A Valencian company (Bio Fuel Systems SA) has signed a contract with Carboneras townhall to build Spains first petrol farm in the town.
The concept appears to be simple, yet almost sci-fi:
The farm uses CO2 produced by local industry (the power station comes to mind) to force microbes and algae to grow as fast as possible, in a sort of mini-greenhouse effect. The microbes then break the algae down to form oil. The principle is the same as the natural creation of oil, but sped up a tad. The oil can then be refined to create petrol.
The company claims that at least a third of the CO2 is destroyed in the process, and the rest is, in effect, used twice (once by industry, then by the vehicles using the petrol) so it’s CO2 neutral.
50 jobs and 10 million euros will be invested, assuming the scheme goes ahead. This is the first time such a scheme will be attempted in Spain, and uses “cutting edge technology from abroad”, according to the paper.