It appears that our cars will gobble up just about anything for the sake of energy. There’s biofuel with all that corn, palm oil, even trash and then there’s the bacterias like E Coli.
Now comes word that biodiesel will be made out of algae. While the technology is not new, the involvement of Chevron, one of the world's largest oil producers, alters the equation.
Along with Soazyme, a San Francisco-based company, Chevron are working on converting algae to make it a source for a replacement fuel for gasoline.
Reports say that Soazyme has already spent years changing algae into fuel using a process not far different from fermenting beer. It has already a test vehicle which it drove around Utah’s Sundance Film Festival.
The company hopes to have biofuel made from algae in the commercial market within two to three years.
Of course, Chevron is making money hand over fist with the price of oil. But, maybe in real concern over the environment, it is heavily involved in the alternative fuel market. Last fall the company formed an alliance with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to explore the use of algae as a fuel source.
Further details can be found at the San Francisco Chronicle. Our take? Man, with all these source materials, it’s becoming hard to keep up. Maybe over time every waste source, plant and water source will be feeding us useable alternative fuels. And that will finally mean we can say, “Bye, Bye Oil.”