When Paul Woods looks at the Texas Gulf Coast, with
its heavy industry, large tracts of flat land and muddy salt water, he thinks
two words: algae farms.
In his vision, these farms would span hundreds of
acres each, heading south from Freeport. On them would be long, clear plastic
tubes filled with salt water and algae. And when pumped with carbon dioxide
from nearby oil refineries and chemical plants, they would yield a valuable
crop: ethanol.
“I really see Texas as just an ideal location,” said
Woods, the CEO of Algenol Biofuels, a company in Bonita Springs, Fla.
It's more than just a big idea. In
June, Algenol and Dow Chemical Co., the nation's largest chemical maker,
announced plans to build a $50 million pilot plant at Dow's massive complex in
Freeport that will test Algenol's technology on a large scale.
The
project will put Texas at the center of a unique experiment that could have
several important implications.
It could
point the way to a more sustainable path for making ethanol, now produced
mostly from corn in the U.S. It also could help determine the feasibility of
using biofuels not just to power cars, but to produce common chemicals now
derived from fossil fuels. And it offers a glimpse of a future in which polluting
carbon emissions from industrial plants could be captured and put to good use.
Even if
the project is successful, it could still be years before such technology is
available. Not only have the recession and low oil prices slowed momentum
around biofuels research and lending for new projects, the competition for
ideas is intense. Even bets by the biggest energy companies could turn out to
fail.
Yet, the
fact that Midland, Mich.-based Dow and Exxon Mobil Corp., the biggest U.S. oil
company, have recently announced investments in algae has raised the profile of
the tiny waterborne plants, known to most as pond scum.
“At the
end of the day, the conclusion isn't that different: The two biggest companies
both picked algae, and there's a very good reason for that,” Woods said.
Last
month, Exxon Mobil said it would put $600 million
toward an alliance with La Jolla, Calif.-based biotech company Synthetic
Genomics to study and develop next-generation biofuels that aren't derived from
food crops. Other oil majors have also invested in biofuels, including Chevron
Corp., Royal Dutch Shell and BP.
But their
research has mostly focused on extracting the oil from algae, which can be
further refined into diesel or jet fuel.
Algenol's
process is different. It keeps the algae intact and, with the help of carbon
dioxide, accelerates what Woods said is the plant's natural ability to “sweat”
ethanol.
“The
really disruptive thing about this technology is that it uses carbon dioxide as
its carbon source to make ethanol,” said Peter Kipp, a biofuels consultant with
Haisley Millar in Houston. “They're
directly taking a waste stream and turning it into fuel.”
Dow is
interested in Algenol's process because ethanol can replace fossil fuels in the
production of ethylene, a basic chemical feedstock for making many types of
plastics.
Howard Rappaport,
a chemical industry analyst with CMAI in Houston, said while most Gulf Coast
chemical producers use abundant natural gas to make ethylene, they are also
looking at other options.
“From a
plastics point of view, there is a growing appetite for sustainable polymers,”
he said
The
Dow-Algenol pilot plant in Freeport is being designed to produce 100,000
gallons of ethanol a year at a target cost of $1-$1.25 per gallon, said Woods,
who hopes for a groundbreaking early next year.
But the
companies are still awaiting word on a $25 million Energy Department grant to
help fund the plant, as well as continued research by the National Renewable
Energy Laboratory and Georgia Tech.
Woods said
the plant will be built regardless, but believes the project would be
significantly better with the government's help.
Meanwhile,
Woods said he is thinking about expansion plans in South Texas, which he views
as a fertile frontier for his business.
“There's a
lot of opportunity in Texas to work with Texas companies and reduce their
carbon footprint and give us the feedstock we need,” he said.
“It's not
just lip service. The companies in Texas are actually trying to do something.”
Source:
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/energy/6565247.html