It was only a few months ago that algae-based fuels were cast in the world spotlight at Boeing’s Farnborough display which included an 80-gallon tank of slimy algae. Now, in a decidedly exciting development at a time when fuel prices continue to cripple the industry, the world’s first microbial-derived jet fuel was debuted by Solazyme Inc. last week. The company said it meets all jet-fuel requirements and could replace the 1.6 billion gallons of jet fuel used in the U.S. alone every month and result in a significant reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
The Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), which analyzed the new fuel, said the Solazyme algae-based aviation kerosene has passed the biggest hurdles needed to successfully develop a commercial and military jet fuel fully consistent with existing engines and infrastructure. This is the third bio-fuel the company has made.
SwRI analyzed Solazyme’s algal-derived aviation fuel, which is compatible with the existing transportation fuel infrastructure, saying it passed the eleven “most challenging” specifications needed to meet the ASTM D1655 standard for Aviation Turbine Fuel. The tested areas included the key measurements for density, thermal oxidative stability, flashpoint, freezing point, distillation and viscosity among others. Of the eleven tested parameters, the Solazyme aviation fuel passed the ASTM D1655 requirements for every measurement. Solazyme’s algal-derived aviation fuel is the first step towards achieving alternative fuels that will bring down emissions on a broad scale.
Solazyme implements a unique algal conversion process that allows algae to produce oil in large tanks quickly, efficiently and without sunlight. The process can employ a variety of non-food feedstocks, including cellulosic materials such as agricultural residues and high-productivity grasses including bagasse and switchgrass as well as industrial byproducts such as crude glycerol. The results are renewable oils that can be leveraged across a wide variety of industries and applications, which are nontoxic and safe.
Solazyme is currently producing thousands of gallons of oil at scale and is the only advanced biofuels company that has produced fuels that have passed specification testing. The fuels produced in addition to jet fuel include SoladieselBDTM a FAME biodiesel and SoladieselRDTM a renewable diesel, which has the same chemical properties as petro-diesel.
Solazyme, Inc. is a renewable oil production company and the leader in algal synthetic biology. Solazyme’s unique microbial conversion technology process allows algae to produce oil in standard industrial facilities quickly, efficiently and at large scale. These oils are tailored not only for advanced biofuel production, but also as replacements for fossil petroleum and plant oils in a diverse range of products running from green household cleaning supplies to cosmetics and foods. The company was founded in 2003 and has its headquarters in South San Francisco, Calif.