Spanish Scientists Search for Fuel of the Future

Countries that don’t have massive oil or natural-gas reserves may soon be able to construct their own biofuel reserves. Spanish and French scientists, working for the small firm Bio Fuel Systems, or BSF, are researching a new alternative fuel – based on algae mixed with carbon dioxide. Like solar energy, the process of growing algae requires wide open space. “[T]he idea is to reproduce and speed up a process which has taken millions of years and which has led to the production of fossil fuels,” reports Virginie Grognou for Agence France-Presse. The algae, which absorb carbon dioxide, are grown in a field of tubes; then biofuel is siphoned from the mix daily. Industrial production could begin in a decade, Grognou reports. German researchers and oil firms like Exxon have also been conducting experiments on algae’s potential for fuel production. – YaleGlobal