IOC deal with US firm to produce fuel from algae

If it was dry arid land which was being used for growing jatropha, it is now the turn of water ponds to add fuel to biodiesel production in the country. All it takes is to grow algae in water bodies and then press it to get oil that is processed to get biodiesel.

Indian Oil Corporation has signed an MoU with US-based PetroAlgae (PA LLC) to bring algal technology to the country that will enable large-scale production of biodiesel in the future.

PetroAlgae is one of the leading players in the field of technology development for biodiesel production from algae. Though the technology is proven, it has not been commercially utilised. The two parties will jointly put up a pilot facility on 2-3 acres to demonstrate commercial viability before beginning production on a large scale. Over the past decade, the major focus of the biofuels market has been on conventional feedstock like jatropha and pongamia. However, issues like the food versus fuel debate and productivity have prompted worldwide research into alternate feedstock. These R&D efforts have established algae to have immense potential in this regard with projections of up to 20 times the output a conventional crop can give.

Algae takes hydrogen from water and CO2 from air to produce hydrocarbon, which is also the chemical composition of conventional crude oil. Explaining the process, a senior Indian Oil executive said that algae would be grown in water where there is enough sunlight. Algae formation could take three to four days but its growth can be speeded up.