We also build large
open pond algae farms and use these to capture carbon and sequester it permanently (see my other post in the @Fran Barlow Hansen thread).
Not exact matches
The company, which last year purchased an 81 - acre site in California's Imperial Valley to scale up and test its synthetic
algae strains across 42
open ponds, plans to genetically modify
algae to optimize its oil output.
Another company ready to make the leap into commercial scale production of
algae fuel is Sapphire Energy, which operates a 2,200 acre
algae farm in New Mexico where oil is harvested across 70
open ponds and refined on site.
Algae and cyanobacteria are complicated critters: although they can grow in
open ponds, unwanted microbial strains can easily contaminate the water and interfere with the growth of the fuel - making strains.
(Closed reactors are less susceptible to contamination by outside
algae than are
open -
pond systems.)
In fact, Trent said, the technology is nearly cost - competitive with land - based production methods for
algae biofuels that require vast industrial - scale,
open - air
pond farms or in closed bioreactors.
Today Pollack published an overview on algal biofuels that features two San Diego
algae biofuels startups — Synthetic Genomics and Sapphire Energy — and mentions the concerns raised in some quarters about growing genetically engineered
algae in
open ponds.
You might feel unsure about spirulina due to it being
pond scum or
algae, but it's worth
opening yourself up to.