Put some pond scum in your tank!
Doesn’t quite have the ring of putting a tiger in there, but it’s here.
Closely held Solazyme Inc. is set to announce shortly that its algae-derived biodiesel meets the American Society for Testing and Materials specification for diesel fuel. This means it can go into existing diesel engines without modifications.
Solazyme says it is the first diesel derived from algae to meet these standards. Before you go out and sell the farm to invest, a couple caveats:
1) ASTM doesn’t police or put their stamp of approval on these claims; it’s up to Solazyme’s competitors to knock it down if untrue;
2) numerous companies are producing oil from algae, but none are doing so economically and at a meaningful scale – yet.
Vegetable oil from single-celled algae has shown some promise as a source of renewable, alternative fuel. Several companies are pursuing growing it in lined pits or plastic tubes. Solazyme uses steel tanks and a microbial fermentation to get algae into the mood to reproduce and create oil.