ABSTRACT
Presentation Type: Poster
Bioenergy
Presenter:
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Preceptor:
Makasa Covin
Senior / Biological & Agricultural Systems Engineering
Florida A&M University
Florida A&M University
Dr. Adrienne Cooper and Dr. Clifford Louime
“Isolation & Screening of Microalgae for use in Bio-fuel Research”
Algae are a large diverse group of eukaryotic photosynthetic organisms. They use photosynthesis to
transform carbon dioxide and sunlight into energy so efficiently that they can double their weight
several times a day, producing oil and hydrocarbon (H2) in the process. The hydrocarbon is responsible
for the direct production of renewable fuel molecules and the oil can be used as precursor molecules that
can be processed for generation of bio-fuels. Algae oil can be burned directly in diesel engines or further
refined into biodiesel. The focus of my research is to collect samples from diverse sites at multiple times
of the year and to isolate as many strains as possible. Once these unicellular strains are isolated, they
will be characterized by microscopic observations and PCR assays. The strains will eventually be
screened for lipid production with the primary lipids of focus being diacylglycerides and
triacylglycerides.