are gasoline substitutes distilled from carbohydrates which are
extracted from plant matter. The most common bioalcohol in North
America is ethanol, made from corn kernels. Ethanol presents some
distinct advantages over petroleum gasoline for internal combustion
engines — primarily in that tailpipe emissions are “cleaner.” However,
the vast bulk of ethanol currently produced in the United States comes
from a food crop — corn. At least some of the on-going inflation in
worldwide food prices can be attributed to the growing portion of the
global corn crop that is diverted from the human food chain to fuel
production. In keeping with our mission to generate alternative biomass
energy from waste streams, Bronco Biodiesel is pioneering research on
biofuel production derived from algae in wastewater treatment systems.
In addition to ethanol, we are engaged in research to produce
biobutanol from wastewater algae. Biobutanol, in contrast to ethanol,
can be used in our country’s existing fuel transportation
infrastructure (primarily the pipeline system). In addition, biobutanol
packs almost 30% more BTUs per gallon than ethanol. It could therefore
prove critical to consumers' needs for fuel efficiency in an era of
escalating petroleum prices.
Bronco Biodiesel is currently:
- partnering with Muskegon County to harvest algae from wastewater treatment lagoons and extract recoverable energy.
with the National Museum of Natural History and HydroMentia to
incorporate energy recovery from algal biomass in nutrient remediation
using Algal Turf Scrubbers.™ (funded by Smithsonian Institution)
- developing processes for converting algal biomass into liquid transportation biofuels. (Federally funded through P.L. 110-161)
Wastewater algae grows from excess nutrient-loading in surface waters
of the United States. It is a significant water quality problem across
the country and contributes to dead zones of the Great Lakes and
oceanic coastal areas.
But, it's also a
resource for sustainable, renewable biofuel. Wastewater algae is rich
in carbohydrates, but lacks the rigid cellular structure that makes
terrestrial crops challenging for ethanol fermentation. Algae grows
naturally on the order of millions of pounds per person per year in the
U.S., or hundreds of millions of gallons of potential biofuel.
of the current interest in algal biomass for fuel feedstocks has
followed from the now two-decade old Department of Energy Aquatic
Species Program research that showed the impressive promise for
cultivating high-triglceride content algal species. While these species
represent a significant improvement over land-based crops for biodiesel
feedstock, they have proven problematic to cultivate. Thus, more recent
efforts have targeted molecular biological attempts to create new
organisms that lend themselves better to oil production and cultivation.
contrast, in keeping with our mission, we focus on algal biomass
generated by municipal and commercial wastewater cleanup processes. We
have partnered with colleagues who exploit native algae growth as a way
of removing nutrients from water supplies. The algal biomass from these
sources comprises complex communities of organisms that grow naturally
together in a particular climate/season and location. The resulting
biomass is rich in both carbohydrates as well as triglycerides, both of
which can be converted into liquid fuels. Our research addresses the
issue of biomass disposal for water treatment operations and can
potentially subsidize water treatment, leading to greater
sustainability. There are a variety of areas where innovations and
optimizations will be especially important and where we will direct our
Bronco Biodiesel's research objectives include:
harvesting and preprocessing of algal biomass generated by existing
municipal and commercial wastewater remediation installations for
conversion to biofuels.
- Developing capturing processes by harnessing both photosynthetic and non-photosynthetic organisms.
processes for oil extraction from algal biomass and subsequent
conversion of the oil to biodiesel, optimizing for yield, efficiency,
and waste reduction.
- Developing lifecycle analysis for long term cost recovery and energy balance evaluations.