The Power of Algae

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When people hear the word biodiesel, rarely do they think of their cars running off of algae or corn. Though the majority of people do not realize it yet, the possibility that gasoline could be replaced with biodiesel is very possible. The reason that biodiesel could become the next fuel is because with the state of industrialism today, carbon dioxide is being added to the atmosphere at alarming rates. With about four hundred parts per million of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere today, complications are starting to occur, and will magnify as time goes on if we do not act (CO2 Now). Burning fossil fuels is a major contributor to the high emission level. The ecosystem is unable to use or remove the extent of our carbon dioxide emissions resulting in the addition of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, causing the greenhouse gases to trap more heat from the sun, rising Earth’s temperature. The greenhouse gas effect, a natural process, becomes abused when pollution amplifies and complicates weather, and threatens society, animals, and ecosystems. One solution to making even a dent on carbon dioxide emissions is finding alternative forms of creating energy. An emerging alternative to fossil fuels is biodiesel. I, and a group called Biocoil, started testing the feasibility of algae as a biofuel in hopes of creating a solution to carbon dioxide emissions, by creating alternative forms of fuel. Biocoil is an Advanced Biology group that, since 1996, has been growing algae for biodiesel to try to relieve the global issues we are having. Biodiesel “is [a safe, less polluting form] of diesel fuel manufactured from vegetable oils, animal fats, or recycled greases” (U.S. Department of Energy). In comparison to current fossil fuels, biodiesel is ...

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...ossil fuels just happens to be my way of exploring ways I can help reduce the damage that occurs everyday from manufacturing to industrialism. Through my research, I learned that algae fuel may not be the only action we can take toward cleaning our footprint on the earth, but that algae definitely has a notable potential.

Works Cited

"Biodiesel." Fuel Economy. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Feb. 2014.
"Illini Algae - Hydrothermal Liquefaction." Google. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Mar. 2014.
Chuck, Smith, Personal Interview. November - December 2013.
Kennedy, Clinton, Personal Interview. November - December 2013.
Corovic, Selma, et al. "Modeling Of Electric Field Distribution In Tissues During Electroporation." Biomedical Engineering Online 12.1 (2013): 1-27. Academic Search Premier. Web. 10 Feb. 2014.
"Earth's CO2 Home Page." CO2 Now | CO2 Home. CO2 Now, n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2014.

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