Although the competing engines have to be functionally interchangeable, each will incorporate proprietary technologies and processes that preclude some aspects of life-cycle support from being competed at all.

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According to a life-cycle analysis, the land-based crops all were found to sequester more carbon than that incurred in growing them, while the contrary was true for growing algae, meaning that replacing fossil fuels by algal fuels could cause an overall increase in carbon emissions.

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