Bangkok--3 Mar--Asian Institute of Technology
Decoding the potential of algae as a sustainable feedstock for food, fuel and as a chemical were two experts from Colorado State University while delivering a seminar at the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) recently (25 February 2014).
Speaking at AIT’s Milton E. Bender Jr. Auditorium, Prof. Kenneth F. Reardon and Prof. David S. Dandy of the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Colorado State University (CSU), USA, elaborated on both the potential of photosynthetic microorganisms and the challenges encountered by researchers.
Global challenges like population increase, climate change, food supply requirements, and a pressure on land and water resources have led to an increased interest in the potential of algae both as a source of food and fuel, Prof. Reardon said. Algae have advantages, which includes its potential as a perennial source, a rapid growth rate, and harvest efficiency. However, challenges of scale, and consumption of water and nutrients remain issues that confront researchers. He mentioned that a 10 per cent replacement of diesel with algae connotes an annual algal production requirement of 54 billion kilograms, along with the generation of biomass waste of 27 billion kilograms.
The seminar was organized by the Food, Agriculture and Bio Systems (FABS) Cluster, School of Environment, Resources and Development (SERD), AIT. Dr. Anil Kumar Anal of SERD, while welcoming the delegates, spoke about the research collaboration between AIT and CSU.
AIT and CSU has signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) in February 2013 for joint research on algal biomass and biodiesel production, along with joint research activities in agro-residues and value addition in other biomass.
Photo caption: Prof. Kenneth F. Reardon