[Catalyst 2017]

can easily become overcrowded, which
blocks access to sunlight and causes large
amounts of algae to die off. Therefore,
in order to farm algae as a fuel source,
technology must be developed to regulate
its growth. 3 Unfortunately, the question of
how to sustainably grow algae has proved
troublesome to solve. Typically, algae for
biofuel use is grown in reactors in order to
control growth rate. But the ideal reactor
design has yet to be developed, and in fact,
some current designs use more energy than
the algae yield produces. 5
Although algae biofuel faces technological
obstacles and dwindling government
interest, many scientists today still see algae
as a viable and crucial solution for future
energy sustainability. UC San Diego houses
the California Center for Algal Biotechnology,
and Dr. Stephen Mayfield, a molecular
biologist at the center, has worked with algae
for over 30 years. In this time he has helped
start four companies, including Sapphire
Energy, founded in 2007, which focuses on
developing algae biofuels. After receiving
$100 million from venture capitalists in 2009,
Sapphire Energy built a 70,000-square-foot
lab in San Diego and a 220-acre farm in New
Mexico. They successfully powered cars and
jets with algae biofuel, drawing attention
and $600 million in further funding from
ExxonMobil. Although diminished interest
then stalled production, algal researchers
today believe people will come to
understand the potential of using algae. 2 The
Mayfield Lab currently works on developing
genetic and molecular tools to make algae
fuel a viable means of energy production. 4
They grow algae, extract its lipids, and
convert them to gasoline, jet, and diesel fuel.
Mayfield believes his lab will reach a low
price of 80 or 85 dollars per barrel as they
continue researching with large-scale biofuel
production. 1
The advantage of growing algae for energy
production lies not only in its renewability
and carbon neutrality, but also its potential
for other uses. In addition to just growing
on wastewater, algae can treat the water by
removing nitrates .5 Algae farms could also
provide a means of carbon sequestration.
If placed near sources of industrial
pollution, they could remove harmful CO 2
emissions from the atmosphere through
photosynthesis. 4 Additionally, algae byproducts
are high in protein and could serve
as fish and animal feed. 5
At this time of increased energy demand
and dwindling fossil fuel reserves, climate
change concerns caused by increased
atmospheric carbon, and an interest in U.S.
energy independence, we need economically
viable but also renewable, carbon neutral
energy sources. 4 Algae holds the potential
to address these needs. Its rapid growth
and photosynthetic ability mean its use
as biofuel will be a sustainable process
that does not increase net atmospheric
carbon. The auxiliary benefits of using
algae, such as wastewater treatment
and carbon sequestration, increase the
economic feasibility of adapting algae
biofuel. While technological barriers must
be overcome before algae biofuel can be
implemented on a large scale, demographic
and environmental conditions today indicate
that continued research will be a smart
“The advantage of
growing algae for
energy production
lies not only in its
renewablity and
carbon neutrality,
but also its potential
for other uses.”
investment for future sustainability.
WORKS CITED
[1] Deaver, Benjamin. Is Algae Our Last
Chance to Fuel the World? Inside Science, Sep.
8, 2016.
[2] Dineen, Jessica. How Scientists Are
Engineering Algae To Fuel Your Car and Cure
Cancer. Forbes UCVoice, Mar. 30, 2015.
[3] Top 10 Sources for Biofuel. Seeker, Jan.
19, 2015.
[4] California Center for Algae Biotechnology.
http://algae.ucsd.edu/. (accessed Oct. 16,
2016).
[5] Is Algae the Next Sustainable Biofuel?
Forbes StatoilVoice, Feb. 27, 2015. (republished
from Dec. 2013)
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DESIGN BY Athena Xu, Vidya Giri
EDITED BY Rebecca Chen
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