422: Frigid Phototrophs Fuel Fords

This episode: Producing both biodiesel and bioethanol fuels from cold-loving Arctic algae!

Download Episode (8.7 MB, 12.6 minutes)

Show notes:
Microbe of the episode: Royal Farm virus

Takeaways

Renewable fuels such as biofuels can allow existing infrastructure and vehicles to continue to operate in a more sustainable manner, which could reduce the cost and impact of switching to new/different systems of transportation like electricity. Economically competitive methods of producing biofuels are still being explored and developed.   In this study, Arctic algae are grown in cold temperatures using only light, carbon dioxide, and a few minerals, and then broken down to produce biodiesel and bioethanol, which can be used as fuel in many different internal combustion engines. The amounts produced are comparable to other algae-based systems being researched, and use of the cold-loving organisms could reduce the cost of production in colder latitudes and seasons.

Journal Paper:

Kim EJ, Kim S, Choi H-G, Han SJ. 2020. Co-production of biodiesel and bioethanol using psychrophilic microalga Chlamydomonas sp. KNM0029C isolated from Arctic sea ice. Biotechnol Biofuel 13:20.

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