Environmental Science: Biofuels
Biofuels: Environmental Science
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
Gold, Russell (2009) Biofuel Bet Aims to Harvest Fish that Feed on Algae. The Wall Street Journal.
The work of Russell Gold published the 18th day of August 2009 in the Wall Street Journal states that in the search for a new domestic source of fuel marine scientists and entrepreneurs alike seeking "a new domestic source of fuel." (Gold, 2009) p.1 Attention has turned toward a "giant oxygen-deprived "dead zone" where fish cannot survive" due to runoff of fertilizers in the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. Resulting is a "massive algae bloom" that results in depletion of the water regions oxygen supply. The nutrients found in fertilizer create a "buffer zone" for phytoplankton, simple yet quickly reproducing sea organisms. The idea that has been developed is one that will take the algae and turn it into a "bio-based oil to run conventional refineries alongside crude." (Gold, 2009) p.1
A partnership has been announced between Exxon Mobil Corp and Synthetic Genomics Inc. owned and operated by genomic scientist J. Craig Venter, who spent $600 million on development of algae biofuels. The technique used in this process is quite simple and reported to be that as follows:
"The fish would gobble up the algae and then be harvested, cooked and pressed to extract fish oil -- a method already used to produce omega-3 fatty acid dietary supplements." (Gold, 2009) p.1
Presently there is a testing on fish mixtures for the best production quality at a testing site owned by LiveFuels in San Carlos California. Controls to eliminate carnivorous species have been put into place in the testing site and in which will involve the release of enough fish to raise 25,000 fish per acres for a total of three thousand acres of algae in the fish mixture testing for biofuel production. It is reported that not everyone is in favor of this form of biofuel development however, it is additionally reported that this form of biofuel production does appear to be a promising initiative in the development, production and supply of biofuels.
Bibliography
Gold, Russell (2009) Biofuel Bet Aims to Harvest Fish that Feed on Algae. The Wall Street Journal. 18 August 2009. Online available at: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125055779852138901.html. Accessed 08-28-2009.
