I’m not sure if anyone rem
embers, but I wrote a blog post, back in Oct. of 2012 about Sapphire Energy being the first to process “Green Crude” as a farm product.
I got a lot of flack from that particular post. (Lots of people write to me privately, but never say anything publicly) The Keyboard Commandos were saying it was “impossible” to farm algae as a crop, let alone use it for green crude. And it was “never” going to happen.
Never say never.
Well, Sapphire energy is back in the news again. This time announcing a commercial agreement and intention to sell crude oil from Sapphire Energy’s Green Crude Farm in Columbus, New Mexico to Tesoro.
“The Green Crude Farm recently reached a new milestone: continuous cultivation and crude oil production,” Sapphire Energy said in a prepared statement. ”This begins the first step of a commercial relationship to process Green Crude oil from Sapphire’s future commercial facilities.” How much crude, and when. That is news that will unfold later.
Just what is Sapphire trying to tell us about its Eco-friendly Green Crude?
Sapphire Energy is presently creating oil every day from algae biomass grown and prepared in the Eco-friendly Crude Farm. Oil extraction is accomplished by way of a patented technique for changing wet algae to oil, which in turn enables algae to become refined without turning to a timely pricey and costly drying out getting dehydrated stage. Wet extraction technology for algae-based oil continues to be one among the biggest difficulties to commercialization. Using this method, that may be the outcome of more than 4 years of study, development and area tests, the whole algae cell is presently utilized in oil generation, considerably growing yield.Additionally, the procedure is scalable, and it has shown to become effective having a number of algae strains.
In preliminary tests by Sapphire Energy, Eco-friendly Oil has been processed into on-spec ASTM 975 diesel fuel, showing its being compatible using the current system of pipelines, refineries and transportation models. In the years ahead, the organization expects to increase output substantially to help broaden its commercial trial and start the mix over in the direction of commercial-scale output.
What the marketplace is saying about Sapphire’s Eco-friendly Crude
Certainly, Sapphire doesn’t have a practice of parading its technological know-how for the community to uncover. First, it is frequently a quick-changing experience in green crude – concepts fashionable 3 years ago have already been changed by many others – it’s crucial that you consider Sapphire like a business in regards to a new trend instead of a procedure.
We should look for the smoke – which often comes away grey, as opposed to a apparent black or white…then dissipates quickly.
Here’s what we should have seen within the chatter: a continuing flow of patent application activity from Sapphire concerning terpenes and catalytic cracking having a zeolite catalyst – employing pulse reactors, possibly on the fluidized catalytic cracking mattress, and fast reaction occasions.
The approach engineering? Catalytic cracking with pulse reactors has presented in a few use refining jatropha oils formerly – and was already based in the oil sector for cracking programs, like getting rid of bitumen from oil sands.
There is various conversations within the process of Sapphire employing a pyrolysis-like procedure – rather, we come across it starting to appear much like KiOR’s, specific as it can somewhat be on the catalytic method having a innovative approach designed around a FCC unit.
As Sapphire states – among its objectives is wet extraction – which often would be to condition, to steer clear of the power and/or cost-intensive “drying” step of totally getting rid of water in the algae or even the algae in the water – plus you’ve got an advantage, as Sapphire states, that “the entire algae cell has become utilized in oil production, greatly enhancing yield.”
“In under twelve months, Sapphire Energy has cranked up its commercial demonstration to develop algae has created oil from your farm and today with Tesoro as our first commercial customer, we’re supplying barrels in our oil to become refined for market use,” stated Cynthia ‘CJ’ Warner, Boss and chairman of Sapphire Energy. “This moment is enormously essential for the because it validates the advantages and benefits of Eco-friendly Crude, and verifies its place like a market-viable, refiner-ready, renewable oil solution.”
“Tesoro is continuously searching at technology for creating renewable fuels. We’re pleased to become customer of factors Sapphire’s Energy’s Eco-friendly Crude, which shows promise as a substitute fuel solution,” stated Joel Larkins, v . p . of Renewable Development at Tesoro.
The Algae Revolution Has Begun
“Algae Biorefineries and Microfarms” has been approved by my publisher and slated for release in the next month or two.
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