Project Name : Bio Reator Algae
Theme Name : Natural Resource & their Conservation
An ideal Fuel Supplement Aim & Objective: Algae can be used as an alternative resource for fuel.
They consume CO2 and regulate global warming and bring down omissions to 0%
Wastewater can be utilized.
Oil, Environmental, economic, food and employment crises can e reduced.
Scientific Concept:
Locally available species can be used for this purpose.
It is not useful for consumption.
They have a faster growth rate.
It has lipid content of about 2%-4%.
The algae have the potential to supplement the demands of fuel in the modern era.
The lipid content can be extracted and converted into biofuel in the similar methods used for extraction of vegetable oils.
Algae are an excellent source of bioremediation.
The residue can be used as feedstock in the form of cakes.
Principle: Algae, like other oil yielding products, use photosynthesis to convert solar energy into chemical energy. They store this energy in the form of oils, carbohydrates and proteins. Algae are among the most photo synthetically efficiently plants on earth. The plant oil can be converted to biodiesel. The annual productivity and oil content of algae is far greater than seed crops. It contains
between 2% to 40% of lipids or oils by weight. It can grow anywhere in freshwater as well as salt water.
The Rhodophyta (Red Algae) are a good source of oil and ecologically significant as primary producers. They even are the providers of structural habitat for other aquatic organisms.
Steps Followed:
Algal spores are grown in photobiorectos where suitable conditions are provided to them to grow.
Then, after they grow in size. they are transferred to the open ponds where natural nutrients are provided to them in the form of sewage. This waste water in turn gets treated and is sent for purification.
In the next step, the algae are harvested and are dried with the help of stack system.
After the algae are dried, they are collected and the oil is extracted by using screw press which produces 70%-75% of the oil from the plant.
This oil is suitable for use but can be refined even further by using certain chemicals which can either be acids, bases or alkoxides.
Now finally the oil is ready to use in diesel engines but in our case, in the thermal power plants
The green house gases released are collected by incinerators and converted to unable forms.
Conclusion & Further Scope: The production of biodiesel by synthesizing algae has a bright future in the nearest future and can be an effective and efficient way to counter the oil crisis. It has multiple benefits both in the direct and indirect ways. The residue so formed can be a nutritional feed for the cattle as well as fertilizers. The carbon emissions can be collected and synthesized to form carboxylic acids and even to CO can be oxidized to form CO2 for providing the same to the growing algae. Now, this fuel is being used for industrial purpose but with further research and government support, this fuel can be diverted helps in growing them well as they belong to the concerned ecosystem and are seldom harmful to the other flora and fauna. Moreover, this is costeffective and can help overcome the oil/energy as well as the economic crisis.
Name of the School: DAV Public School, Ganjam, Odisha.
