04.11 2009
Researchers at the Missouri University plan to grow algae for fuel in abandoned mines using LED lighting
Algae need light to produce lipids, or oil, but they work best when they use only the red and blue parts of the light spectrum and when they are given time in the dark to process the photons, Summers said.
That is where LEDs come in, Summers said. They can be tailored to emit only the needed light frequencies, and they can be set to pulse several times a second at a rate that gives the algae time to absorb and process the light energy without wasting it.
"When it's sunny, plants are totally saturated pretty early on in the day," said D.J. Vidt, a graduate student. "Unless they get shade to process the photons, it's basically wasted energy. We're just shortening ours from hours to milliseconds ... for efficiency."
And LEDs need electricity to operate. "It takes energy to make energy," Vidt said. "But we can take electricity from anywhere -- our personal favorite is geothermal -- and turn it into algae."
Vistvaen Orka Inc is developing a LED based photobioreactor solution which can be easily implemeted in similar projects as described above. Please contact us for further information.
