Chemical Engineering @ChemengFiles.Com

Exxon Mobil Corporation announced a partnership with the biotech company, Synthetic Genomics Inc. (SGI), to research and develop next-generation biofuels derived from photosynthetic algae.

"This investment is taking place after several years of planning and research, and adds significantly to the ongoing efforts of ExxonMobil to advance innovative technologies that help address the energy challenges of the world," said Dr. Emil Jacobs, vice president of research and development for ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company.

"To meet the increasing demand for energy in the world should be using different technologies and energy sources. We believe that the biofuel produced from algae could be a significant part of the solution in the future if our efforts lead us to produce a fuel economically viable transportation and low net carbon emissions. "

ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company established a research and development alliance with SGI, a privately held company that focuses on developing genomic solutions and was founded by genomics pioneer, Dr. J. Craig Venter, to develop advanced biofuels from photosynthetic algae that are compatible with gasoline and diesel fuel available today.

Under the program, ExxonMobil believes investing more than $ 600 million, which includes approximately $ 300 million in internal costs, in addition to a potential investment of over $ 300 million for the SGI, if research and development milestones are met satisfactorily .

"While still completing meaningful work that can take years of research and development, if successful, fuels derived from algae could help meet growing global demand for transportation fuel while reducing the emission of greenhouse gases "said Michael Dolan, senior vice president of ExxonMobil.

"The real challenge of creating a viable next-generation biofuel is to achieve the ability to produce large volumes, which will require significant advances in science and engineering," said Dr. Venter, CEO of SGI.

Dr. Jacobs added: "After considerable study, we determined that the advantages and potential benefits of biofuel derived from algae could be significant. Among other advantages, the easy availability of sunlight and carbon dioxide that is used to grow photosynthetic algae could provide benefits of mitigating greenhouse gases. The growth of algae is not dependent on fresh water and arable land, on the contrary, are used for food production. Finally, the algae have the potential to produce large volumes of oil that could be processed in existing refineries to produce fuels that are compatible with the technology and existing transportation infrastructure. "