SINGAPORE TO STUDY CONVERSION OF ALGAE OIL FOR JET FUEL

SINGAPORE, Feb 4 (Bernama) -- Singapore's Institute of Chemical and
Engineering Sciences (ICES) and global leader in aerospace and defence EADS will
conduct a joint project to investigate the conversion of algae oil to kerosene
for jet fuel.

In a statement Thursday, the Agency for Science, Technology and Research
(A*STAR) which oversees ICES said the agreement for the one year project had
been signed by ICES Deputy Director (Research) Dr P.K. Wong and EADS Innovation
Works Head Yann Barbaux.

It said the aviation sector accounted for two to three per cent of man-made
CO2 emissions, and although this might be a small proportion, EADS recognised
that growth in air transportation must be sustainable.

So far, the agency said, fuel burn had been kept down by improving aircraft
and engine efficiency, and a more radical solution was the use of biofuels made
from sustainable and renewable sources such as algae.

A*STAR said plant-derived biofuels could be considered as renewable fuel
since plants 'fixed' atmospheric carbon dioxide as they grew, which was then
released when the bio-fuel was combusted.

There was no net contribution to greenhouse gas emissions over the long term
unlike the combustion of conventional fossil fuels, it said.

However, the area productivity of most of the traditional plants used as
bio-energy crops was too low to be a viable source of the feedstock used for
making biofuel, it added.

It said microalgae were much more efficient than plants at converting solar
energy and carbon dioxide into fixed biomass.

This brought the possibility of using microalgae in renewable production of
hydrocarbon fuels that was not in competition with food production for scarce
land resources, A*STAR said.

There was significant interest across multiple sectors in the potential of
microalgae as an energy source, it said, adding they had the potential to
produce nearly 90,000 litres of oil per hectare per year.
-- BERNAMA


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