Melissa Toifl, scientist at CSIRO and Scientist in Schools mentor, produced this presentation for Year 8 students at Hawkesdale P12 College.

1. Prepared for Hawksdale P12 College,
Melissa Toifl
CSIRO

2.  Biofuels are liquid
fuels that have
been developed
from other materials
such as plant or
animal waste matter.
Image from: avantium.com

3.  Peak Oil
 Finite Fossil Fuels
 Carbon Footprint
 Energy Security
 Cleaner more sustainable fuel source
 Less emissions
 Benefits for regional Australia

4.  Competition with food crops – ethanol and
some biofuels
 Higher variability in costs
 Infrastructure for producing biofuels
 Market for fuel blends (flexi-fuel vehicles).
Currently E10 is common but higher ethanol to
petrol blends such as E85 are not common
 Only about 5 % of the 8 000 plus service
stations across Australia are now selling
ethanol or biodiesel blends.

5.  Bioethanol
 Is an alcohol
 Made by fermenting
sugar and starch
components of
plant materials by
using a strain of
yeast
 Ethanol is currently most commonly used as
fuel for vehicles in a blended petrol form
Sugarbeet soon to be produced into ethanol

6.  Biodiesel
 Is not an alcohol
 Is produced from
renewable plant or
animal feedstocks
which contain long
chain fatty acids
 Can be used as fuel
for vehicles
 Canola, algae, sunflower, mustard crops can
all make suitable biofuels
Canola crop
Image courtesy of CSIRO

7. Image from:
organic-center.org

8.  Different species of algae can be used
 Seawater and freshwater species
 Algae that are good for biofuels have a high
lipid (fatty acid) content
 Some species grow rapidly and are more
resilient than others
 Algae require warmer temperatures, correct
light/sunlight, and sufficient nutrients to
grow

9. Image from: telovation.com

10. Image from: rechargenews.com

11. Image from: godieselusa.com

12. Image from: nextoils.eu

13.  Raceway ponds or photo bioreactors most
common for algal based biofuels

14. Image from: algaeindustrymagazine.com

15. Image from: brae.calpoly.edu

16.  Shallow water is best as algae tend to grow
close to the surface because they like
sunlight
 Shallow water will also be warmer – required
for maximum growth
 Conditions required for good algal production
are more likely to be found in the upper half
of Australia

17.  Need to collect the algae
 Then need to remove the excess water
 Some common methods to do this:
 Centrifugation
 Flocculation
 Filtration
 Difficult with large scale algal production

18.  Once the algae was had the water removed,
it is dried and then the oil extraction can be
done
 Mechanical presses
 Chemical extraction by breaking the cell
membranes (walls) down with chemicals
 Solvent extraction by dissolving the algae in
hexane or another solvent
 Algal oil is then ready to be turned into a
fuel
 May involve extracting different fractions
and combining with additives and other fuels

20.  Lots of research in all areas of biodiesel
production
 Designs around growing algae – what is best,
conditions required
 Harvesting methods – problems with
dewatering and costs
 Processing methods can be expensive

21.  Biofuels are almost certain to play an
important role in future fuel supplies
 Lots of research in this area all over the
world including Australia
 Advances are being made quickly in some
areas
 New methods are being developed for all
steps of algal fuel production