Engineers have created a continuous chemical process that
produces useful crude oil minutes after they pour in harvested algae — a
verdant green paste with the consistency of pea soup.
The research by engineers at the Department of Energy's
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory was reported recently in the journal
Algal Research. A biofuels company, Utah-based Genifuel Corp., has licensed the
technology and is working with an industrial partner to build a pilot plant
using the technology.