A biofuel is a hydrocarbon that is made BY or FROM a living organism that we humans can use to power something. A thorough research work has been carried out by few of the colleagues(me & my MBA mates) to analyze the potential for the algae fuel and how can it be made commercially viable.

1. GREEN ALGAE AS A BIOFUEL
ABHIJIT BISWAS (02)
SUPROTIM DE (20)
GILSON JOSEPH (29)
MANOJ KRISHNAMOORTHI (40)
SONAL PRAVIN (74)

2. INTRODUCTION
• A biofuel is a hydrocarbon that is made BY or FROM a living
organism that we humans can use to power something.
• Any hydrocarbon fuel that is produced from organic matter
(living or once living material) in a short period of time (days,
weeks, or even months) is considered a biofuel.
• This contrasts with fossil fuels, which take millions of years to
form and with other types of fuel which are not based on
hydrocarbons (nuclear fission, for instance).

3. Biofuel
First
Generation
Soybeam, Palm,
Canola
Second
Generation
Jatropha,
Switch Grass
Third
Generation
Algae
Fourth
Generation
Biotechnoloical
Approaches

4. • Algae is a term that comprises of many different groups of living
organisms. Algae capture light energy through photosynthesis and
converts inorganic substances into simple sugars using the captured
energy.
• Algae range from single celled organism to multi cellular organism,
some with fairly complex differentiated form.
• Different forms of algae are as follows:
• 1. Chromista
• 2. The Red Line
• 3. Dinoflagellates
• 4. Euglenids
• 5. The Green Line

5. • Algae biofuels are an alternative to fossil fuel that uses algae as its source of
natural deposits.
• Like fossil fuel, algae fuel releases CO2 when burnt, but unlike fossil fuel,
algae fuel and other biofuels only release CO2 recently removed from the
atmosphere via photosynthesis as the algae or plant grew.
• Algae are made up of eukaryotic cells. These are cells with nuclei and
organelles. They consists of Proteins, Carbohydrates, Fats and Nucleic Acids
in various proportions.
• There are algae types that are comprised up to 40% of their overall mass by
fatty acids. It is this fatty acid (oil) that can be extracted and converted into
biodiesel.

6. NEED FOR ALGAE BIOFUEL
• Declining global supplies of conventional sources of energy and
increasing concern about the climate-warming effects of fossil fuels
are pushing society to look beyond the conventional resources.
• Algae is an environmental-friendly, mass-produced product that can
be converted into fuel. Algae grow naturally all over the world. Under
optimal conditions, it can be grown in massive, almost limitless,
amounts.
• No other feedstock has the Oil Yield high enough for it to produce
such large volumes of oil. Any other crop such as soybean or palm to
yield enough oil capable of replacing petro-diesel completely, a very
large percentage of the current land available needs to be utilized

7. HOW IS ALGAE BIOFUEL PRODUCED?

8. Strength
1. Higher Oil Yield
2. Lesser land requirement
3. Adaptability
4. WWT and CO2 capture.
5. Range of Products
6. Environment Friendly
7. Purify Wastewaters
1. High Initial Investment
2. Optimal Condition Difficult to maintain
3. Cold flow issues
4. Maintenance of open pound cultivation
5. Technological Backwardness
6. Soil Erosion and Deforestation
7. High viscosity of algal oil
Opportunity
1.Reducing the dependence on conventional
fuels
2. Scope in Aviation, Automobile, Power Sectors.
3. Algae can be used as food products.
Threats
1. Conventional Sources
2. Financing
3. Land Acquisition
4. Not economical yet.
SWOT

9. FUTURE PROSPECTS

10. • Global biofuel outputs to grow 3.5% per year on average from 110 billion liters in 2012 to 135 billion
liters in 2018.
• On an energy adjusted basis vs. oil, biofuels provide 4% of global road transport fuel demand in 2018.
• Aviation industry seeks early adoption of biofuel, 10% replacement by 2030 requires 20.4 MTOE
aviation biofuel.
• Biofuel Vehicles
• Green Buildings
• Investments are being made for future in this field. ($25 million by Energy Department, US)
• Algae biofuels have the potential to replace 17% of oil imports in the US used as a transportation fuel
by 2022.
• International Energy Agency expects that biofuel will contribute 6% of total fuel use by 2030.

11. SCOPE
• Fuel for aviation and automotive sector
• Room Heaters
• Manufacturing Sector
• Military aircrafts and equipment's
• Bioelectricity

12. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Problem Definition
Literature Review
Formulate Hypothesis
Design Research
Collection of Data
Analyze Date
Interpret and Report

13. RESEARCH PROBLEM AND OBJECTIVE
• The research problem here is to check weather green algae fuel
reduces the dependency on conventional sources of energy and
how many years will it take for it to be a commercial fuel.
• To see weather this fuel is sustainable in the long run.
• To study the scope of Green Algae Biofuel.

14. SAMPLING TECHNIQUE
• Judgment Sampling technique is used for this research.
• Questionnaire was prepared and a focused group survey was
taken.

15. QUESTIONNAIRE
• 1. Have you heard of green algae biofuel?
• 2. Is it in your opinion better than other biofuel?
• 3. How much according to you is the cost required for producing it?
• 4. How much according to you is the energy required for producing it?
• 5. Do you think that the production of the biofuel depends on weather and
geographical conditions?
• 6. How much according to you green algae biofuel will reduce the
dependence on conventional sources?
• 7. How much do you think that the green algae biofuel will contribute in the
energy mix by 2030?
• 8. Will you be willing to use green algae biofuel in your organization?
• 9. Do you know the existence of green algae biofuel in India?
• 10. Do you know about the storage facility required to store this fuel?

16. ANALYSIS OF THE RESEARCH
• Question 1 : 85% of the respondents knew about Green Algae
Biofuel
• Question 2 : 76% believe that its better than other biofuel
sources.
• Question 3 :
High
14%
Medium
48%
Low
24%
Don’t Know
14%
Cost of Production

17. • Question 4 :
• Question 5 : 52% of the respondents agrees that fuel production
depends upon weather and geographical conditions.
• Few of the responses for the subjective part were:
• 1. It depends on the coast length, quality of water and geographic location and the
temperature and humidity associated.
• 2. For biofuel production instead of open outdoor cultivation we need to focus on
controlled indoor green house type compact photobioreactor high capacity production
highly possible and it can provide continuous productivity unlike outdoor cultivation .
• 3. Tropical climate, high moisture, moderate temperature.
High
9%
Medium
43%
Low
38%
Don’t Know
10%
ENERGY FOR PRODUCTION

18. • Question 6 :
Question 7 :
48%
19%
19%
5% 9%
Reduction in Dependance on
Conventional Sources
10-
30%
30-
50%
33%
33%
14%
10%
10%
CONTRIBUTION IN ENERGY MIX
0-3% 3-5% 5-8% 8-10% Don’t Know

19. • Question 8 :
• Few of the responses were:
• Water Purifier, power generators, biodiesel laboratory, mass
transfer operations, as an absorbent in packaged bed columns
etc.
Yes
67%
No
19%
Don’t Know
9%
Not Applicable
5%
WILLINGNESS TO USE IN ORGANIZATION

20. • Question 9 : 57% of the respondents believe that green algae
biofuel doesn’t exist in India, where as 33% believe that it
exists.
• Question 10 : 62% know about the storage facility required to
store this fuel where as 28% are unaware of the storage
facilities.

21. 4P’sofMarketing
Product
Price
Place
Promotion

22. PRODUCT
• The product is “Green Algae Biofuel” which is an alternative to
existing petroleum fuels.
• Algae is an environmental-friendly, mass-produced product
that can be converted into fuel. Algae grow naturally all over
the world. Under optimal conditions, it can be grown in
massive, almost limitless, amounts. It absorbs Co2 and with
improving technology can be produced at lower costs.
•
• This product can be utilized as a motor/aircraft fuel without
changing the engines and hence it is very essential to use to
reduce dependence on conventional sources.

23. PRICE
• The initial investment required for extraction and producing
algae biofuel is very high in comparison to other sources such
as crude oil and gas.

24. • In 2010, the NATIONAL ALLIANCE FOR ADVANCED BIOFUELS AND BIOPRODUCTS
SYNOPSIS (NAABB) was formed to understand the impacts of algae on overall
biomass and liquid transportation fuel production.
• It established a starting baseline cost of $240 per gallon (for algae biocrude)
based on the production, harvest, extraction and upgrade technologies
developed in 2010.
• Major breakthroughs such as:
• New Strain Development – Cost reduced by 85%
• Improved Cultivation – 16% cost reduction
• Low Energy Harvesting Technology – 14% cost reduction
• High Yield Extraction-Conversion Technology – 86% reduction in cost
has lead to reduction in cost from $240/gallon to $7.5/gallon.
The price of the product can be brought down to as low as $3/gallon in the near
future with the help of improving technology by 2030.

25. PLACE
• The following conditions are required for Green Algae Biofuel
Production:
• Light, Temperature, Nutrients, pH, photoperiod etc.
• Large amount of land is required.
• Until now, USA has done the maximum amount of research on
this fuel and are growing the maximum amount of algae fuel.

26. PROMOTION
• With conventional resources depleting at a rapid pace and growing
environmental concerns, it is very essential to promote green algae as a fuel to
the world.
• Organizations like Boeing, Toyota, ExxonMobil are already using algae fuel
commercially. This sets an example for other countries and organizations to use
and promote the advantages of this fuel over others.
• Oil and Gas companies such as Shell, British Petroleum etc can promote the use
of biofuels by investing in these abundant resources.
• Promotional strategies could use the advantages of this fuel that is
environmental friendly, cheaper source etc.
• Consumers must be made aware of this fuel by aggressive marketing strategy
such as print media, advertisements on television etc.
• Government policies and regulations must be such that it attracts investors.
• Price should be lower than the other resources. This will attract customers. Eg.
Natural gas attracting more consumers as its cheaper than petrol.

27. PESTEL ANALYSIS FOR INDIA
• Political – Political environment in India is suitable for implementing
green algae biofuel. Since high investment is required for this
project, government policies must be simple and must aim at
attracting investors.
• Economical – India is a developing country and it is a net importer of
energy and thus we have to become self sufficient to reduce the
import bills. Since the global crude oil prices is low these days its
difficult to attract investment in this field.
• Social - Large amount of land is required for algae cultivation and
acquisition of land might be a problem as India is a highly populated
country. Further, setting up of plant, ponds might require moving of
many villages etc which again will be a problem.

28. • Technical – Technology is continuously improving throughout
the world and importing the technology shouldn’t be a
problem.
• Environmental – Getting permissions is a difficult task in the
Indian scenario. Use of microalgae for biofuel production would
permit to reduce deforestation and preserving the forest
heritage.
• Legal - Indian legal system is not that efficient. Getting
permissions for business licenses is a challenge and the time

29. MILESTONES
• 1942 - Harder and Von Witsch were the first to propose that microalgae be
grown as a source of lipids for food or fuel.
• 1978 - US Department of Energy initiated the Aquatic Species Program . The
Aquatic Species Program spent $25 million over 18 years with the goal of
developing liquid transportation fuel from algae that would be price
competitive with petroleum-derived fuels.
• 2007 - A nine-year investment of 1.5 billion CAD$ (the ecoENERGY for
Biofuels Initiative) was announced by the Canadian government to stimulate
the production of biofuels in Canada.
• In November 2012, Solazyme and Propel Fuels made the first retail sales of
algae-derived fuel and in March 2013 Sapphire Energy began commercial
sales of algal biofuel.

30. INDIAN SCENARIO
• Abellon Clean Energy, Ahmedabad design and development of pilot scale
bioreactor system for comparative simulation studies on algal cultivation
MNRE 2011- to develop indigeneous photobioreactor which is capable of
sequestrating CO2

31. STATUS OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
IN INDIA
Abellon Clean Energy, Ahmedabad - Design and Development of pilot scale
bioreactor system for comparative simulation studies on algal cultivation MNRE
2011 to develop indigenous photobioreactor which is capable of sequestrating
CO2.

32. CHALLENGES
• Picking up an algae strain
• Algae cultivation, harvesting and extraction
• High initial investment requires to be reduced
• Technology is still in the nascent stage
• Maintenance of the open ponds
• Dynamic economic conditions
• Nutrient sourcing and utilization

33. CONCLUSION
• Algae is consider as third generation biofuel and it is highly
productive, contains high amount of lipids compare to oil yielding
crop plants.
• Algae has a potential to offer variety of solutions for our liquid
transportation fuel requirement.
• Algae efficiently uses CO2 and is responsible for more than 40% of
global carbon fixation.
• Even though the initial investment is high, the production is also high
and the resource is abundant, thus it can replace petrol-diesel for
commercial use in the near future.