Algae Paper

Switching from the expensive oil to alternative fuels has moved from a dream to reality. Today, there are dozens of alternatives to oil that are currently available us to be used. One alternative to oil that is being used more today is ethanol. Derived from plant materials, ethanol can be a cheaper, cleaner alternative to the gasoline that our vehicles run off. When going to gas pumps, one will notice that much of the gasoline is up to 10 percent of ethanol. According to our text, most ethanol in the U.S. is made from corn, yet ethanol can be made from any biomes-- including garbage. (Turk & Bensel, 2011)

Did you know that over 125,000 tons of ash and 193,000 tons of sludge is made from coal each year.(www.ucsasa.org, 2014)? The amount of polution that has been released into the air has caused spending of over 40 billion dollars (www.cleanerandgreener.org, 2014). Just image what the whole world could do with 40 billion dollars? That money could help with so many problems. It could pay for schools in Africa, funding for more Eco safe fuel and tons more. All of that could have been done if we hadn’t spent over 40 billion dollars just to try and fix a problem we created. To help slow down the spending on the air pollution and air pollution scientists have invented biofuel made from algae. Algae is a small plant micro-organism that lives in water. It is one of the

Anything containing oil has been an increasing problem to the environment and to people. The toxicants that the oil produce harms people with their health. In the film Fuel, the director Josh Tickell talks about how crops can produce fuel, which produces cleaner air and is safer for the public. There are also other ways that Biofuel could be produced, such as adding human waste onto algae. The way that society utilizes oil is hurting the world, which in fact is affecting the human population and environment, but people only realize it until it is too late. With biofuel people would not be in danger and it could be produced without struggling to find oil.

Bio diesel is good for the economy because it is a fuel which can be created from locally available resources such as vegetable oils, coffee grounds, and animal fats. Biodiesel production and use

A major source of controversy when it comes to biodiesel and other biofuels such as ethanol is what ingredient are used to make the fuel. When oils from crops are used, a number of problems can arise. For instance, biodiesel and other biofuels are often touted as environmentally friendly since they are typically made from plants, which suck the global warming gas carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to grow. However, the land may be damaged in order to grow these crops as demand for biofuels grow for example, in Indonesia, biodiesel may be causing deforestation, as native forests are destroyed to make way for palm oil plantations, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists. The chemicals from agricultural fertilizers and pesticides may also upset ecosystems.

That fuel source is called corn-ethanol, and a majority of people can see the main ingredient, which is, corn in America 's farm fields. Corn is grown annually and it does not take millions of years to reproduce. Oil is a fuel source that takes millions of years to reproduce. A biofuel is the process of taking any once living plant and abstracting the plant 's energy to make a fuel. People in America are supporting Biofuels, including corn-ethanol because it does not require oil. It also reduces green house gasses, which makes it better for the environment (Cassman 59). The common view of ethanol is that it is just a research project to make the environmentalists happy but that is not true. It has the potential to keep America 's economy rolling, supply a fuel source, and still feed livestock with its byproducts. The key to success as a country is to use what we already have an abundance of in this country. The evidence is all there for this argument many Americans just need to become educated about this topic. The main

Initial research has shown that biodiesel, liter for liter, generates about 90 percent of the heat of traditional fossil fuels, and the resulting air emissions are significantly lower in sulphur, carbon monoxide, and hydrocarbons. Burning these fuels also does not contribute to global warming. Fossil fuels increase the amount of carbon in the atmosphere because the carbon they release upon combustion has been locked away for millennia. The carbon released by the combustion of biodiesel first had to be removed from the atmosphere by the plant that produced the oils it was derived from. Thus, no net gain occurs when said carbon is released. Biodiesel is also safer for people and the environment since it is non-toxic and biodegradable. Oil spills will no longer be multi-million dollar environmental catastrophes.

The United States currently has the realistic capability of meeting roughly 64 percent of its gas demand with alternative fuels. This plan of alternative fuels relies mostly on BioDiesel from algae, while also utilizing ethanol from corn. As for the other 36 percent of our demand, we can rely on our own crude oil production by utilizing natural gas (CNG). A great attribute of all of these fuel sources is that they can be distributed

For over forty years now, scientists and researchers have been tirelessly searching for an alternative to fossil fuels. Biofuels have become an interesting contender in the search for the replacement of the non-renewable energy source. Biofuels have been used throughout history for over thousands of years. There is a large debate over biofuels and its true impact on the environment. Those involved in the discussion debating whether biofuels have any real overwhelming benefits compared to fossil fuels could argue for its usage. According to recent research performed by the University of Michigan, biofuels may not be the best alternative for fossil fuels. Regardless of its impact on the environment, biofuels are becoming more popular particularly when the price of oil rises.

In the United States biofuel production has grown a lot over the last two decades. In 1995 production was at 500,000 gallons, by 2005 it was 75 million gallons, and by 2006 it was at 224 million gallons [Biofuels ‘13]. The main plant used in the United States biofuel production was the soybean [Biofuels ‘13]. Currently 4 percent of the world’s demand for primary energy comes from biofuels. The more popular and more well-known hydropower only provides 2 percent of the world’s primary energy demand [Maugeri ‘10]. Most modern cars can use up to a 10 percent biofuel mix in their engines without any modifications, though some cars called flex-fuel can use 100 percent biofuel or gasoline [Maugeri ‘10]. One big advantage to using biofuel is that it produces a higher octane rating than gasoline which helps improve engine performance [Maugeri ‘10]. Biofuels currently cost a little more to make compared to gasoline at about a ten to eight ratio respectively [Sanders ‘10]. Hopefully with more farms producing the components for making biofuels hydroponically it can help drive the price down to where it can be competitive with gasoline and one day completely replace it.

A good example of the use of ethanol is the mixtures of 85% ethanol to 15% gasoline used in flex fuel vehicles. Because ethanol is biodegradable and dissolves in water has been said that produces less carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide than the vehicle that runs entirely on gasoline.” Ethanol can be considered atmospheric carbon-neutral because the plants used to make fuel ethanol (such as corn and sugarcane, the two major feedstocks for fuel ethanol production) absorb carbon dioxide (CO2) as they grow and may offset the CO2 produced when ethanol is made and burned. In the United States, coal and natural gas are used as heat sources in the fermentation process to make fuel ethanol” (“Ethanol and the environment - energy explained, your guide to understanding energy - energy information administration,”

The strain on the diesel supply in America is too high and a stable source must be found to alleviate the strain. Bio-diesel is a suitable additive in diesel that would help reduce this strain. Bio-diesel is also much safer than conventional petrol-diesel.

In the world of global warming, all kinds of pollution and fuel shortages going on, renewable and clean/ green energy is increasingly the ideal solution of energy related problems we have to solve one way or another. Biofuel is one of the mainstream and highly supported solutions nowadays, an idea to make renewable fuel by living organisms such as fiber, corn, vegetable oil or sugar cane. Unlike nonrenewable fossil fuels over extracted by people causing various environmental problems like generating a considerable amount greenhouse gas, current technology already lets renewable fuel like biofuels to shrink a certain amount of greenhouse gas production, making it a more ‘clean’ source of energy.

What environmental benefits do we receive form an influx in ethanol as an alternative fuel? First let’s look

What are the industrial uses for diesel? Diesel is used commonly as the fuel for motor vehicles like cars, SUVs, trucks, and buses. It is also a source of fuel in other industries besides transportation, like the construction industry and the use of diesel in power equipment such as forklifts and excavators, and it is used in the agriculture industry powering the tractors and other farming equipment, along with other industries. How good is diesel fuel for you or the environment? Are there concerns in using diesel? Diesel fuel was thought to be around since the mid 1800s but it wasn’t until the late 1800s when the diesel engine was invented. This invention was a very important one in terms of industry because it started the shift from coal to diesel powered engines. However, the shift to use more fuels like diesel has lead to a concern for how close are we to exhausting precious non-renewable energy sources. How much pollution is being released into the atmosphere? Is there an alternative renewable energy source? With the fear of global warming, all fuel sources, including diesel, are beginning to be replaced, or reinvented, with cleaner and safer alternatives. An example of these alternatives is biodiesel. Biodiesel is an alternative to diesel that can be produced from plant products, such as cornstarch and oils produced from soybean and other oil producing crops (Pittman, 2011). One obstacle that is present with biodiesel produced from plant products is the potential loss