Genetically Engineering Algae for Biodiesel

Thursday, May 06 2010

John Morgan, an associate professor of chemical engineering at Purdue University, is leading a portion of a federally funded effort based at Iowa State University aimed at creating genetically engineered algae for biodiesel production.

Currently, hydrocarbon fuels such as diesel and gasoline require complex chemical processing to be manufactured and are made primarily from non-renewable fossil fuels, which are being depleted, whereas single-cell algae use photosynthesis and are renewable resources.

The Purdue portion of the work focuses on creating algae that produce more lipids, the precursor of biofuels. The algae harness solar energy to make lipids from carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

"Algae now store some of their carbon as lipids, but not enough to be useful in producing biodiesel," Morgan said. "We need to genetically engineer them to increase the amount of lipids they accumulate."