Japan starts the research project of extracting seaweed oil for fuel

In the sewage treatment plant of miyagino District, Sendai City, Japan, a sewage treatment facility has been started, which uses the technology of algae growing in the sewage to extract the bio fuel components This is the first project in Japan, which is jointly participated by Northeastern University, Tsukuba University and Sendai municipal government In the project, Tsukuba University is responsible for the cultivation of algae, while Northeastern University will try to develop the technology of extracting hydrocarbon fuel components from algae growing in sewage The project is included in the five-year innovation promotion plan of renewable energy research and development with a total budget of 900 million yen (about 9.09 million US dollars) from the Ministry of culture, science and technology of Japan As an alternative energy source, algal biomass has recently attracted attention in Japan Aurantiochytrium is a kind of algae that is beneficial to the production of biofuel components used in hydrocarbon generation experiments The algae is high-yield and fast-growing, and researchers have great expectations for it The project will create practical production technology through the analysis of data from experimental research The main challenge for researchers is cost The cost of using the current technology to produce algae oil is about 1500-1600 yen (about 15.15-16.16 US dollars) per litre, which is about 10 times higher than the current gasoline price in Japan.