1. Paige Stephens, Christina Boehm, Prety Amom
Algae Biofuels
Paige Stephens, Christina Boehm, Prety Amom

2. Description What Is Algae Biofuel?
Algae can be grown in a natural or a controlled environment.
Lipid oil makes up half of the composition of algae.
Carbon dioxide, water, and a light source are required for cultivation
Various chemical and mechanical extraction methods
Harvested oil then converted to biofuel by a process known as transesterification
All information from Source 2

3. Chemical Extraction Video

4. Relevance Requires large landmass Consumes energy Large plants
Produces high nutrients (fertilizer)
Millennials - could sustain world with oil
Reduce reliance on nonrenewable
All Sources from Helman (Source 1)

5. Algae Farm

6. History Millions of dollars poured into research
US Department of Energy (Pacific Northwest Laboratory)
Speed up conversion from algae to crude oil in one hour
Exxon Mobile (600 million)
Attempted yet limited by technology
Unsuccessful now yet promising in 25 years
$2.00 a gallon
All sources referenced from Tuan Nguyen (Source 5)

7. Future Research Genetic Engineering:
Splicing foreign genes and mutating native genes. Using survival of the fittest to narrow down the strains (Source 6)
Growth Process:
Open-pond vs closed-pond and most efficient options (Source 4)

8. Future Research Challenges:
Cost- Majority of costs go toward maintenance, tax, and labor (Source 3)
Space- Land use of open-pond processes (Source 4)
Funding- Necessary increase in research (Source 4)
Source 4
Source 6

9. Closing

10. Works Cited
Helman, Christopher. "Green Oil: Scientists Turn Algae into Petroleum in 30 Minutes." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 23 Dec Web. 21 Oct
HowStuffWorks.com. < 19 October 2016
Lane, J. (2014, October 13). Where Are We With Algae Biofuels? BiofuelsDigest. Retrieved from
Mata, T., et al (2010). Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews, 14(1):
Nguyen, Tuan C. "Scientists Turn Algae Into Crude Oil In Less Than An Hour."Smithsonian Magazine. Smithsonian, n.d. Web. 21 Oct
Pollack, A. (2010, July 26). Exploring Algae as Fuel. The New York Times. Retrieved from
Stefani Newman "How Algae Biodiesel Works" 18 June 2008.

11. Questions? Questions Would you ever consider using this method?
Would you use a bio fuel over a fossil fuel even if it costs more?
Questions?