Faster, cheaper biofuel production
November 22, 2013
A scanning electron microscope image of the diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana (credit: Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego)
Researchers at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego have developed a method for greatly enhancing biofuel production in tiny marine algae by genetically engineering a key growth component in biofuel.
The researchers say a significant roadblock in algal biofuel research surrounds the production of lipid oils, the fat molecules that store energy that can be produced for fuel: algae mainly produce the desired lipid oils when they are starved for nutrients.
Yet if they are limited in nutrients, they don’t grow well. With a robust diet algae grow well, but they produce carbohydrates instead of the desired lipids for fuel.
Genetically engineering diatoms
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