Podcast with Dr. Bryan Willson on Algae Biofuels

Published: October 29, 2009

Bryan Willson is a mechanical engineering professor at Colorado State and the co-founder of Solix Biofuels, a company that focuses on producing biodiesel from algae. While there has been some debate on the merits of biofuels, Dr. Willson hopes that those produced from algae will prove especially sustainable.

Listen to the podcast (7:47)

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The Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy podcast is a production of the American Institute of Physics.

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Lila Levenson

3.02.10 13:44 PM

Good point Professor. However, ethanol's derivative seems to be a matter of semantics. In comparison, biofuel derived from algae seems to be more environmentally sustainable as it adds oxygen to our atmosphere. Regardless of where ethanol comes from, it does not have that advantage; therefore, it makes the most sense for the US to corner the market on biofuel derived from algae.

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Prof.Lynn K. Mytelka

5.01.10 9:42 AM

A useful overview of what Solix Biofuels does. In the response to the question on how algae compares with other biofuels, notably ethanol, Dr. Willson failed to mention the one competitive producer of ethanol - Brazil and the crop used -sugarcane as opposed to the North American emphasis on less productive, more costly, more energy intensive and more competitive with food crops use of corn and soybeans. This should not be left out of the choice matrix especially for developing countries currently importing carbon-based fuels.

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