Electronic Waste Produces Algae for Biofuel

Discovery.com
Wed May 12, 2010 04:53 AM ET
Content provided by Aniqa Hasan

A different way to recycle old computers

The Gist

• Old computer parts serve as a reservoir to cultivate algae.
• The algae can be used to make biodiesel.
• If just 6.5 percent of Americans had one, we could replace petroleum with biodiesel.

When you think of recycling electronics, no doubt you imagine the old PC or mobile phone being disassembled, and it’s metal and plastic parts melted down to be repurposed. But for some people, it means reusing the parts to grow algae.

Students at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign created Bio-Grow, a device made from various computer parts that serves as a reservoir to cultivate algae.

The algae can then be used in biodiesel production, which could potentially replace petroleum in the future.

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