The word ‘algae’ is confusing in many ways.
Most of the time we associate it with the greenish stuff that grows on wastewater making it look filthy.
But it’s more complex than that.
Algae are a group of creatures ranging in size that find a home in water.
They thrive in all sorts of water bodies such as wastewater, seawater, fresh water…name it.
They are versatile creatures that seem to adjust to conditions around them.
In many ways, our life seems to be sustained – to some extent – by algae.
How so?
Some algae exist as microscopic creatures in the ocean called phytoplankton.
These creatures are credited with supply of nearly 80% of the world’s oxygen.
In other word, even if all forests were to be cut down, these creatures would still possibly sustain us!
But algae aren’t just important in making our air fresh.
They seem useful on another front.
CARBON UPTAKE
These creatures are efficient in accumulation of carbon from the atmosphere.
With the climate change concerns hovering all around us, algae might be a useful candidate in taking up carbon dioxide from the air and help improve our climate over time.
Just like trees and other plants, they accumulate carbon but unlike them, they convert quite a chunk of this carbon into oils.
Which makes it a subject of increased interest.
According to some researchers, some algae could convert as much as 70% of the carbon taken up from air into biooils.
This fact alone has increased interest in them among fuel companies with some investing millions of dollars on algal fuel research.
These include giants such as Shell BP and ExxonMobil.
Quite a number of these players have however pulled out of this venture citing challenges of efficiency in recovery of fuel.
However one company, ExxonMobil, seems to know something the others don’t.
They have partnered with another R&D research company to edit the genes of an algae species in the quest to improve fuel production.
It seems like a suspect move now that the returns look distant.
But ExxonMobil seems adamant and in hot pursuit of this goal even though some algal biofuel start ups have filed for bankruptcy.
Which begs the question…could algae be a source of green energy in the future?
Could algae rival solar or wind energy in renewable energy production?
This start up doesn’t seem to hit the airwaves but they seem to be getting something right.
They haven’t genetically edited their algae.
Infact they cultivate naturally occurring algae in open ponds, harvest them and use a specialized high pressure – temperature reactor to extract bio diesel.
One semi successful start up might not be much of an inspiration but it does encourage us that headway is being made.
But algae cultivation could find other uses apart from a fuel source.
FARM FEEDS & SUPPLEMENTS
Algae could be used as a mineral supplement in livestock feeds.
Some farmers are exploiting this possibility and some have even come up with commercial brands of algal based livestock feeds which are fetching good market prices.
Algae could also be used to make mineral supplements for children.
But beyond feeds, algae cultivation could be used to tackle water pollution while at the same time rechanneling agriculture nutrients back to the farmlands.
FARMING
Since algae accumulate significant amounts of agricultural nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus, growth flourishes in wastewater – because it is rich in these nutrients.
Proliferation of algae in freshwater bodies leads to dead zones – death of fish and other creatures.
If wastewater or runoff from farmlands could be used to cultivate algae for harvesting, drying and reusing as a top dress fertilizer, a circular economy could be created around agricultural nutrients.
Remember that this circularity is key due to dwindling agricultural nutrients such as phosphorus.
IN CONCLUSION
Algae play a crucial role not only in supply of oxygen but in capture of atmospheric carbon.
In this case, they are a useful climate change adaptation tool.
But above and beyond, they are also promising candidates for pollution remediation, livestock feeds and possibly bio diesel production.
Algae offer many possibilities and are worth considering in this regard.
Cleannovate 