Harvesting Algae Could Be in Area’s Future

Victoria could soon be seeing green.

Green algae, that is.

A 350-acre plat of land at the Port of Victoria is one of three sites in the running for a $30 million biodiesel plant, Brent Kartchner, managing director of South Texas Algae, LLC announced Tuesday morning.

And instead of pumping necessary oil from the ground or purchasing it from a supplier –in some spots oil prices have increased as much as 400 percent throughout the previous 20 years –the company plans to harvest algae.

Certain forms of that slimy substance often found skimming the surface of rivers contain about 50 percent oil, said Joni Brown, environmental programs coordinator for the City of Victoria.

Producing biodiesels from vegetable and plant oils, or transesterification, is a process that involves taking oil extracted from the plants –in this case, the algae –and mixing it with methanol and a catalyst, according to solarbiofuels.org.

Although Kartchner did not have information regarding employees’ salaries available, he said the proposed plant would employ 30 to 40 people full-time and would include 110 raceways, or long, oval-shaped troughs about 6 inches deep to harvest the algae.

Each raceway holds about a half-million gallons of water, most of which will consist of well water, gray water and some saltwater.

Much of that can be recycled back into the system for repeated use, he said, and the plant would likely include a holding pond in case of instances such as increased rainfall.

The project’s environmental factors make it attractive, Brown said. It emits only oxygen into the air and presents no environmental repercussions.

"It’s just a real win/win situation for the environment," she said.

The finished product, biodiesel, is an alternative fuel free of virtually all sulfur and aromatics, according to the National Biodiesel Board’s Web site.

While some truck fleets and farmers use biodiesel fuel, it is not available to the public in the Victoria area, Brown said.

She is working, however, to change that soon.

Kartchner said the company is working to pull money together for the project and contemplating various sites. Time after time, though, they find themselves back in Victoria, he said.

Although he said he was unsure when the company would make its official announcement, he said it hoped to have the plant up and running before the end of the year. The construction and preparation process, he said, takes about six months.

Allison Miles is a reporter for the Advocate. Contact her at 361-580-6511 or amiles@vicad.com, or to comment on this story, go to www.VictoriaAdvocate.com.

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