GreenFuel Technologies Corporation
Encyclopedia
GreenFuel Technologies Corporation (GFT) was a startup
that developed a process of growing algae
using emissions from fossil fuel
, mainly to produce biofuel from algae.
It was based in Cambridge, Massachusetts
. Greenfuel shut down operations on May 13, 2009. after having raised more than $70 million in investments, citing it had run out of funds, and a victim of the economy.
, who founded the company in April, 2001. Time Magazine included Berzin in its list of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2008.
A beta emission reduction system was installed at an MIT cogeneration facility in 2004 and after performing beyond expectations was moved to a larger power plant in fall 2005. Pilot units were tested at power plants in Arizona
, Massachusetts
and New York
. Although the algal biomass produced by the process consists of protein
s, lipid
s and carbohydrates which could be used to produce a variety of products, GFT seems to be focusing on biofuel products. GreenFuel's large scale algae to biofuel process at the Arizona Public Service Redhawk power facility won the 2006 Platts Emissions Energy Project of the Year Award.
In 2007, the company had to shut down its third-generation bioreactor facility in Arizona after the plant produced more algae than the company’s equipment could handle. At the same time, the company learned that its algae harvesting system would cost twice as much as expected. In 2007 they announced a restructuring, some 25 employees, about half the company’s staff, were laid off as a result of the plant shutdown.
Arizona Public Service Company (APS) and its partner GreenFuel Technologies will attempt to replicate their success of creating biofuels from algae grown using carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from a power plant.
supplied with exhaust gases from a fossil fuel combustion source to grow algae. As smokestack emissions are delivered to the algae bioreactor
, carbon dioxide and other pollutants are absorbed and utilized by the algae to grow at an exponential rate. Once harvested, the algae is processed to produce a variety of solids such as protein and bioplastic
s, gases such as methane
, and biofuels such as ethanol
and biodiesel
.
. Once the algal biomass is harvested and processed, the resulting fuel may be sold for additional revenue or utilized on-site.
Startup company
A startup company or startup is a company with a limited operating history. These companies, generally newly created, are in a phase of development and research for markets...
that developed a process of growing algae
Algaculture
Algaculture is a form of aquaculture involving the farming of species of algae.The majority of algae that are intentionally cultivated fall into the category of microalgae...
using emissions from fossil fuel
Fossil fuel
Fossil fuels are fuels formed by natural processes such as anaerobic decomposition of buried dead organisms. The age of the organisms and their resulting fossil fuels is typically millions of years, and sometimes exceeds 650 million years...
, mainly to produce biofuel from algae.
It was based in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
. Greenfuel shut down operations on May 13, 2009. after having raised more than $70 million in investments, citing it had run out of funds, and a victim of the economy.
History
The GFT President, Chief Technology Officer and the inventor of a newly patented system for growing pollution-digesting algae inexpensively on an industrial scale is Isaac BerzinIsaac Berzin
Isaac Berzin is a chemical engineer who in 2001 founded GreenFuel Technologies Corporation, a company that aims to use algae to eat up carbon emissions and to produce renewable energy. This company has closed down in May 2009....
, who founded the company in April, 2001. Time Magazine included Berzin in its list of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2008.
A beta emission reduction system was installed at an MIT cogeneration facility in 2004 and after performing beyond expectations was moved to a larger power plant in fall 2005. Pilot units were tested at power plants in Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
and New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. Although the algal biomass produced by the process consists of protein
Protein
Proteins are biochemical compounds consisting of one or more polypeptides typically folded into a globular or fibrous form, facilitating a biological function. A polypeptide is a single linear polymer chain of amino acids bonded together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of...
s, lipid
Lipid
Lipids constitute a broad group of naturally occurring molecules that include fats, waxes, sterols, fat-soluble vitamins , monoglycerides, diglycerides, triglycerides, phospholipids, and others...
s and carbohydrates which could be used to produce a variety of products, GFT seems to be focusing on biofuel products. GreenFuel's large scale algae to biofuel process at the Arizona Public Service Redhawk power facility won the 2006 Platts Emissions Energy Project of the Year Award.
In 2007, the company had to shut down its third-generation bioreactor facility in Arizona after the plant produced more algae than the company’s equipment could handle. At the same time, the company learned that its algae harvesting system would cost twice as much as expected. In 2007 they announced a restructuring, some 25 employees, about half the company’s staff, were laid off as a result of the plant shutdown.
Arizona Public Service Company (APS) and its partner GreenFuel Technologies will attempt to replicate their success of creating biofuels from algae grown using carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from a power plant.
Principal Investors
- Access Private Equity
- Draper Fisher JurvetsonDraper Fisher JurvetsonDraper Fisher Jurvetson is a venture capital firm based in Menlo Park, California with affiliate offices in more than 30 cities around the world and over $7 billion in capital commitments....
- Polaris Venture PartnersPolaris Venture PartnersPolaris Venture Partners is a venture capital firm specializing in seed and early stage investments particularly in companies engaged in the information technology and life sciences sectors....
Technology
Known as Emissions-to-Biofuels, the process could use a photosynthetic bioreactorBioreactor
A bioreactor may refer to any manufactured or engineered device or system that supports a biologically active environment. In one case, a bioreactor is a vessel in which a chemical process is carried out which involves organisms or biochemically active substances derived from such organisms. This...
supplied with exhaust gases from a fossil fuel combustion source to grow algae. As smokestack emissions are delivered to the algae bioreactor
Algae bioreactor
An algae bioreactor or photobioreactor is used for cultivating algae on purpose to fix CO2 or produce biomass. Specifically, algae bioreactors can be used to produce fuels such as biodiesel and bioethanol, to generate animal feed, or to reduce pollutants such as NOx and CO2 in flue gases of power...
, carbon dioxide and other pollutants are absorbed and utilized by the algae to grow at an exponential rate. Once harvested, the algae is processed to produce a variety of solids such as protein and bioplastic
Bioplastic
Bioplastics are a form of plastics derived from renewable biomass sources, such as vegetable fats and oils, corn starch, pea starch, or microbiota, rather than fossil-fuel plastics which are derived from petroleum...
s, gases such as methane
Methane
Methane is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is the simplest alkane, the principal component of natural gas, and probably the most abundant organic compound on earth. The relative abundance of methane makes it an attractive fuel...
, and biofuels such as ethanol
Ethanol
Ethanol, also called ethyl alcohol, pure alcohol, grain alcohol, or drinking alcohol, is a volatile, flammable, colorless liquid. It is a psychoactive drug and one of the oldest recreational drugs. Best known as the type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages, it is also used in thermometers, as a...
and biodiesel
Biodiesel
Biodiesel refers to a vegetable oil- or animal fat-based diesel fuel consisting of long-chain alkyl esters. Biodiesel is typically made by chemically reacting lipids with an alcohol....
.
Application
Sources of carbon rich exhaust include manufacturing facilities and electricity generation plants, especially those which burn coalCoal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
. Once the algal biomass is harvested and processed, the resulting fuel may be sold for additional revenue or utilized on-site.
Benefits
The biofuel yield using the GreenFuel technique is 30 times higher per hectare compared to the yield of oil derived from conventional terrestrial crops. Emissions of carbon dioxide are reduced by 40% and emissions of oxides of nitrogen are reduced by up to 85%. Plant retrofits can be made with minimal disruption to existing facilities.Large-scale algae farming plants
GreenFuel Technologies had launched the second phase of a major project with Spanish renewable energy firm Aurantia to build a large-scale algae farming plant adjacent to a CO2-spewing cement plant near Jerez, Spain.Awards
- 2006 Energy Emission Project of the Year. PlattsPlattsPlatts is a provider of energy and metals information and a source of benchmark price assessments in the physical energy markets. Platts was founded in Cleveland, Ohio in 1909 by Warren C...
Global Energy Awards. - 2006 Frost Sullivan Bio-based fuels technology Innovation Of The Year Award.
- 2006 Red Herring.
External links
- GreenFuel Technologies Corporation
- Video Describing GreenFuel's Process and Technology
- Payload Systems.
- MIT Summary of the system
- Green Star in South Africa
- APS news release.
- Cleantech Investing in Israel Blog about cleantech-related news in Israel
- Boston Israel Cleantech Alliance Promotes connections between cleantech entrepreneurs, investors and academic researchers in Boston and Israel