Sapphire

Project Overview

The Sapphire Energy IABR is designed to demonstrate the scalability and economic feasibility of producing crude oil from algae. The project is located in Luna County, near Columbus, New Mexico.

Objectives

The primary goal of the project is to show that the process of converting algal oil into crude oil can be scaled up efficiently and economically. This involves cultivating and harvesting oil-rich algae, extracting the oil, and refining it into liquid transportation fuels such as jet fuel and diesel.

Technology and Process

The core technology involves using carbon dioxide, brackish water, and nutrients to cultivate algae. Here are the key steps in the process:

• Cultivation: Algae are grown in ponds using carbon dioxide, brackish water, and nutrients.
• Harvesting: The algae are harvested from the ponds.
• Extraction: Green crude oil is extracted from the harvested algae.
• Refining: The extracted oil is refined into jet fuel, diesel, and potentially gasoline.
• Recycling: The residual solid biomass provides nutrients and water that are recycled back into the production ponds.

Capacity and Production

At full capacity, the facility is expected to:

• Fix approximately 56 metric tons of carbon dioxide per day.
• Produce about 100 barrels of green crude oil per day, or approximately 1 million gallons per year of finished fuel product.

Economic and Employment Impact

The project has significant economic and employment implications:

• Construction Phase: Created 520 direct jobs during the construction phase.
• Operational Phase: Plans to employ 30 full-time workers to develop and run the facility.

Environmental Impact

The project is designed to be environmentally beneficial:

• Carbon Sequestration: Fixes significant amounts of carbon dioxide daily.
• GHG Reduction: Anticipated to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 60-70% compared to traditional fossil fuel products.

Collaborations and Partnerships

Sapphire Energy has collaborative agreements with several companies and organizations, including:

• The Linde Group
• Earthrise
• The Harris Group
• AMEC/Geomatrix
• Brown and Caldwell
• Sandia National Laboratory
• New Mexico State University.

Milestones and Achievements

• First Phase Completion: The first phase of the IABR, known as the Green Crude Farm, was completed on-time and on-budget.
• Test Flight: On January 7, 2009, Sapphire Energy was part of a Boeing-led consortium that successfully completed a 2.5-hour test flight of a 737-800 aircraft using synthetic jet fuel made from algae.

Future Plans

The success of this demonstration project is expected to lead to the design and construction of the first commercial-scale biorefinery. At commercial scale, Sapphire Energy anticipates producing about 5,000 barrels of green crude oil per day.

This project represents a significant step towards sustainable energy production, leveraging algae as a renewable feedstock to produce cleaner transportation fuels.