Friday, July 27, 2018

Plant-eating algae or biofuel?

     Researchers from the Los Alamos National Laboratory have been exploring Auxenochlorella protothecoides, a freshwater strain of algae. This algae is able to use raw plants for a carbon energy source, like switchgrass. The carbon energy source helps aid in lipid productivity and cell growth. The head of the Bioenergy and Biome group states that the algae could be a notable source of renewable fuel because the algae is able to produce "refinery-compatible diesel and jet fuel precursors.
     This realization is important because algae growth can be influenced and increased by the consumption of waste plants. The use of algae as a key component in biofuel could be a sustainable and renewable and is an option that is worth further research and exploration.

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1 comment:

  1. I think this is an interesting article. Seeing if algae growth can be factored my a different source other then its primary source is showing the evolution of this organism. Which I think is really cool.

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