Mankind has been too dependent on petroleum based fuel for far too long. Big companies has been making billions of dollars off this trade and worse, countries that are actively producing these form of energy has been associated with supporting acts of terrorism lately, which remains debatable but nevertheless causes plenty of uneasiness among the western world. We need a fast and effective solution to end this dependence once and for all. What do we do at this point?
Consider biodiesel for a change. So what are biodiesel fuels? Biodiesel are fuels that are created from a renewable source that comes from the plant and animal kingdom hence the name bio. These sources may include
vegetable oil such as corn oil, soy, used cooking oil and animal fat. But he most widely used biodiesel round are those made form corn, soy and palm oil. The problem with these sources is the biodiesel has shifted its dependence from foreign imports of fossil based fuels to another industry-food! And this causes alarm among world conservationists and activist for the fear of rising food prices around the world.
So what other sources can we turn to for a reliable supply of biodiesel fuel without causing any kind of upsets within other industries? The answer may be simple. Consider the humble old algae! Yes, algae for biodiesel are a widely embraced concept by many due to its ease of cultivation and harvesting. Algae is very simple to grow and needs only three things to survive-water, carbon dioxide and sunlight. It can grow and thrive well in areas where other plants would find it impossible to survive. It has the ability to produce its own food though photosynthesis. It does not having leaves or branches which is the basic attributes of most plants.
The lowly algae possess a vast amount of natural oil which makes it perfect for biodiesel production. Algae to biodiesel have been a widely discussed concept. Many research is been done on this topic as well. Biodiesel algae can be grown easily and expands rapidly in colony size making it ideal for turning into biodiesel. Algae can produce 30 times more biodiesel in quantity than any other biodiesel plans out there. The algae biodiesel does not produce any harmful emissions and is totally renewable.
There are growing concerns that the algae into biodiesel industry would use lands that should be used to grow food for mankind. Fortunately the humble algae can be grown almost anywhere at all where there is water, carbon dioxide and sunlight. This means that climate areas or land that cannot be used for farming can be turned into algae farms. And it is cheap and easy to grow them too.
However, the challenge still lies in the fact that people are not aware of these opportunities and car manufacturers still produce petroleum based vehicles. As the awareness grows, people will demand more of these biodiesel cars. As more vehicles that run on biodiesel are produced, the more these algae farms can flourish.