Company boasts “algae to oil” breakthrough

People often ask, is there enough vegetable oil to replace all our petroleum needs? Is there enough farmland to grow the vegetables required? The short answer is no. We could certainly put a dent in it but if we tried to produce all the fuel we need with vegetables, we’d run out of room to grow our food crops.

Except for one thing – ALGAE. Algae produces more oil, on a gallon per acre basis, than any other plant, by far. In fact, we could approach the scenario of creating nearly all our fuel within our own boarders from vegetables, if we used algae. The great thing about algae, like other vegetables, is that is absorbs CO2 while it’s growing, thus reducing greenhouse gases unlike petroleum which creates more of it.

Growing and harvesting algae and extracting the oil from it is a new idea that needs to be developed. Methods need to be tried and tested to find the most efficient processes, that require little energy input and minimal waste. Soon you’ll see it happening on the grand scale.

Origin Oil, a company based in Los Angeles is helping make it happen. They are finding new ways to grow algae and produce oil from it more efficiently. Recently they announced a breakthrough that involves using layers of algae in a given space to produce even more oil per acre than before.

For more information about OriginOil and their progress to produce affordable oil from algae, check their website: OriginOil.com