Developmental Tool for Algae-based Biofuels

Cornell University researchers are developing a tool to speed up the development of algae-based biofuels as a potential source of clean, green liquid fuels. "Theoretically, algae is capable of producing more lipid-rich biomass per acre than land-based crops," said Beth Ahner, professor of Biological and Environmental Engineering and a principal investigator on the Cornell interdisciplinary team. "Algae has huge potential for biofuel production, but there are many challenges to overcome before it can be produced on such a grand scale."

Funding from the Cornell Center for a Sustainable Future's Academic Venture Fund will enable the researchers to seek a better alternative to fossil fuel reserves. "We are trying to compress what took 100 years of traditional experimentation and observation of land-based crops into a few years to demonstrate the efficacy of algae as a fuel crop," Ahner said.

The Cornell University press release is available for viewing at  http://www.pressoffice.cornell.edu/releases/release.cfm?r=51064