Algae-Based Biofuels And High School Student

10 replies

Emo_CutE_GiRl_

2013/07/20 15:35

Scientists search for practical substitutes for petroleum-basedfuel haslead them to algae-based biofuels, and the efforts of one high school student may help them on their way. Sara Volz, a 17-year-old high school senior from Colorado Springs, has found a way to increase the efficiency of the production process. She grew the algae in a medium containing the herbicide sethoxydim so that algae containing low levels of acetyl- CoA carboxylase, an enzyme that works in lipid synthesis, would be killed.By artificially selecting algae that produce more oil, she successfully created a colony of algae with high oil content. Her entire research project was completed in a small home lab beneath her loft bed. While working on the project, she even slept on the same light cycle as her algae. Her discovery earned her the top prize in the Intel Science Talent Search 2013. Volzs findings could potentially have a great effect on the biofuel world.

Emo_CutE_GiRl_

2013/07/20 15:36

Such work could make the production of algae-based biofuels more efficient and economical, globally reducing the price of suchbiofuels. About Algae-Based Biofuels: In the first step of the algae-based biofuel production process, oil is extracted from algae through one of many methods, including the oil press method (similar to the more well-known olive press), which is the most popular because of its simplicity. The hexane solvent method is more efficient because it is ableto extract 95 percent of the algae oil compared with the 75 percent the oil press method can extract. In this method, oil is squeezed out of the algae, and then hexane isadded to help extract the remaining algae oil. The problem with this method, though, is that some hexane will remain in the oil even after filtering and cleaning, which can be potentially harmful to humans and the environment. A third, more obscure method, is the supercritical fluid method, where carbon dioxide is placed under immense pressure and combined with algae.

Emo_CutE_GiRl_

2013/07/20 15:38

Thecarbon dioxide is able to turn all of the algae into oil, meaning this method is able to extract 100 percent of the algae oil. However, the equipment necessary to carry out this particular process is difficult to obtain. After using an oil extraction method, the oilis refined through transesterification, a process in which a catalyst and an alcohol are added to the oil. The final product is usable biofuel mixed with the glycerol by product. Currently, scientists have been conducting researchto find a balance betweensimplicity, efficiency, and to improve safety in algaebiofuel production methods.