1. Need for Alternative Fuel Sources
Algae Investigation - Oil Production

2. Need for alternative fuels
World energy usage shows dramatic increase over last 80 years and need will continue to increase as more nations become developed.
World Crude Oil Production
World usage has increased dramatically since 1950 and is continuing to rise. China’s rate of usage is increasing dramatically now due to rapid development as well as population growth. Other developing nations’ energy needs will also increase.

3. Need for alternative fuels
Renewable energy 9%
Need for alternative fuels
In the USA, 91% of the energy used is from non-renewable sources.
Need to increase renewable energy – Most energy now is form non-renewable sources that contribute to increases atmospheric CO2. Alternative fuels include solar, wind, hydropower, and biofuels including algae. Algae growth is efficient in land usage and doesn’t compete with food markets as fuel from corn has.

4. Algaeus
First algae fuel-powered vehicle in the world was officially launched in San Francisco. The car, called Algaeus, is a modified Toyota Prius which derives power partially from green crude, oil from algae, called from Sapphire Energy. The car runs on an astonishing 150 miles per gallon of green fuel.
Ways to use biofuels. Just a cool car.

5. Algae can be cultured and its oil used as an alternative fuel
Algae can be cultured and its oil used as an alternative fuel. It grows 5-10% faster than land-based agriculture
Washington Post
vertical photobioreactors in El Paso, Texas.
Algae can provide:
oil for fuel
carbohydrates to make ethanol
protein for animal feed
A bioreactor is just a manufactured or engineered device or system that supports a biologically active environments (Wikipedia) and outdoor ponds or “runs”.

6. Imagined BioReactor Sculpture by Charles Lee
This bioreactor is not real, but a design that incorporates architecture, art, and a functional bioreactor.
Imagined BioReactor Sculpture by Charles Lee

7. Oil present inside algal cells
How do we make the most oil for the least money?
have the algae grow quickly to make lot of cells
have each cell make lots of oil (algae can be up to 50% oil)
Oil present inside algal cells
“grow” = reproduction (mitosis) to make more cells; also important to increase oil per cell. This investigation focuses on Ps providing energy for growth and oil production.

8. If you were growing the marine algae Nannochloropsis oculata for alternative fuel, under what conditions would it grow the fastest?
Again: “grow” = reproduction (mitosis) to make more cells. Build model on next slide.

9. Build a model for maximizing oil production in algae*
maximum oil
See example model on Google site Part 1. Students will not get everything; that’s ok. Leading questions might help. Important to get things that will increase “growth” of algae culture.
*What factors will maximize the number of cells and the amount of energy in each cell?

10. Cognitive Apprenticeship
What is the importance of a knowledge model when doing science research?
Provides a representation of a real world phenomena
Explains why things happen – explanatory
Can be tested - testable
Makes gaps in knowledge explicit - generative
Gaps in knowledge require evidence (through investigation) to expand - conjectural, revisable

11. Cognitive Apprenticeship
What is the importance of a knowledge model when doing science research?
A model provides the opportunity to:
clarify questions
identify gaps in our knowledge
identify important variables that can be measured

12. Cognitive Apprenticeship
“If you were growing the marine algae Nannochloropsis oculata for alternative fuel, under what conditions would it grow the fastest?”
Your research question is often too broad and needs to be more narrowly defined to provide at least a partial answer to the broader question
What would be a measure of growth in an algae cell?
Growth can be defined as increasing biomass (number of cells and mass per individual cell)– – how could we measure these things?

13. Cognitive Apprenticeship
“If you were growing the marine algae Nannochloropsis oculata for alternative fuel, under what conditions would it grow the fastest?”
Your research question is often too broad and needs to be more narrowly defined to provide at least a partial answer to the broader question
What would be a measure of growth in an algae cell?
Increase in biomass (numbers of cells and mass per cell)
Oil production and reproduction require energy
Algae convert sunlight energy to glucose through photosynthesis – which is for energy to reproduce and make lipids.
More defined research question
What can we do to increase the rate of photosynthesis?
algae do photosynthesis to produce energy to drive biomass– so we could measure photosynthesis as an indirect measure of growth

14. Cognitive Apprenticeship
What can we do to increase the rate of photosynthesis so that more biomass (including oil) could potentially be produced?
Does this question fully answer our pervious question?
NO – we are assuming that the photosynthesis is resulting in increased biomass and reproduction, so a future project would also want to look at biomass and reproductive rates. But for a short- term project, our results could provide one more clue.
Realize that more narrowly defined questions will not fully answer a research question, but will provide a piece of knowledge that can be used to help answer the question as more knowledge is acquired.

15. Model- What factors influence photosynthesis?
What do we know?
Photosynthesis
Start model on flipchart page. Students will not be able to make a complete model now probably. Teach photosynthesis (and cellular respiration - needed to explain negative O2 produced in results) and add to model while teaching (see Google site page Part 2).