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Feature
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Written by Sabrina Deparine
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Tuesday, 31 August 2010 10:19 |
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Page views: 939 |
Two scientists from the Syracuse University in New York have discovered a new technique that can accelerate algal growth for biofuel production.
 The new technique involves the use of nanotechnology. Radhakrishna Sureshkumar, head of the Biomedical and Chemical Engineering Department of L. C. Smith College of Engineering and Computer Science, and Satvik Wari, a Ph. D for chemical engineering student, discovered that by manipulating the light particles, they can speed up the photosynthesis process in algae. Hence, the algae can grow faster without having the need to modify other ecological factors.
The two made use of nanoparticles. They manipulated the light such that it selectively scatters blue light to aid algae metabolism. Sureshkumar and Wari also devised a bioreactor. The miniature bioreactor is made from a petri dish of green algae strains placed on top of another dish containing silver nanoparticle suspension. The main purpose of this is to backscatter the blue light to the algae culture. This process was able to speed up algal growth by more than 30%.
The two researchers made several variations to this process and were able to discover that varying the concentration and size of the nanoparticle solution would allow them to also manipulate the intensity and frequency of the light source. This means that the process can also help optimize the light’s wavelength to further enhance the growth process of the algae.
This study is one of the firsts involving the use of nanotechnology in improving algal growth. Sureshkumar and Wari are embarking onto the next step: duplicating the favorable results using larger areas than the petri dish that they are currently using.
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