Argentina produces biofuels from marine algae

Argentina's Oilfox SA has inaugurated the first algae-based biodiesel plant in Latin America, with the goal of gradually replacing the production of biofuels from soybean oil.

President of Oilfox SA Jorge Kaloustian assessing biodiesel extracted from algae is considered an effective choice to replace the production of soybean oil and other vegetable oils because there is no need to use agricultural land. and carbon dioxide removal function from industrial plants.

(Artwork: Publicradio)

Algae are grown in tanks in greenhouses that produce a green oil in the process of absorbing light to produce hydrocarbons and grow very quickly in a short time. Moreover, algae can grow in different environments such as saltwater or contaminated water.

John Williams, a spokesperson for BioMass marine algae, said that if calculated on 1 hectare of growing, seaweed could produce 10 times more biodiesel than soybean.

Biodiesel production from marine algae has a very reasonable price, which makes many companies around the world plan to develop this renewable fuel.

Mr. Kaloustian announced that Oilfox has signed an agreement with leading energy company Argentina, YPF, to produce 50,000 tons of biodiesel per year.

Under Argentine law, by the end of the year, all petroleum companies must mix 10% of biodiesel in fuel.