Collaboration between researchers at the University of Queensland (UQ) with researchers at Germany’s Bielefeld University and Karlsruhe Institute of Technology resulted in identification of a fast-growing microscopic algae that could be used in production of cheaper and more efficient biofuel. Newly tested algae species native to Australia provide real hope for the development of commercially… »
Researchers at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm have succeeded in using genetically modified blue-green algae known as cyanobacteria to produce butanol – a hydrocarbon-like fuel that can be used to power motor vehicles. The interest in butanol as an alternative fuel stems from the fact that it has environmental and efficiency advantages over… »
Micro-algal fuels might be one way to reduce our dependency on fossil fuels, and they could reduce carbon dioxide emissions since they use photosynthesis. Sandia National Laboratories researcher has engineered two strains of cyanobacteria to produce free fatty acids, a precursor to liquid fuels, but she has also found that the process cuts the bacteria’s… »
Biologists at UC San Diego have genetically engineered marine algae to produce five different kinds of industrially important enzymes in fresh water, and they claim that the same process could be used to enhance the yield of petroleum-like compounds from algae grown in salt water. This approach would allow biofuel production in the ocean or… »
Researchers from the École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) and the Paul Scherrer Institute managed to develop a bioreactor which uses microorganisms to produce methane gas. The technology could be used in sustainable and decentralized production of biosynthetic natural gas from microalgae – thus avoiding the use of crops and lessening the need for fertile… »
According to a new study by researchers at The University of Texas at Austin, it is theoretically possible to produce about 500 times as much energy from algae fuels as is needed to grow the fuels. However, the researchers conducted a separate investigation where they found that their current algae growing facility is getting out… »
Photo-electrochemical cells (PEC) use sunlight to electrochemically split water in order to generate hydrogen in direct manner, and they are usually made of semiconducting materials. Researchers from Switzerland and US used nature as inspiration to optimize the process by developing iron oxide electrodes that are conjugated with a protein from blue-green algae (also known as… »
One of the efforts to become fossil fuel independent is to use biofuel generated by crops, but it stirred a big debate due to lack of food and fertile ground around the world. Using algae as biofuel can be up to 300 times more efficient than conventional crops, and researcher from the Iowa State University… »
