Will algae oil save the Earth?
Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009 Subscribe To Our Feed
Will oil made by algae save the Earth?
In this “green” section, we usually bring you texts focused on how to live more environmentally friendly. However, this time it will be about some interesting research, which can help us to get rid of the feelings of guilt associated with driving our gas guzzling cars. One of the important parts of our daily lives is oil. Nowadays, the fundamental part of a life in the developed world is a car, and nearly everybody owns one. So do I, of course, as a realtor who drives around daily. Picture a life without a car – isn’t it nearly impossible? Unfortunately, we all know the two crucial problems related to driving: unsure oil supplies driving prices up and down and the environmental damage caused by fuel burning and the related carbon dioxide emissions.
An American biologist Craig Venter is also a successful businessman, who started off The Institute for Genomic Research. He mainly deals with genetic engineering and his latest project has caused a great deal of heated debate.
Algae are known for producing natural oil, which is already part of a number of experiments with biofuels. Venter wants to go further. He is trying to explore if it’s feasible to adjust the genomic structure of algae in order to make them produce oil of almost the same composition as the traditional crude oil. That would be a significant step forward, as we would be able to use the available oil industry infrastructure such as refineries, and even plastics production could use the same procedure and production plants as we are using currently, producing plastics from crude oil. As Exxon Mobile, being one of the most successful oil producers in the world, heard of all this, they gave Venter a $600 million grant to go on with his research.
And now you may be asking, OK, but what is so huge about it from the environmental point of view? Well, just this. Oil production based on algae could quite likely be the answer to one of the most serious threats facing the world today. The carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is employed by plants in the photosynthesis process, changed into oil which is then burned and changed into oxalates. Of course, this prodigious solution won’t be available this or next year, but apparently it is a good way to go. The team of Craig Venter are trying to succeed where others have tried and failed, but this time there is a great chance of success. There are many people out there that want to protect the environment, but due to their occupation, it is very difficult for them to stop using cars, just like so many of my fellow Toronto realtors can’t.
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