S&T Pushes Limits

The Rolla Daily News
Mon Oct 06, 2008, 11:48 PM CDT

Rolla, Mo. -
Several glass containers filled with algae-stained water sit on a table in Dr. Paul Nam’s laboratory at Missouri University of Science and Technology. Next to the big green bottles are two much smaller vials. One of the vials, labeled “biodiesel,” contains a mostly clear solution. Nam picks up the other vial, labeled “algae oil,” and gives it a shake. A small amount of dark liquid swishes around.

At first, the amount of potential fuel in these little vials doesn’t seem too impressive. But Nam says algae could play a big role in the unfolding dramas associated with finding alternative sources of energy and reducing greenhouse gasses.

Nam, who has spent much of his career studying the versatile uses for soybeans, says algae could be the next big thing. He points to a study by the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory as evidence. The study showed that algae, if we think of it as a crop, is capable of yielding up to 10,000 gallons of oil per acre on an annual basis. By way of contrast, corn yields 18 gallons per acre and soybeans yield 48 gallons per acre.

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