Milking Diatoms for Sustainable Energy: Biochemical Engineering versus Gasoline-Secreting Diatom Solar Panels

Ramachandra, TV and Mahapatra, Durga Madhab and Karthick, B and Gordon, Richard (2009) Milking Diatoms for Sustainable Energy: Biochemical Engineering versus Gasoline-Secreting Diatom Solar Panels. In: Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research, 48 (19). pp. 8769-8788.

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Abstract

In the face of increasing CO2 emissions from conventional energy (gasoline), and the anticipated scarcity of Crude oil, a worldwide effort is underway for cost-effective renewable alternative energy sources. Here, we review a simple line of reasoning: (a) geologists claim that Much crude oil comes from diatoms; (b) diatoms do indeed make oil; (c) agriculturists Claim that diatoms could make 10-200 times as much oil per hectare as oil seeds; and (d) therefore, sustainable energy could be made from diatoms. In this communication, we propose ways of harvesting oil from diatoms, using biochemical engineering and also a new solar panel approach that utilizes genomically modifiable aspects of diatom biology, offering the prospect of ``milking'' diatoms for Sustainable energy by altering them to actively secrete oil products. Secretion by and milking of diatoms may provide a way around the puzzle of how to make algae that both grow quickly and have a very high oil content.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Publication:	Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research
Publisher:	American Chemical Society
Additional Information:	Copyright of this article belongs to American Chemical Society, 2009.
Department/Centre:	Division of Mechanical Sciences > Centre for Sustainable Technologies (formerly ASTRA) Division of Biological Sciences > Centre for Ecological Sciences
Date Deposited:	08 Jan 2010 09:03
Last Modified:	19 Sep 2010 05:50
URI:	http://eprints.iisc.ac.in/id/eprint/24542

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