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Algae Crops: Coproduction of Algae Biofuels

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Industrial Crops

Part of the book series: Handbook of Plant Breeding ((HBPB,volume 9))

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Abstract

The chapter discusses potential uses of algae, and the benefits of coproducing algae biofuels and value-added products such as wastewater treatment and fish. Because of the discussion and the data surrounding algae, and the large technical and economic barriers faced by producers of algae biofuels, we predict that the use of algae to produce energy will likely end up being combined with other value-added products. The combination of energy production and other coproducts (e.g., wastewater treatment) can make large-scale algae biofuel production economically viable. Key, however, to algae biofuel coproduction is the ancillary market’s ability to consume large volumes.

The chapter also discusses aquaponics systems, which use algae to filter out water pollution and then recirculate the cleansed water back to the aquaculture production system. This part of the chapter is used to show that the social cost of coproducing algae for biofuel, while employing an aquaponics system is different than the private costs. Thus, an efficient outcome is achieved using public policy—e.g., subsidies, making algae for biofuel production more economical.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Agricultural, Food and Resource Economics, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, USA

    Gal Hochman

  2. Strategic Critical Thinking and Rutgers Energy Institute, Lawrenceville, NJ, USA

    Michael C. Trachtenberg

  3. Agriculture and Resource Economics, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA

    David Zilberman

Authors
  1. Gal Hochman
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  2. Michael C. Trachtenberg
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  3. David Zilberman
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Gal Hochman .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. USDA-ARS, Boston College Carroll School of Management, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA

    Von Mark V. Cruz  & David A. Dierig  & 

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Hochman, G., Trachtenberg, M.C., Zilberman, D. (2015). Algae Crops: Coproduction of Algae Biofuels. In: Cruz, V.M.V., Dierig, D.A. (eds) Industrial Crops. Handbook of Plant Breeding, vol 9. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-1447-0_17

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