(63g) Microalgae Derived C10-C14 Biofuels

A renewed interest in sustainable energy raw material sources and technologies emerged strongly because of environmental, geopolitical and national security concerns. The growing awareness of the contribution of traditional fuel usage to climate changes has prompted sustainable energy commercial developments especially in wind, photovoltaic, and biofuels markets. This project addresses the need for renewable energy by developing technologies for controlled growth of Microalgae as a cost effective source of various oils that serve as starting materials for biodiesel and biojet fuels. The integrated Biorefinery technology platform utilizes carbon dioxide produced during bioethanol fermentation as the carbon source for microalgae growth and capitalizes on the long photoperiods in Puerto Rico by using fiber optic delivery sunlight. Molecular genetics and analytical expertise are being used to characterize unique indigenous microalgae and to optimize the production or different oils desired for manufacturing different Biofuels. At the Birorefinery Research Center and affiliated laboratories the emphasis is to develop and implement microalgae based products. Why use microalgae? Using microalgae to produce biodiesel will not compromise production of food, fodder and other products derived from crops. Algae can produce 20 times more oil per acre, compared to the current crops now utilized for bio-fuels production. Algae bio-fuel is eco-friendly also in the sense that it contains no sulfur. It is non-toxic and highly biodegradable. Between 1 and 3% of the total U.S. cropping area would be sufficient for producing algal biomass that satisfies 50% of the transport fuel needs. Algae are the best source for the production of oils and biodiesel. It is only renewable biodiesel that can potentially completely displace liquid fuels derived from petroleum.