Algae

A recent discovery of a particular type of algae that absorb more light for photosynthesis by adapting itself to a wider spectrum of light energy has got me thinking. It’s a great Smithsonian article if you want to read it, but what I wonder is if this could help with the effort to turn algae into bio-fuel. 

You might remember that there was quite a bit of hype a few years ago about algae bio-fuel and there was a bubble and bust. At first glance algae bio-fuel seemed very promising but after the initial effort there were a lot of issues that needed to be tackled. One of the issues was the rate at which the algae could be grown. 

There are some other problems that need to be tackled, such as finding a way to retrieve the bio-oil from algae in a way that takes less energy than what is ultimately produced. There have been great strides in this area.

All this is very exciting, because if we can find an economic way to extract the algae oil then this would prove to be a very sustainable way to get energy.  Algae can grow in saline or waste water, so the ongoing clean water issues are not impacted. There is no problem with spills as Algae is biodegradable. It’s a very renewable source. What’s not to love. 

Let me know if you hear anything about it this, and I will keep my eyes open as well.

Science is awesome!