ALG Western Oil (Pty) Ltd – Eco Technology with Economic Benefits
Alg Western Oil is a company focused on reducing the ever alarming carbon dioxide problem we are facing. We make use of (Algea) Bioreactor Technology to mass produce rapidly growing algea from which vegetable oil is refined.
To reduce the ever alarming CO2 footprint and grow bio mass from which vegetable oil will be produced.
http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/news.html?d=168049
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, June 29, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Odyssey Oil & Energy, Inc. (OTCBB:OOGI) is pleased to announce the completion of the Pilot Plant at Xstrata Alloys smelter in Boshoek. The pilot plant is currently being tested under sterile conditions and should be fully operational within the next 2 weeks.
The plant will produce bio-fuels from algae and capture the carbon emissions from the smelter. The pilot plant will also be the foundation and part of the full commercial plant to be built on site.
ALG Western Oil (Pty) Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary, has a Letter of Intent with Xstrata Alloys, a subsidiary of Xstrata Plc (LSE:XTA), as the preferred developer for the Xstrata Alloys Bio-Fuels Project. The objective of the project is to establish a commercial facility that will utilize the carbon dioxide produced by its smelters to produce bio-fuels from algae.
"With completion of the pilot plant, the company has entered into a new and exciting era and positioned itself at the leading edge of the bio-fuels and carbon capture industry, and we intend to expand rapidly in this area," said Arthur Johnson, President.
http://www.xstrata.com/
Xstrata is a major global diversified mining group, listed on the London and Swiss stock exchanges.
www.xstrata.com/operation/boshoek/
Xstrata Alloys / Africa / Boshoek Smelter
http://www.biofuelreview.com/content/view/1654/5/
Odyssey acquires South African biofuels company
Written by Giles Clark, London
Friday, 25 July 2008
US based Odyssey Oil & Gas, Inc. has acquired ALG Western Oil (Pty) Ltd. a South African based company that has the technology to produce biofuels from algae. The acquisition, completed last month (16th June), is part of the company’s strategy of diversifying into alternate energy resources.
ALG Western Oil has a letter of intent with Xstrata Alloys, a subsidiary of Xstrata Plc, as the preferred developer for the Xstrata Alloys Bio-Fuels Project. The objective of the project is to establish a commercial facility that will utilize the carbon dioxide produced by its smelters to produce biofuels.
"With this acquisition the company has positioned itself at the leading edge of the biofuels industry and is still within the long term strategy of developing and exploiting alternative energy resources," said Arthur Johnson, President.
http://www.thebioenergysite.com/news/1175/odyssey-acquires-alg-western-oil
Friday, July 25, 2008
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Odyssey Acquires ALG Western Oil
SOUTH AFRICA - Odyssey Oil & Gas has acquired ALG Western Oil (Pty) Ltd. a South African based company that has the technology to produce bio-fuels from Algae.
This acquisition is part of the company's strategy of diversifying into alternate energy resources.
The advantage of using algae is that the bio mass doubles every 24 hours and does not deplete any of the world's food resources.
In addition the process utilizes carbon dioxide which in turn, through photosynthesis, produces oxygen as a byproduct.
Once the oil has been extracted, the remaining bio mass is used in the pharmaceutical industry as a component in the manufacture of many vitamins.
Lufthansa, Europe's second biggest airline, stated that the company intends to use jet fuel that is as much as 10% bio-fuel by 2020. Lufthansa wants to use bio-fuel made from non-food sources such as algae.
ALG Western Oil has a Letter of Intent with Xstrata Alloys, a subsidiary of Xstrata Plc (LSE: XTA.L), as the preferred developer for the Xstrata Alloys Bio-Fuels Project.
The objective of the project is to establish a commercial facility that will utilize the carbon dioxide produced by its smelters to produce bio-fuels.
"With this acquisition the company has positioned itself at the leading edge of the bio-fuels industry and is still within the long term strategy of developing and exploiting alternative energy resources," said Arthur Johnson, President.
Microalgae as a Feedstock for Biofuel Production
http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/442/442-886/442-886.html
Algae are organisms that grow in aquatic environments and use light and carbon dioxide (CO2) to create biomass. There are two classifications of algae: macroalgae and microalgae. Macroalgae are the large (measured in inches), multi-cellular algae often seen growing in ponds. These larger algae can grow in a variety of ways. The largest multi-cellular algae are called seaweed; an example is the giant kelp plant which can be more than 100 feet long. Microalgae, on the other hand, are tiny (measured in micrometers), unicellular algae that normally grow in suspension within a body of water.
Algae as a Bioenergy Source
Algae can also be used to generate energy in several ways. One of the most efficient ways is through utilization of the algal oils to produce biodiesel. Some algae can even produce hydrogen gas under specialized growth conditions. The biomass from algae can also be burned, similar to wood, to generate heat and electricity.
Algal biomass contains three main components: carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids/natural oils. Because the bulk of the natural oil made by microalgae is in the form of TAGs which is the right kind of oil for producing biodiesel—microalgae are the exclusive focus in the algae-to-biofuel arena. Microalgae grow very quickly compared to terrestrial crops. They commonly double in size every 24 hours. During the peak growth phase, some microalgae can double every 3.5 hours (Chisti 2007). Oil content of microalgae is usually between 20 percent and 50 percent (dry weight), while some strains can reach as high as 80 percent (Metting 1996; Spolaore et al. 2006).
Compared with terrestrial crops—which take a season to grow and only contain a maximum of about 5 percent dry weight of oil—microalgae grow quickly and contain high oil content (Chisti 2007). This is why microalgae are the focus in the algae-to-biofuel arena. Table 2 lists the potential yields of oil produced by various crops and compares these values to oil yields from an open pond growing microalgae.
The Synergy of Coal and Algae
One advantage of using algae biomass for biodiesel production is the potential mitigation of CO2 emissions from power plants. Coal is, by far, the largest fossil-energy resource available in the world. About one-fourth of the world’s coal reserves reside in the United States. Consumption of coal will continue to grow over the coming decades, both in the United States and the world. Through photosynthetic metabolism, microalgae absorb CO2 and release oxygen. If an algae farm is built close to a power plant, CO2 produced by the power plant could be utilized as a carbon source for algal growth, and the carbon emissions would be reduced by recycling waste CO2 from power plants into clean-burning biodiesel.
More to come!
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Study: $45 Trillion Investment Needed To Fight Global Warming http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/06/06/study-45-trillion-investm_n_105600.html
TOKYO — The world needs to invest $45 trillion in energy in coming decades, build some 1,400 nuclear power plants and vastly expand wind power in order to halve greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, according to an energy study released Friday.
The report by the Paris-based International Energy Agency envisions a "energy revolution" that would greatly reduce the world's dependence on fossil fuels while maintaining steady economic growth.
"Meeting this target of 50 percent cut in emissions represents a formidable challenge, and we would require immediate policy action and technological transition on an unprecedented scale," IEA Executive Director Nobuo Tanaka said.
A U.N.-network of scientists concluded last year that emissions have to be cut by at least half by 2050 to avoid an increase in world temperatures of between 3.6 and 4.2 degrees above pre-18th century levels.
Scientists say temperature increases beyond that could trigger devastating effects, such as widespread loss of species, famines and droughts, and swamping of heavily populated coastal areas by rising oceans.
Environment ministers from the Group of Eight industrialized countries and Russia backed the 50 percent target in a meeting in Japan last month and called for it to be officially endorsed at the G-8 summit in July.
The IEA report mapped out two main scenarios: one in which emissions are reduced to 2005 levels by 2050, and a second that would bring them to half of 2005 levels by mid-century.
The scenario for deeper cuts would require massive investment in energy technology development and deployment, a wide-ranging campaign to dramatically increase energy efficiency, and a wholesale shift to renewable sources of energy.
