Algae holds great promise for biofuel production

Algae? Pond Scum? Slime? We used to hate it when swimming in farm ponds. But, now there are reasons to love it! Scientists are researching the use of algae on several fronts for biofuels. One direction is to use algae to produce hydrogen. Turns out, under certain conditions algae produces hydrogen as a by-product. Here is a link: http://www.technologyreview.com/read_article.aspx?ch=specialsections&sc=biofuels&id=19438&a=
And scientists are now developing what they are calling "designer algae" to provide a greater level of hydrogen production. This line of research could be the answer to the downside of the use of hydrogen - the high cost to produce it.

Another branch of research is extracting oil from algae to make biofuels. Here is a link to a site that is developing this technology: http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/science/04/01/algae.oil/index.htmlThey are learning which species of algae work best for this, and how to grow it more efficiently. It is estimated that with the proper growing techniques, algae could produce 100,000 gallons of algae oil a year per acre.

So, there are some great things on the horizon for alternative fuels, or rather, floating on the water...