An Argentine company opened on Friday the country's first factory to make bio-diesel from algae, hoping to use it as a replacement for soy in making bio-diesel as part of a push for renewable energy.
Argentina is the world's top exporter of soy-oil, but using the edible oil to make fuel is controversial because it cuts into food supplies.
Oil extracted from algae is also seen as an attractive alternative to soy-oil and other vegetable oils because it does not need land that could be used for food crops and can absorb carbon dioxide from power plants or factories.
The oil-extraction process also produces a protein-rich paste, which is edible.
“We're not competing with the food supply but generating food, at a low cost and helping the environment because algae grow fast and trap carbon dioxide” said Jorge Kaloustian, president of Oilfox S.A., the company that owns the plant northeast of Buenos Aires.
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