Biofuels and Carbon Neutrality are intrinsically connected by the desire of the people who strive for them to create a more sustainable Earth.
Biofuels typically involve biological solutions to the creation of energy through the conversion of lipid rich biomass to energy sources such as ethanol and oil. Although biofuels can be created from a variety of living materials, one of the most efficient and ethical sources of biofuel is complex green algae. When we looked at ways to achieve a carbon-neutral biofuel, we were inspired by the elegance of many carbon-neutral systems. Particularly, closed-loop systems that utilize existing infrastructure, shared resources, and waste to create energy are what inspired us as a bio-design team. We began to think about the environment as a variety of resources waiting to be utilized.
The way that co-ops develop systems to share resources such as cooperation, bulk food, and individual skills inspired our attack on the biofuel energy problem. A huge issue with biofuel production is lost energy and inefficiency. Biofuels are the underdogs, fighting back against mass production of fossil fuels while being unable to enjoy the financial benefits of mass production.
It quickly became apparent to us that in order to create more energy efficient systems, we would have to pay attention to the overlooked systems and resources around us, like the OMEGA wastewater system developed by NASA and oceanic sources of energy. Using existing systems and resources we created a bold, new innovation: a chemical pressurizer that worked at 452 meters underwater so as to utilize ocean pressure in the compression of algal based biofuels.
