Algae Farms & Breweries to Co-habit?

A high-tech company called Solix Biofuels has partnered with New Belgium Brewing Co. in Fort Collins, Colo., to turn waste — the carbon dioxide produced in brewing beer — into energy by "feeding" it to a type of algae that naturally contains high lipid levels, which then allow biofuel to be created from the algae's lipids (oils). The requirements to grow the algae consist of an exposure to the sun, water and carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is naturally emitted in the brewing process, and from it, energy is produced as the algae grow, which is then used to make more beer.

Algae biofuel has the potential to be many times more efficient than other biofuels. According to the U.S. Energy Department, if algae biofuels replaced other alternative fuel crops, they would yield up to 30 times more energy. This would equate to an area in the United States as big as Maryland, or 15,000 square miles needed to supply energy to the United States.

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Veronica Cassandra