TECHNOLOGY

44

ExxonMobil , believes it will be capable of producing 10,000 barrels of algal biofuel each day by 2025 ( if current trends continue ) as a result of the progress made in increasing lipid content through genetic modification . While scaling this solution could provide a credible alternative to crude oil , it may come to fruition too late to be of use . Biofuel as a substitute for crude oil carries similar downsides when it comes to their use : while their production is less harmful for the environment than drilling and fractional distillation , they are nonetheless burned inside internal combustion engines ( ICE ) and release greenhouse gases . As governments around the world ramp up their efforts to remove fossil fuel-dependent vehicles from the roads , efficient algae production may rise only to be met with obsolescence . In other words , algae cannot be a substitute in ICEs if they ’ re no longer in use . Not only that , but the ethical dilemma of gene modification – namely that it could yield an exceedingly -competitive form of algae that damages ecosystems – is as apparent for algae as any other area where it is practised .

JANUARY 2020