| Home | The GNUL | Contact | FAQ |
Explore
The Science ::
The Science
Between 1978 and 1996, the US Department of Energy funded research into technologies that could have significant impacts on the consumption of fossil fuels. The focus of this research became the Aquatic Species Program, which investigated renewable fuel production (bio-diesel) from high-oil algae species, fed by the waste CO2 from coal-fired power plants. Researchers whittled down over 3,000 strains of micro-organisms into the most productive 300, and constructed 1000 sq. meter test ponds outside of Roswell, NM.
The ponds were set up as sort of algae ‘race-tracks’, where algae were circulated around shallow, oval-shaped ponds as carbon dioxide bubbled through the mixture. Results were successful and in some ways encouraging, but the program was abandoned after almost two decades, as a result of budget constraints and a preference for allocating resources to researching ethanol as a substitute for low cost fossil fuels.
GreenCell develops the GNUL Bio Processor
GreenCell Research Pty Ltd has now taken these ideas to the next level. Utilizing the intellectual property of Ian Wright, GreenCell Research Pty Ltd constructed a number of bio-processors at Yatala, Queensland to prove the concept. Scientists from the Atmospheric Research Facility at CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, provided advice on algae selection. To minimize the use of land and water resources, a proprietary bio-processor was created to grow the algae. Invoplas Pty Ltd, a plastics R & D company, built the processors.