Algae, a somewhat elusive, but valuable resource, has final been harnessed at the J.J Pickle Research Campus at the University of Texas. Algae has been a focus for alternative fuel for years, hoping to help reduce the United States' dependency on crude oil. Not only can it help reduce green house gases, but it also can be incorporated into pharmaceuticals. The mass production of algae is a difficult task when one has to prevent the interference of disease and predators. Michael E. Webber, an assistant at U.T's department of mechanical engineering explains why we have finally been able to mass produce algae, "You need three things to grow algae: carbon dioxide, dirty water and sunshine, Texas has abundant supplies of all three.” However, it is not this simple he states. Unlike many mass produced organisms, algae grows horizontally in the wild. Within a pond, there is limited exposure to sunlight unless you are close to the surface. This causes the algae to spread across wide spaces in order to increase its surface area being exposed to the light. New technology at the J.J Pickle Research Campus allows algae to be grown vertically, in large tubes known as Vertical Growth Modules. Currently, U.T has 15,000 gallons of algae growing in this vertical fashion making algae growing space and cost efficient. Companies like OpenAlgae visit the site to extract oils from the algae in order to test new environmentally safe technologies. But why have we focused our time and energy on the production of algae? Isn't there another plant? The UTEX Culture Collection of Algae works with AlgEternal in order to choose which cultures are to be grown in what conditions. Head scientist Jerry J. Brand states, “They have the potential to play a role in reducing greenhouse gases and decreasing our dependence on crude oil,” he said. “Algae can grow much faster than plants. They don’t require as much water, and they can grow in places that plants can’t, like deserts.” This, now easily grown, organism may prove to be a solution all over the country, even in the harshest climates.
This new approach on the growing of algae may have profound effects on the environmental industries we have today. Surely the automotive industry will increase their research with algae in order to develop vehicles that will incorporate algae fuel into their engines. Algae may turn into the new ethanol. This method of vertical growing will become wide spread across the country due to its versatility and ability to be used in enclosed spaces. Algae could be grown on roof tops where they are exposed to sunlight.
Overall, I believe that the article did an excellent job in explaining why this use of vertical growth was such a big deal. The author Lara Lapin uses different quotes that help articulate the adaptability of this technology along with building up the studies credibility. Perhaps the most interesting component of the article was the last sentence which introduced a new idea. It said that as more and more algae is produced, one can suffer from larger unexpected problems. The article could have been improved by going into more detail on how exactly the vertical columns are engineered.
Posted for H. Goldberg
I like Hannah’s review of this article. It was crisp and quite to the point. I found it interesting that algae had so many applications in modern society. I was profoundly amazed when I heard that there was an alternative fuel source that we could grow large amounts of in laboratories easily I was very interested in what the rest of the article had to say. Hannah presented the fact that algae can now be grown economically and indoors truly showed that algae could be grown and used anywhere. Another important fact about the article well presented was that algae does not create greenhouse gasses which means they are a clean energy alternative. I also like that Hannah stressed the fact that this research was being done by the University of Texas. I think Hannah could have put in more detail to the review, but the article itself might not have had that much content. I also believe that the explanation of how algae could be used as an energy source would have been nice. I never knew that we could grow algae until now.
ReplyDeleteBrian Forst
ReplyDeleteAP Biology
October 5th, 2011
Hannah effectively chronicles the revolutionary idea of harnessing algae as a source of fuel, among other things. Her synopsis of the article was very informative and covered most of the issues presented. Hannah adeptly describes the manner in which the algae is grown, noting the three most important ingredients are carbon dioxide, dirty water, and sunshine. She also mentions that algae typically grows horizontally in the wild, however the new technology pioneered by scientists enables algae to be grown vertically. Hannah also adroitly describes the containers in which the algae is grown, which enables readers to visualize the process of artificial algae growing. Last, Hannah describes in depth the potential applications that algae may hold for our future. She mentions that it may reduce our dependency on oil, reduce greenhouse gasses, and be incorporated into pharmaceuticals.
Hannah’s critique of the article was very thorough, however it could have been improved in several regards. First, Hannah neglects to address how important the impact of algae would be on the state of Texas. Texas, which is currently plagued by a severe drought, could desperately use algae because of its ability to grow without much water and to thrive in harsh climates such as deserts. Second, she could have elaborated on how algae could be harnessed as a fuel source, such as the methodologies employed by scientists. Asides from these two minor points, the article was exceedingly well written and very informative.
I was truly impressed by the significant promise algae could hold in our future. It is amazing to think that this plant could wean our national dependency off fossil fuels, and enable us to combat the growth of greenhouse gasses in our atmosphere. I had never realized that algae had so many potential uses, and it will be very interesting to see where this research takes us.