Air Force Research could Result in Alternative Fuel - 3/20/08

Air Force funded biofuel researchers are finding ways to produce large quantities of hydrogen gas using photosynthetic microbes known as algae and cyanobacteria.  The hydrogen gas produced could be used as a cheap and clean alternative energy source for the military.

Researchers from eight different colleges and universities known as the BioSolarH2 team are lead by Dr. Charles Dismukes of Princeton University.  The team is part of the Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) which is funded by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research.   MURI does scientific research to address issues of importance to the Department of Defense.

The research is to study and genetically engineer microbes that use light energy to split hydrogen from water. 

Algae and cyanobacteria can only make hydrogen in the partial or complete absence of oxygen.  The BioSolarH2 team looks for photosynthetic microbes whose hydrogen generating enzymes are more tolerant of oxygen.

The BioSolarH2 team has manipulated the chemical reactions to increase the hydrogen production by 20 times the normal rate.   Continued research would produce clean energy that would lead to greater independence from fossil fuels.

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