Baltic algae bloom, originally uploaded by jurvetson

A Swedish company says it is developing a system to turn algae blooms into biogas.

Swedish Radio reports that Scandinavian Biogas plans to harvest the algae in Baltic Sea blooms and turn them into biogas, which can be used to produce electricity or drive vehicles. The company’s head of Research and Development, Jörgen Ejlertsson, says the algae would be captured either in huge bags, or using a kind of conveyor belt system from a boat, similar to systems used to clean-up oil spills.

After squeezing out the water, the algae would be used to make biogas, and the waste products could be used as fertilizer in forests or fields. Swedish Radio News warns that there is a risk in this, however, as heavy metals or other toxins might be left behind.

There have been a number of Blatic algae blooms in recent years, often ruining the swimming off the island of Gotland.

Yesterday Scandinavian Biogas announced an agreement with the largest gas supplier in the United States, the Southern California Gas Company, to investigate possibilities of large-scale production of biogas from biological waste in California.

From the press release:

Southern California Gas Company, with 16 million customers, is planning one or more biogas production facilities, with manure and slaughterhouse waste as probable primary substrates. The facilities may combine the production of ethanol and biogas, which greatly expands their total capacity.

- Two million cows makes agriculture one of the biggest industries in California. This provides great potential to produce biogas for electricity and as a vehicle fuel. Sweden has already achieved much success, and we will benefit greatly from Scandinavian Biogas’s experience, says Phil Baker from Southern California Gas Co.