Ike
2/23/2006, 05:19 PM
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,70273-0.html?tw=rss.index
Researchers at the University of California at Berkeley have engineered a strain of pond scum that could, with further refinements, produce vast amounts of hydrogen through photosynthesis.
The work, led by plant physiologist Tasios Melis, is so far unpublished. But if it proves correct, it would mean a major breakthrough in using algae as an industrial factory, not only for hydrogen, but for a wide range of products, from biodiesel to cosmetics.
interesting concept...
the fact that I've seen so many papers and ideas regarding new energy sources lately makes me think that the end of oil will just be blip on the radar when it happens here.
there a literally a million and one ways to produce consumable energy from things not oil out there right now that its kind of staggering.
oil has the advantage though that its cheap to produce cause all we have to do is go get it. however this idea might mean that instead of producing hydrogen through electrolysis (which winds up being a net energy loser), we might be able to produce it with an energy gain, and let the algae do all the work.
Researchers at the University of California at Berkeley have engineered a strain of pond scum that could, with further refinements, produce vast amounts of hydrogen through photosynthesis.
The work, led by plant physiologist Tasios Melis, is so far unpublished. But if it proves correct, it would mean a major breakthrough in using algae as an industrial factory, not only for hydrogen, but for a wide range of products, from biodiesel to cosmetics.
interesting concept...
the fact that I've seen so many papers and ideas regarding new energy sources lately makes me think that the end of oil will just be blip on the radar when it happens here.
there a literally a million and one ways to produce consumable energy from things not oil out there right now that its kind of staggering.
oil has the advantage though that its cheap to produce cause all we have to do is go get it. however this idea might mean that instead of producing hydrogen through electrolysis (which winds up being a net energy loser), we might be able to produce it with an energy gain, and let the algae do all the work.