

And if it cost $1.50 a gallon, or roughly $63 a barrel, OPEC might want to increase oil production to drive the price below $63 a barrel in order to kill of the marketization of the new technology. OPEC probably isn't likely to drive the price below $40.