Probing microbial emulsions to break barriers to green oil production. This project aims to understand ultrasonic processing of concentrated slurries of oil-bearing yeast and algae. Humans must reduce their dependency on petroleum. While microorganisms can produce oils as replacement fuels and base chemicals, the processes for extracting these oils are inefficient. Ultrasound could improve oil recovery by replacing toxic solvents. Understanding the effects of ultrasound on microbial emulsions is ....Probing microbial emulsions to break barriers to green oil production. This project aims to understand ultrasonic processing of concentrated slurries of oil-bearing yeast and algae. Humans must reduce their dependency on petroleum. While microorganisms can produce oils as replacement fuels and base chemicals, the processes for extracting these oils are inefficient. Ultrasound could improve oil recovery by replacing toxic solvents. Understanding the effects of ultrasound on microbial emulsions is expected to develop solvent-free oil recovery processes that improve the economic and environmental benefits of microbial oil production. Such processes would greatly increase the efficiency and reduce the cost of producing microbial oils that can be used as green alternatives to petroleum fuels and chemicals.Read moreRead less
Novel concepts for bioelectrochemical generation of renewable fuels and chemicals from wastewater. Global warming and the diminishing fossil fuel resources are posing an ever increasing threat to our societies and economies. This project aims to develop novel and highly innovative bioelectrochemical processes for the production of valuable fuels and chemicals from wastewater, which is a largely untapped renewable resource.