Resource Assessment for Microalgal/Emergent Aquatic Biomass Systems in the Arid Southwest: Final Report

Regional algal biofuel production potential in the coterminous United States as affected by resource availability trade-offs

“…The potential for water limitations in the southwestern US is obvious and the range of water supply issues well documented [38,39]. However, it has been proposed [40,41] that limitations to freshwater supply could be overcome by saline alternatives. Both this study and our previous assessment [6] cast doubt on this supposition.…”

An integrated assessment of location-dependent scaling for microalgae biofuel production facilities

“…This notion is not new, however, as resource assessments were conducted under the US DOE Aquatic Species Program (1978)(1979)(1980)(1981)(1982)(1983)(1984)(1985)(1986)(1987)(1988)(1989)(1990)(1991)(1992)(1993)(1994)(1995)(1996) in order to understand the potential future and viability of microalgal-based biofuel production in the United States [5,[12][13][14][15]. Maxwell and Folger [12] stressed the intrinsic interconnection between available natural resources, environmental conditions, and the future success and sustainability of aquatic biomass production systems.…”

“…Resource assessment includes the resource potential (e.g., biomass/lipid production rates and quantity of production per unit time and area), the resource demand (e.g., suitable land area; water type, quality, source, supply, and transport; availability and transport of nutrients and CO2; soils and geology; and existing competition for resources), and the risks that impact the resource supply or demand (e.g., droughts, floods, earthquakes, infrastructure availability, supply disruptions, temporal availability). Many prior studies established and demonstrated resource assessment from which this research is directly or indirectly built upon [8][9][10][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21]. Resource assessment used in concert with TEA helps to identify the most probable and sustainable locations for microalgae production facility development using the best available knowledge of resources, as described above, and the economics driving required resource supplies, production, and product delivery.…”

Fuels from microalgae: Technology status, potential, and research requirements

“…As part of the development of the mass microalgal culture concept, SERI has conducted and sponsored studies t o determine the process requirements for major resources. A study by Vigon et al (1982) described the resources of t h e desert in t h e southwestern United States and factors affecting their availability for production of microalgal or emergent aquatic plant species. Resource availabilities a r e outlined in this study along with recommendations for measuring the quantity of each resource available at a particular site.…”

“…Several physical characteristics of the land affect the construction and maintenance of the ponds. W e group these characteristics into two general categories, physical requirements and location requirements, and briefly review concepts t h a t a r e discussed in detail elsewhere (Benemann et al 1982;Vigon et al 1982;Maxwell et al 1984).…”