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Airplanes Powered by a Japanese Sushi Condiment
Next time you sit down to your favourite seaweed wrapped sushi rolls consider that you may find that seaweed both in your stomach and your gas tank someday. Turns out that algae is a much preferred biofuel compared to palm oil or corn for a number of reasons.
The advantages of algae over other types of biofuels, such as palm oil, are significant and help explain the enthusiasm it is generating.
First, algae don't compete with other crops for agricultural land and can even be grown in polluted water. Second, their production consumes large quantities of carbon dioxide, which is a big plus for an industry trying to become carbon-neutral by 2020. Third, algae can be blended with traditional kerosene without the engine or any pipes needing to be significantly modified.
The byproduct of algae production is a high-protein mixture that could eventually be sold for use in pharmaceutical or cosmetic products, thereby helping make the whole project more commercially viable. Last but not least, it has been estimated that algae produces up to 15 times more oil per square kilometer than other biofuel crops.
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