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Aquatic Species Program
From 1978 to 1996, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Fuels Development funded a program to develop renewable transportation fuels from algae. The main focus of the program, known as the Aquatic Species Program, was the production of Biodiesel from high lipid-content algae grown in ponds, utilizing waste CO2 from coal fired power plants. It was concluded that algal biodiesel is one of the only avenues available for high-volume re-use of CO2 generated in powerplants, marrying the potential need for carbon disposal in the electric utility industry with the need for clean-burning alternatives to petroleum in the transportation sector. Contributions to this project will be used to establish a next generation Aquatic Species Program at the James Madison University that will investigate the potential of fresh water and ocean dwelling algae and seaweed to serve as feedstock for the production of biodiesel and ethanol. The cost to develop and run this program is approximately $10,000.
