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New Mexico EcoPedia: Growing Oil |
Click here for movie "Growing Oil" from the New Mexico EcoPedia website. "Growing Oil" is about the CEHMM Algae Biodiesel Project.
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Last Updated ( Monday, 30 June 2008 22:06 )
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CEHMM was established in May of 2004 as a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to reducing the impact of hazardous materials on the environment. Since its inception, CEHMM has identified and pursued applied research projects that have nation-wide impact and are innovative, meaningful, and practical. CEHMM has created a wide range of cutting edge applied research programs including developing technology for using algae as a feedstock for biodiesel, biomonitoring for the H5N1 (avian influenza) and West Nile viruses, and cooperative conservation of species listed as “warranted but precluded” on the federal endangered species list. CEHMM has had swift advances in these projects due to the varied talents of the CEHMM staff and directors, and the organization’s success in developing strong partnerships with universities, national laboratories, and private industry. These partnerships include New Mexico State University, Los Alamos National Laboratory, the U.S. Department of Interior Bureau of Land Management, and the City of Carlsbad, New Mexico.
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Last Updated ( Monday, 07 April 2008 22:02 )
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Read more...
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CEHMM Investigates Algae as a Biodiesel Feedstock |
The CEHMM biodiesel project is a research and development project investigating biodiesel production processes and the propagation, harvesting, and extraction of oil from both brine and fresh water algae. This algae oil is to be used as a feedstock for biodiesel production. Algae is now considered to be one of the most critical components in alleviating the need for foreign oil.
Work on all aspects of this project is underway and is highly dynamic. Developments occur daily and innovation and discovery are the order of the day. New ideas for fuel processing have already been shared with neighboring communities; algae is thriving in brine water in CEHMM test ponds and experiments in harvesting have begun; plots of winter canola have been planted in test fields at the New Mexico State Agricultural Science Center, and production of biodiesel from waste vegetable oil is ongoing. The business of biodiesel production and the impact of the future use of algae oil as a feedstock is being researched. As new challenges are identified in the course of this array of investigations, the research changes and adapts.
Successful operation of this project will allow CEHMM to meet its grant objective of reducing hazardous materials in the environment through reduction of pollution associated with the use of petrodiesel. Use of algae as a biodiesel feedstock has great potential to make biodiesel a viable replacement for significant quantities of petrodiesel, thereby reducing American dependence on foreign oil.
Why Biodiesel Research?
Current fossil fuel reserves are dimensionally finite. Modern technology is continually developing new techniques for extraction (e.g., Canada’s oil sands), however, even these newly accessible reserves will prove to be limited. The U.S. Department of Energy statistics reveal that U.S. distillate use in 2004 totaled over 62 billion gallons. With a projected annual growth of 2.3%, demand could increase to 68 billion gallons by 2010.
The answer to America’s dependency on foreign oil lies in the ability to successfully produce and market renewable forms of fuel. Biodiesel is a renewable fuel for diesel engines that is becoming recognized around the world as a substitute for petroleum distillate. Biodiesel is defined as the mono-alkyl esters of fatty acids derived from vegetable oils or animal fats. In simple terms, biodiesel is the product you get when a vegetable oil or animal fat is chemically reacted with an alcohol to produce a new compound that is known as a fatty acid alkyl ester. Glycerol is produced as a byproduct.
On the surface, biodiesel may seem to be an easy way to solve a significant energy problem. However, the issue is complex. There are profound limiting factors in biodiesel production related to the quantity, quality, and availability of prolific, oil producing feedstocks. For example, soybean oil is the most popular feedstock in the United States; consider that even if all U.S. soybean production had been devoted to producing biodiesel in 2005, it would only displace 6.0% of the petroleum diesel required (Hill…7/25/06). The issue is further complicated by the fact that this scenario displaces an important food crop.
Biodiesel production should not compete with food production. Our endemic crop profiles and the research invested in farming innovations and genetic engineering are the cornerstones of America’s ability to feed our nation and a large portion of the world’s population. For example, in the year 2000, U.S. Department of Agriculture statistics revealed that only 45% of the soybeans grown domestically are actually consumed in the U.S. The remaining 55% is exported, with Brazil consuming the largest fraction of our soybean exports (21%).
The use of arable land would require displacement of food crops to facilitate enough oil feedstock to accommodate America’s diesel demands. However, studies conducted by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) between 1978 and 1996 provide evidence that the production of biodiesel from brine algae growing in outdoor ponds constructed on non-arable land may one day prove feasible.
CEHMM is employing experts and forming coalitions by leveraging its relationships with the Department of Energy, national laboratories, regional universities and local, state, and federal governments. With its legal and organizational structure and its geographical location, CEHMM is uniquely suited to take the NREL algae research to the next level and create a strong new industry for the region.
Jason Hill et al, “ Environmental, Economic, and Energetic Costs and Benefits of biodiesel and Ethanol Biofuels,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences or [PNAS], Vol. 109, No. 30, July 25, 2006, p. 1.
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 01 July 2008 21:57 )
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