NREL says small-scale, local waste algae could be inexpensive feedstock

In Colorado, according to an NREL TEA summarized in a recent technical report that collecting waste algae from localized, small-scale sources could result in surprisingly attractive, low- to no-cost feedstocks. That could serve as a near-term option for getting an algal industry off the ground without the need for multi-million-dollar dedicated algae farms.

Sourcing algae biomass for free—or less—from wastewater treatment plants: Algae are avid consumers of nitrogen and phosphorous, and are pollutants routinely filtered at wastewater treatment plants. Some facilities are considering replacing cost- and energy-intensive processes with algae to help treat wastewater. The NREL analysis found that moderately-sized facilities could pay other users to haul the leftover biomass away—offering as much as $341 per ton while remaining economical. Having served its water treatment purpose while potentially saving on costs for conventional water treatment technologies, algae could yield a second useful life as an ingredient for making fuel or products.

Skimming harmful algae blooms off waterways: Harmful algae blooms occur when colonies of single-celled algae take over waterbodies and release toxins as they decompose. According to the NREL study, those algae blooms—a public health concern in many communities—could become cheap sources of biomass. In fact, if local governments offered credits to treat algae blooms, companies could collect and sell the resulting biomass for as low as $21 per ton—cheap enough for biofuel facilities to make a profit on environmentally friendly fuels and products.