What’s slimy, green, good for your health, and will provide your car with fuel? Nope, its not Slimer. It’s algae.

Algae is a simple plant that can range in size from microscopic, single-cell simple plants to 65-foot-long giant seaweed. Most algae use photosynthesis to produce energy (i.e. light and carbon dioxide to make energy and oxygen). Algae can be grown in brackish and waste water where other plants would not grow.

From looking at algae — a colorful, slimy mess — you might not think that it has as many uses as it does. Millions of people eat it every day. If you have a seaweed salad or raw fish wrapped in seaweed, you’re eating algae. Next time you’re having a dairy product, check to see if it has any carrageenan in it. Carrageenan comes from algae. And when’s the last time you’ve been to a spa? It’s probably been too long, but if you like those seaweed body wraps, that’s algae again. For more than six centuries algae has been used as a fertilizer.

It’s fair to say we’ve established that algae is a useful substance, but what about using it to fuel your car?

There are a few different types fuel you can turn algae into. You can grow it and ferment it and make fuel ethanol out of it. You could take the algae and, using a similar process as with vegetable oil, turn it into biodiesel. You can even put that algae through a pyrolysis  process and turn it into an oil-like substance that can be refined into gasoline. After all, gasoline and diesel are made of 100-million-year-old algae. Why not use the current stuff?

If algae is so easy to make into fuel, why aren’t they already doing it?  In fact, we already are. Many companies and universities have algae farms that are producing fuel. The National Algae Association, based here in Houston, is working with industries and universities to help bring down the cost of algae-based oil. And it’s not just adults that are working on this. A high-school student was working on ways to breed algae to be more oil-rich. While this wonderful technology will not be able to replace all crude oil use, in the next five to 10 years, be on the lookout for it to become economic enough to start taking percentages off our crude oil and help lead us to energy security.

Teachers, if you’re curious about what an algae test facility looks like, come join us this summer for our Summer Energy Field Trip Week. For more information click here!