California Drivers Now Can Fill Up On Algae-Based Biodiesel

There are plenty of proponents searching for ways to replace petroleum with renewable fuels (though some alternatives such as corn-based ethanol have come under fire, especially in the wake of last summer’s nationwide drought). But the biofuel system developed by South San Francisco-based Solazyme, Inc. claims it won’t tap the food supply.

The algae-based fuel is known as B20, which means a mix of eighty percent conventional diesel and twenty percent biofuel. That’s generally the maximum motorists can find at a public filling station – though company officials insist they could use 100 percent organic diesel in a conventional vehicle without any change in performance or reduction in the life of a diesel engine.

The biggest problem would be price, as the biofuel currently costs more to produce than fuel refined from petroleum. The first four stations were charging $4.25 a gallon, about the same as standard diesel fuel in the San Francisco area.

The debut is part of a month-long pilot program though it is clear Solazyme and Propel would like to continue marketing the biofuel if customers agree.

The most commonly available biofuel is ethanol, an alcohol that can be used in many late-model automobiles in a mix of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline. It is also used as an additive in conventional gasoline in much of the country, albeit at much lower concentrations.

There has been significant debate about ethanol but one of the biggest concerns is that most production facilities rely on corn to make the fuel.

Proponents have been hoping to shift away from food stock-based ethanol to so-called cellulosic ethanol that can be produced from a variety of alternative stocks, from grain chaff to waste paper. The ramp-up of cellulosic ethanol has been slow, however.

The sponsors are hoping that most motorists won’t care where the B20 comes from – except those who would prefer to find a diesel supply that is at least partly based on renewables.

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