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)
on 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.
More details about CSU are available at this link: http://www.colostate.edu
Details about Chemical and Biological Engineering at CSU are
available at this link: http://cbe.colostate.edu
