Plymouth Marine Laboratory says it is taking existing knowledge about algae in the world's oceans and applying it to biotechnology, an approach which differs from much of the commercial research underway, where some claims about the possibilities of algal biofuels are overstated, according to Carole Llewellyn, a marine chemist.
"They (algae) do have a lot of positive attributes but there are a lot of hurdles that have to be overcome before this becomes a commercial reality," Llewellyn said.
Cultivating crops on prime farmland to produce bio-diesel has been widely criticized for helping sustain higher food prices. But many strains of algae grow in sites otherwise uninhabited, from salt-water marshland to deserts.
Research in Plymouth includes identifying which strains of algae will produce the most oil or absorb the most CO2 in differing growing mediums.
"They (algae) do have a lot of positive attributes but there are a lot of hurdles that have to be overcome before this becomes a commercial reality," Llewellyn said.
Cultivating crops on prime farmland to produce bio-diesel has been widely criticized for helping sustain higher food prices. But many strains of algae grow in sites otherwise uninhabited, from salt-water marshland to deserts.
Research in Plymouth includes identifying which strains of algae will produce the most oil or absorb the most CO2 in differing growing mediums.
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