REG unveils algae-biodiesel production tech

20 August 2008 20:48  [Source: ICIS news]

HOUSTON (ICIS news)--Renewable Energy Group (REG), the largest US biodiesel producer by volume, has developed commercially-viable technology to produce algae-based biodiesel, the company said on Tuesday.

The Iowa-based company said it was looking for partners to establish commercial-scale production facilities of algae biodiesel at volumes similar to its operations now running on vegetable oil and tallow feedstock.

“You have to manufacture oils and then take that oil and make it into fuels. We’ve solved half that equation,” REG research and development manager Glen Meier said of its algae operations.

Biodiesel from algae is a highly-sought goal for renewable fuel producers. The aquatic organism can grow nearly anywhere, is exempt from the fuel-versus-food debate and can produce many times more oil than terrestrial plants.

Hurdles facing would-be manufacturers include how to guard the algae from invasive species and how to efficiently collect and press the material.

Iowa-based REG said it can currently use various algae types to produce 1-10m gal/year of oil that exceeds technical standards. It is still “a few years away” from the 30m-60m gal/year production levels found at most biodiesel plants, company chief operating officer Daniel Oh said.

“In just a few years, commercial-scale availability will be viable. It’s an exponential growth” rate, Oh said.

REG currently can use its algae-based material supplement its biodiesel feedstocks from vegetable oil or animal fats, Oh said. Company representatives said production rates of algae-based biodiesel were still too low to make manufacturing-cost comparisons between it and vegetable- and tallow-based biodiesel feasible.

REG declined to say how much the company invested in developing the technology.

Bookmark Simon Robinson’s Big Biofuels Blog for some independent thinking on biofuels
For more information on biodiesel, visit ICIS chemical intelligence

By: Ben Lefebvre
+1 713 525 2653

For the latest chemical news, data and analysis that directly impacts your business sign up for a free trial to ICIS news - the breaking online news service for the global chemical industry.

Get the facts and analysis behind the headlines from our market leading weekly magazine: sign up to a free trial to ICIS Chemical Business.

Printer Friendly