Chiclana de la Frontera, a resort town on the southwestern coast of Spain, is the first city in the world to convert sewage into green energy though the growth of algae.
The new facility is called All-gas, which is close to the Spanish word algas, which means seaweed. The plant uses wastewater from the vacation destination and sunlight to grow algae. This biomass is then burned as fuel in energy production plants and automobiles.
"Nobody has done the transformation from wastewater to biofuel, which is a sustainable approach," Frank Rogalla, All-gas project leader, said.
As the algae reproduce, they take in carbon dioxide from the air to help them live. The tiny creatures can then be easily converted to biofuel for use in private and commercial vehicles.
The new sewage-to-energy plant is now operating in a 2.150 square-foot facility during testing. In June 2013, station personnel produced the facility's first algae harvest. By December, 2013, operators hope to be filling up their first real car with biofuel derived from sewage.
This $15.7 million dollar facility represents the first time ever that a municipality has set up such a system which will produce a net export of green energy. This will include $130,000 a year worth of biofuels which can be used to power vehicles. Project leaders estimate that this new plant is $26 million dollars less expensive to construct than an equivalent facility using fossil fuels.
When All-gas is fully operational in 2015, the plant will be growing and processing 6,600 pounds of algae a year, on almost 25 acres of land. The facility will produce enough biofuel to power 200 private cars or 10 garbage trucks every year. The algae is grown in salt fields that run along the ocean.
All-gas is owned by Aqualia, the third-largest private water company in the world. The project is 60 percent financed by the FP7 program, operated by the European Union to measure the effectiveness of algae as a bio-mass fuel source.
Project leaders have also compiled a list of around 300 small cities where conditions are right for similar plants. They have also talked with a French company, as well as the countries of Brazil and the United Arab Emirates about building similar facilities in their nations.
"The opportunity is such that 40 million people, roughly the population of Spain, would be able to power 200,000 vehicles from just flushing their toilet!" Rogalla said.
