Quoting Post Archived Topic: It will not be bumped to the top of the forum. Topic An Israeli company drills for oil in algae Membername   Not a member? Sign Up Free (takes 20 seconds) Password   Forgotten your password? Post Font: Verdana Arial Black Georgia Comic Sans Impact   Size: Tiny Normal Big Huge   Color: Default Dark Red Red Orange Brown Green Olive Cyan Blue Dark Blue Indigo Black [ Check Spelling ] [ Post Preview ] [ LiveTags ] Quote: from [m]obvious child[/m] at 10:40 pm on Aug. 29, 2008[quote]Quote: from [m]whoisabs[/m] at 1:30 am on Aug. 27, 2008[quote]If they were simply producing algae to put into the ocean to help push out more O2, then it would be a commendable act, but the truth is that they aren't going to be producing O2, they are going to be pushing for more petrol. The petrol will be used to push even more carbon into the atmosphere.[/quote] You sure? It may be a zero change. The amount they catalyze to grow equals the amount added when burned.[/quote] FAQ Keyword Search: Post Options Favorites Manager Notify me of new replies to this topic by email Notify me of new replies to this topic by private message Original Post whoisabs Posted at 4:21 am on Aug. 27, 2008 Seriously, how fucking retarded are the Israelis?  Do they understand that the bulk of our O2 comes out of algae in the oceans?  When you take this fact with the destruction of many forests to pave the way for corn ethanol and the biodeisl stuff how can they come up with this? link Israeli company Seambiotic has developed a revolutionary system that enables the production of biofuel from algae. Already in the testing stage, the company plans to build its first large-scale biofuel reactor by next year with a large international partner.   By Karin Kloosterman

Replies obvious child Posted at 10:40 pm on Aug. 29, 2008 Quote: from whoisabs at 1:30 am on Aug. 27, 2008 If they were simply producing algae to put into the ocean to help push out more O2, then it would be a commendable act, but the truth is that they aren't going to be producing O2, they are going to be pushing for more petrol. The petrol will be used to push even more carbon into the atmosphere. You sure? It may be a zero change. The amount they catalyze to grow equals the amount added when burned. The Samsoniteman Posted at 1:26 pm on Aug. 28, 2008 Quote: from Killarny at 12:45 am on Aug. 28, 2008 Quote: from The Samsoniteman at 12:26 pm on Aug. 27, 2008 Unless the combustion of the biofuel is 100% efficient the amount of carbon being released into the atmosphere would be less than the carbon withdrawn from the atmosphere by the algae. But still far less than the carbon dioxide released by burning fossil fuels Indeed. Even if it replaced all the carbon back into the atmosphere, so what? No net gain, no problem. The trouble starts when you start unlocking carbon sinks with no regard to the effects on the environment. aprilten Posted at 5:50 am on Aug. 28, 2008 Israel is very intelligent. Killarny Posted at 4:45 pm on Aug. 27, 2008 Quote: from The Samsoniteman at 12:26 pm on Aug. 27, 2008 Unless the combustion of the biofuel is 100% efficient the amount of carbon being released into the atmosphere would be less than the carbon withdrawn from the atmosphere by the algae. But still far less than the carbon dioxide released by burning fossil fuels The Samsoniteman Posted at 12:26 pm on Aug. 27, 2008 Unless the combustion of the biofuel is 100% efficient the amount of carbon being released into the atmosphere would be less than the carbon withdrawn from the atmosphere by the algae. Event Horizon Posted at 8:50 am on Aug. 27, 2008 Quote: from whoisabs at 4:26 am on Aug. 27, 2008 Destroy the oxygen cycle? Do you realize the SIZE of the oceans? and the number of contributing prokaryotes? Drilling for oil in one, or even many spots will not even BEGIN to begin destroying the oxygen cycle. That is not to say that the idea should be abused, but until they start dredging or combing, I think it's fine. Killarny Posted at 5:55 am on Aug. 27, 2008 Quote: from allsmiles at 5:11 am on Aug. 27, 2008 Yes, but none is being put back in the oceans. We currently have a large shortage of algae - entire seas devoid of algae - and this company, instead of reseeding the oceans, is growing the stuff to kill it, to put more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which algae is the major natural counteractive measure of. What exactly are they growing to kill algae?  How will this process be putting more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere?  Algae absorbs carbon dioxide and uses it as food.  The biofuel created burns clean.  They are using the natural process found in algae to cultivate it on land in man made ponds to create a completely biodegradeable fuel source.  They want to build the algae ponds next to coal burning facilities because they absorb carbon dioxide and use it as food.  The end product of this fuel is environmentally friendly, biodegradeable and contains no sulphur so it is infinitely more beneficial to our environment than current fossil fuels.  I'm looking but I've yet to come across any source be it news articles, technological reviews or environmental reviews that seem to point to algae biofuels as a negative environmental issue. allsmiles Posted at 5:11 am on Aug. 27, 2008 Yes, but none is being put back in the oceans. We currently have a large shortage of algae - entire seas devoid of algae - and this company, instead of reseeding the oceans, is growing the stuff to kill it, to put more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which algae is the major natural counteractive measure of. Killarny Posted at 4:47 am on Aug. 27, 2008 Quote: from allsmiles at 4:43 am on Aug. 27, 2008 The negative side is that it's not reversing carbon dioxide output because they're killing the algae for their oil. They need to be reseeding the oceans as much as they need to find cheaper oil. "Algae grow fast and continuously," says Seambiotic CEO Amnon Bechar. "An algal pond can produce oil 365 days a year and much more oil per hectare of land than traditional plant crops."   This tells me that most if not all the algae used in the process will be cultivated in ponds not harvested from the Oceans. allsmiles Posted at 4:43 am on Aug. 27, 2008 The negative side is that it's not reversing carbon dioxide output because they're killing the algae for their oil. They need to be reseeding the oceans as much as they need to find cheaper oil. Killarny Posted at 4:36 am on Aug. 27, 2008 This is a clip from the article you just posted...."Studies have shown that algae may be one of the world's most promising biofuels. It is capable of producing 30 times more oil per acre than the current crops used for the production of biofuels; algae biofuel is non-toxic, contains no sulfur, and is highly biodegradable. "  The Israelis and other countries as well are looking for clean biofuels and this one seems promising as a fuel and also as a way to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide that gets released into our atmosphere.  I'm not still not seeing the negative side of this IF it can be done. whoisabs Posted at 4:30 am on Aug. 27, 2008 If they were simply producing algae to put into the ocean to help push out more O2, then it would be a commendable act, but the truth is that they aren't going to be producing O2, they are going to be pushing for more petrol.  The petrol will be used to push even more carbon into the atmosphere. Killarny Posted at 4:29 am on Aug. 27, 2008 How is using algae to absorb carbon dioxide destroying the Oxygen cycle? Killarny Posted at 4:27 am on Aug. 27, 2008 I think you should read the whole article, and if you have I'd suggest you read it again. whoisabs Posted at 4:26 am on Aug. 27, 2008 Destroy the oxygen cycle? Most recent 15 of 16 previous replies displayed.