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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com. Thanks for listening!


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