Renewed Interest In Turning Algae Into Fuel Generated

The same brown algae that cover rocks and cause anglers to slip while fly fishing contain oil that can be turned into diesel fuel, says a Montana State University microbiologist.

Drivers can't pump algal fuel into their gas tanks yet, but Keith Cooksey said the idea holds promise. He felt that way 20 years ago. He feels that way today.

"We would be there now if people then hadn't been so short-sighted," Cooksey said.

Cooksey is one of many U.S. scientists who studied the feasibility of turning algal oil into biodiesel in the 1980s. The U.S. Department of Energy, through its Aquatics Species program, funded their research. Cooksey's lab made a number of discoveries. Scientific journals published his findings.

Funding dried up, however, and the scientists went on to other things.

"Rumor had it that big oil got in the way," Cooksey said. "They didn't want competition so the project was dropped."
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