Brazil to Construct World's First Algae Biofuel Plant

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A leader in biofuel production, Brazil will build the world's first algae-based biofuel plant next year. Austrian company See Algae Technology (SAT) will construct the $9.8 million facility, slated to create 1.2 million liters of seaweed biofuel per year. The plant will be located on a sugarcane plantation 33 miles from Recife, the capital of Pernambuco state in Brazil's northeast. Since the site already produces ethanol from sugarcane, the carbon dioxide used in biofuel production will be used for the seaweed processing. In doing so, biofuel producers can reduce emissions of polluting gases. "CO2, which is the villain of climate, becomes a valued raw material," Rafael Bianchini, head of SAT's Brazilian subsidiary, told G1. Once the plant is running in Pernambuco, another plant may be built in Espirito Santo state, replicating the production process. Brazil's hydrocarbons regulations agency has yet to approve the plant.

Learn More:

  • Read about the plant from AFP.
  • Learn about how the algae production works from G1. (em português)