Ethanol Company to Open Demonstration Biofuels Refinery

Algenol Biofuels Inc. in Bonita Springs, Florida says it plans to build a pilot-scale biofuels refinery adjacent to its recently opened laboratories in Fort Myers, Florida. The 36-acre facility will demonstrate Algenol’s technology, which produces ethanol directly from carbon dioxide using blue-green algae.

Algenol says the Lee Road facility in Fort Myers brings together the company’s capabilities in molecular biology, aquaculture, green chemistry, carbon capture, and engineering for the development and commercialization technologies for biofuels and green chemical production. Algenol expects the proximity of the refinery to the labs will reduce costs and accelerate further development of its technology for making biofuels.

In the Algenol process, hybrid algae are “inoculated” (pre-treated with added nutrients) and are introduced with carbon dioxide into an outdoor photo-bioreactor. After exposure to the sun, the hybrid algae perform photosynthesis and produce internal sugars that are converted into ethanol inside each algal cell.

The ethanol made inside the cell diffuses through the cell wall into the culture medium and then evaporates with water. The captured ethanol-water vapor mix condenses on the inner surface of the bioreactor and is collected by gravity, concentrated, and then distilled into fuel grade ethanol.

The company says its process that can produce ethanol at a rate of some 6,000 gallons per acre-year, compared to corn that produces 400 gallons per acre-year.

Photo: Higetiger/Flickr

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