Monday July 21, 2008
Sapphire Energy isn't the only company developing an algae-to-oil technology. OriginOil also has its own proprietary technology to transform algae into what the company calls "new oil," which will be a direct competitor to petroleum.
OriginOil, by the way, uses low-cost and energy efficient oil extraction method by pre-cracking algae cell walls through microwaves and then using Ultrasonic Quantum Fracturing to separate oil from mass.
The oil, for example, could be used directly as a straight vegetable oil, although it could also be refined into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, and heating oil. Additionally, it could be made into solvents and plastics. The algae biomass, on the other hand, could be made into ethanol, methanol, hydrogen, and other alcohol-based fuels. In short, no part of the algae is wasted--everything could be made into fuel.
