Image

Burning Fat

A common algae commercially grown to make fish food holds promise as a source for both biodiesel and jet fuel. Researchers Greg O’Neil of Western Washington University and Chris Reddy, a WHOI marine chemist, exploited an unusual and untapped group of fats in the algae to synthesize two different fuel products, in parallel, from a single algae, Isochrysis. Biofuel prospectors may have dismissed Isochrysis because its oil is a dark, sludgy solid at room temperature, rather than a clear liquid that looks like cooking oil. As oceanographers, the researchers were familiar with the unique fats – the source of the sludge and precisely what makes Isochrysis  a unique source of two distinct fuels.(Illustration by Eric S. Taylor, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)