Mulvaney's company analyzes GHGs of seaweed-based ethanol
Measuring the greenhouse gas (GHG) intensity of biofuels has become increasingly important in recent years. Studies have shown a significant amount of variation in biofuels made from different feedstocks. In some cases, biofuels are only marginally better than fossil fuel counterparts. In other cases, there are significant improvements in GHG performance.
EcoShift Consulting (www.ecoshift.com) recently conducted a GHG intensity analysis of a seaweed-based ethanol product that performs significantly better than gasoline as well as ethanol made from other feedstocks. The ethanol is being developed by Bio Architecture Lab, Inc. (BAL), a firm that partnered with ARPA-e—the premier energy research institute in the U.S.—on a grant to develop a process for producing ethanol from seaweed. Research by BAL scientists was recently featured on the cover of Science for their breakthrough technological advances that can convert alginate into fermentable sugars. As BAL prepares to bring this seaweed-based ethanol into production, they worked with Santa Cruz-based EcoShift to model and optimize the GHGs associated with their process to ensure that it is among the lowest carbon intensity transportation fuels commercially available.