Algae Used To Remediate CO2

BuildupBy Nickolas Melanthiou

http://ww

w.sciencedaily.com

/releases/2008/04/080416175442.htm

Need

• Global warming is affecting our Earth greatly• Average temperatures have increased by one degree• Average temperatures are expected to increase by 10

degrees Fahrenheit by 2010

Knowledge Base

• Algae are a large and diverse group of simple, typically autotrophic organisms

• Photosynthesis is the most important process of all biological processes

• Photosynthesis is the process by which plants, some bacteria, and some protistans use the energy from sunlight to produce sugar

• Cellular respiration then converts the sugar into ATP

• Photosynthesis also takes carbon dioxide, uses it, then releases oxygen

Literature Review

• Bayless, the director of the Ohio University’s Coal Research Center, has brought up the idea of using algae to remediate CO2 buildup

• The way Bayless imagines the project is by using a photo bioreactor

Purpose

• Alternate way to remediate CO2 buildup

http://photos.mongabay.com/07/world_co2-1990-2030-360.jpg

Hypothesis

• Null Hypothesis: The algae will not remediate a significant amount of carbon dioxide

• Alternate Hypothesis: The algae will remediate a significant amount of carbon dioxide

Methodology

http://www.algaefuels.org/photobioreactor.htm

Bibliography• The American Geophysical, American Society For Micr , and Optical Society Of

Americ , comps. "Possible Fix for Global Warming? Environmental Engineers Use Algae to Capture Carbon Dioxide." Science Daily (2007). 29 Apr. 2008 <http://www,sciencedaily.com/videos/2007/0407-possible_fix_for_global_warming.html>.

• Dijusto, Patrick. "Blue-Green Acres Fighting Factory CO2 Emissions with Cyanobacteria." Scientific American (2005). 29 Apr. 2008 <http:// www.sciem.com/article.cmf?id=blue-green-acres&print=true>.

• Gunther, William S. "A Photo-Bioreactor with on-Line Biomass and Growth Rate Estimations for Optimization of Light Intensity in Cultures of Phototrophic Microorganisms." Hjemmeside Sidetitel (2007). 29 Apr. 2008 <http://www,sitecenter.dk/wsg>.

• Newcastle University. "Technological Breakthrough In Fight To Cut Greenhouse Gases." ScienceDaily 27 April 2008. 15 May 2008 <http://www.sciencedaily.com /releases/2008/04/080424103217.htm>.

Bibliography Continued

• Ogbonna, James C., and Hideo Tanaka. "Industrial-Size Photobioreactors." Chemtech (1997). 29 Apr. 2008 <http://pubs.acs.org/hotartcl/chemtech/97/jul/ind.html>.

• Purdue University. "Worst Offenders For Carbon Dioxide Emissions: Top 20 US Counties Identified." ScienceDaily 17 April 2008. 15 May 2008 <http://www.sciencedaily.com /releases/2008/04/080416175442.htm>.

• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. "Harmful Algae Takes Advantage Of Global Warming: More Algae Blooms Expected." ScienceDaily 7 April 2008. 15 May 2008 <http://www.sciencedaily.com /releases/2008/04/080403140928.htm>.