“BACKYARD BIOFUELS” TEACHES SCIENCE, ‘CROWDSOURCES’ RESEARCH
Some people call it pond scum. It’s the slimy green stuff that coats your fish tank and covers ponds. But to the scientists at the Danforth Center, algae are far from icky. One of the Center’s growing research areas is developing algae as an affordable, non-food, renewable source of oil that could be refined into biodiesel.
How is it possible to engage and excite the community in a research project that involves working with these tiny (and slimy) organisms? Through a partnership with the Saint Louis Science Center and additional support from the U.S. Department of Energy, the National Science Foundation and the Danforth Center’s own Center for Advanced Biofuel Systems, the Center has launched a project for citizen scientists of all ages called Backyard Biofuels that aims to do just that.
The project, started in the spring of 2010, encourages interested individuals to collect microalgae samples from local ponds, lakes and streams that are then cultured at the Science Center and analyzed at the Danforth Center for their ability to produce high levels of lipids that can ultimately be converted into biofuels. Participants are able to track the progress of their donated samples and check the research results online at
www.backyardbiofuels.org.
Algaepalooza 2010 at the Saint Louis Science Center
Spearheading the project are Matt Stevens, a senior lab technician in Dr. Richard Sayre’s lab and Dr. Terry Woodford-Thomas, Director of Science Education & Outreach, both at the Danforth Center. At the Science Center, Dr. Cindy Encarnacion, Lacey Dean and Lauren Fishback are involved with the project.
Backyard Biofuels is not simply a community outreach program; there are actual research benefits from this sort of ‘crowdsourcing.’ “The algae strains we’ve been working with for our studies have been growing in labs for the past 30 years,” said Stevens. “None of the algae in our region have been tested, and the process of going out and collecting the thousands of species nearby wouldn’t be feasible for any one person. This is a great way of having the public help us with our algae search.”
In its first year approximately 1,000 collection kits were given to the public, 150 samples were cultured in the lab and 100 were tested for biofuel production viability. Out of those, ten tested high for oil production, with three samples showing greater lipid numbers than currently used species. “We’ve been hopeful all along, and so has Dr. Sayre, that a great producer would appear among the samples,” said Woodford-Thomas.
Testing season for 2011 began on May 7 during the Science Center’s Algaepalooza event. 2011 brings a larger staff and a concrete goal: to isolate an algal strain with even higher oil productivity than what was discovered in 2010.
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2010 Annual Report
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