Algenol Biofuels Inc. has announced plans to build a pilot-scale Integrated Bio-Refinery adjacent to its recently opened laboratories in Lee County, Florida. Together with the U.S. Department of Energy, the Lee County Commission and its strategic partners, Algenol’s 36 acre facility will demonstrate the company’s technology, which uses blue-green algae to produce ethanol directly from carbon dioxide. Algenol makes low-cost ethanol directly from seawater and CO2 using hybrid algae in sealed, clear plastic photobioreactors through its unique, patented Direct To Ethanoltechnology, all powered by the sun. The process can produce ethanol at a rate of approximately 6000 gallons per acre-year, compared to corn at 400.