Exxon to sink $600M into pond scum studies

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Exxon to sink $600M into pond scum studies
IRVING, Texas, U.S. oil giant Exxon Mobile Corp. said it would spend $600 million over 10 years to study making gasoline and diesel fuel from algae.

This week the company opened a greenhouse in La Jolla, Calif., to serve as a laboratory to study the feasibility of turning pond scum into cost effective fuels at a reasonable cost, The Dallas Morning News reported Thursday.

"It is one step along a pretty long path, but it's a pretty important step," said Emil Jacobs, vice president of research and development.

One advantage to converting algae to biofuels: While growing, the algae would consume carbon dioxide, one of the major contributors to global warming and a byproduct of burning petroleum-based fuels.

Another advantage, the News reported, is that biofuels made from corn take away land that could be used for food consumption for livestock or humans. As such, corn-based ethanol has a tendency to push food prices higher.

In addition, the slime that produces fuel from algae fits into the intermediate stage of production at an oil refinery, the newspaper said. One of the industry's goals is to try to fit biofuels easily into the already established infrastructure for fuel production and distribution.
 
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