pedro san pedro
31st May 2005, 02:11
Where most people see pond scum, Isaac Berzin sees oil--and a hedge against global warming.
Berzin is the founder and chief technology officer of GreenFuel Technologies, a Cambridge, Mass.-based start-up that has a novel approach to energy and pollution control.
Using technology licensed from a NASA project, GreenFuel builds bioreactors--in the shape of 3-meter-high glass tubes fashioned as a triangle--to grow algae. The algae are fed with sunlight, water and carbon-carrying emissions from power plants. The algae are then harvested and turned into biodiesel fuel.
GreenFuel is one of many companies developing businesses based on alternative energies such as biodiesel and so-called clean technologies. These companies are targeting business customers that might benefit from innovative approaches to reducing pollution or lowering their fuel spending.
"Businesses look at productivity and how to eliminate cost--one way is to eliminate waste or to use what you have more efficiently," said Nicholas Parker, executive director of investment group Cleantech Venture Network. "In many ways, clean tech is the enabling tech of 21st-century industrial society."
GreenFuel is initially focusing on energy utilities, which generate greenhouse gases that are seen as contributors to global warming and climate change. But its bioreactor technology can be used in many types of industrial installations or refineries, Berzin said.
The potential benefits of the system are twofold: Heavy polluters can cut down on their emissions, and the system can be used for large-scale biodiesel production. Biodiesel, which is often created with vegetable oils from crops such as soybeans, can be used as an alternative to petroleum-based diesel fuel in cars or trucks.
Full Story (http://news.com.com/Start-up+drills+for+oil+in+algae/2100-7337_3-5714269.html)
Berzin is the founder and chief technology officer of GreenFuel Technologies, a Cambridge, Mass.-based start-up that has a novel approach to energy and pollution control.
Using technology licensed from a NASA project, GreenFuel builds bioreactors--in the shape of 3-meter-high glass tubes fashioned as a triangle--to grow algae. The algae are fed with sunlight, water and carbon-carrying emissions from power plants. The algae are then harvested and turned into biodiesel fuel.
GreenFuel is one of many companies developing businesses based on alternative energies such as biodiesel and so-called clean technologies. These companies are targeting business customers that might benefit from innovative approaches to reducing pollution or lowering their fuel spending.
"Businesses look at productivity and how to eliminate cost--one way is to eliminate waste or to use what you have more efficiently," said Nicholas Parker, executive director of investment group Cleantech Venture Network. "In many ways, clean tech is the enabling tech of 21st-century industrial society."
GreenFuel is initially focusing on energy utilities, which generate greenhouse gases that are seen as contributors to global warming and climate change. But its bioreactor technology can be used in many types of industrial installations or refineries, Berzin said.
The potential benefits of the system are twofold: Heavy polluters can cut down on their emissions, and the system can be used for large-scale biodiesel production. Biodiesel, which is often created with vegetable oils from crops such as soybeans, can be used as an alternative to petroleum-based diesel fuel in cars or trucks.
Full Story (http://news.com.com/Start-up+drills+for+oil+in+algae/2100-7337_3-5714269.html)