Scientists at Cornell University led by Professor Charles Greene have found a way to render certain types of Algae bloom into biofuels and protein. The process, called Industrial Cultivation of Marine Microalgae, involves drying algae and extracting lipids from it, which could be processed into biofuel. The remaining material would be high enough in protein to replace soy as a nutrient for farm animals or aquaculture. One distinct benefit of this process is that it does not need arable land to farm like other protein sources do. The team believes that it would take roughly 800,000 square miles of land to produce enough fuel to completely replace fossil fuels. Although this is a lot of space, Greene argues that it would be worth it as producing the biofuel on this scale would also produce food in the form of protein rich algae material. The process is not cost effective, however, because the technology is still in its infancy and thus is very expensive. Greene estimates that a single 2500 acre facility would cost between 400 and 500 million dollars. This process is not likely to replace other fuel or food sources, but it could act as a good supplement to them.

 

This is relevant to environmental science because it shows how a phenomenon which is often considered to be detrimental to the environment can be harnessed to help the environment. This also illustrates how difficult finding alternative energy sources is, because this plan has significant drawbacks (that the article downplays) that would keep it from ever being implemented on a large scale.

 

Source: http://bigthink.com/sean-curry/the-underwater-gift-that-might-save-us-all