Biofuel cheap and in plenty

A startup based in Cambridge, MA--Joule Biotechnologies--has revealed details of a process that it says can make 20,000 gallons of biofuel per acre per year. The company also claims that the fuel can be sold for prices competitive with fossil fuels.

Joule Biotechnologies grows genetically engineered microorganisms in specially designed photobioreactors. The microorganisms use energy from the sun to convert carbon dioxide and water into ethanol or hydrocarbon fuels (such as diesel or components of gasoline). The organisms excrete the fuel, which can then be collected using conventional chemical-separation technologies.

Conventional, corn-grain-based biofuels require a large amount of land, water, and energy to grow the grain. Joule’s microorganisms (much like algae, but not the same) can be grown inside transparent reactors, where they're circulated to ensure that they all get exposed to sunlight, and they are fed concentrated carbon dioxide--which can come from a power plant, for example--and other nutrients.

While algae typically produce oils that have to be refined into fuels, Joule's microorganisms produce fuel directly--either ethanol or hydrocarbons. And while oil is harvested from algae by collecting and processing the organisms, Joule's organisms excrete the fuel continuously, making harvesting the fuel cheaper.

Scaling up the process will be a challenge. Another challenge is keeping the microorganisms producing fuel at a steady rate. (Algae populations can bloom and grow so quickly that they outrun the supply of nutrients or sunlight, leading to a collapse of the population.)

But the price and yield promised has stumped industry observers. No refining. Direct production. $50 a barrel. And commercialization by next year. Worth watching this one. If it addresses even transport needs, it will mean a load off fossil fuels.