What is Algae Fuel and Its Derivatives

Algae fuel is derived from algae and it is an alternative source to the fuel derived from fossils. They do not reduce the carbon dioxide present in the atmosphere but they reduce the introduction of new CO2 by displacing fossil hydrocarbon fuels. Several companies and many government agencies are making efforts to reduce the capital and operating costs and make algae fuel production commercially viable. Following are the derivatives of the algae fuel:

Bio diesel:
Some species of algae can produce up to 60 percent of their dry weight in the form of oil. Micro algae are also capable of producing high amount of biomass and usable oil because they grow in aqueous suspension, where they have more efficient access to water, CO2 and dissolved nutrients. Further this oil is turned in to bio diesel which can be used in automobiles.

Biobutanol:
Biobutanol has an energy density 10 percent less than gasoline and greater than that of methanol or ethanol and in most of the gasoline engines Butanol can be used in place of gasoline with no modifications. This fuel can be derived from the algae by using inky solar powered bio refinery.

Methane:
Methane is a form of natural gas and it can be produced from algae through different methods which includes Gasification, pyrolysis and aerobic digestion.

Bio gasoline:
It is a type of gasoline produced from biomass such as algae, and it contains 6 to 12 carbon atoms per molecule. It can be used in internal combustion engines.

Jet Fuel:
The International Air Transport Association, supports research, development and deployment of algal fuels. The algae fuels are processed through various stages to make it suitable enough to run an airplane.

Algae fuels are becoming more popular as these will reduce the dependency on fossil fuels. Algae fuels are more eco friendly.

Different Types of Nano Particles Used in Biotechnology

Nano particles exist in different sizes, shapes, and materials, and with various chemical and surface properties. Here are the some of the basic properties and the uses of some nano particles in the field of biotechnology:

Fullereness:
This category includes Buckyballs and Carbon tubes, they are carbon based, lattice like, potentially porous molecules.

Liposomes:
These are lipid based liquid crystals and they have the capability of breaking down inside cells once their delivery function has been met. Because of this property they are extensively used in the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries.

Quantum Dots:
These are nanosized semiconductors that, depending on their size, can emit light in all colors of the rainbow. These have been used in biotechnology for cell labelling and imaging, particularly in cancer imaging studies. These are sometimes also called as nanocrystals.

Dendrimers:
These are highly branched structures and they have multiple molecular hooks on their surfaces that can be used to attach cell-identification tags, fluorescent dyes, enzymes and other molecules and this is the one property which made them widely used in nanomedicine.

Liquid Crystals:
These are composed of organic liquid crystal materials that looks like naturally occurring bio molecules like proteins or lipids. These can target the specific areas of the body where tissues are inflamed or tumors are found.

Nanorods:
These are often made up of semiconducting materials and used in nanomedicine as imaging and contrast agents.

Super paramagnetic nanoparticles:
These molecules are attracted to a magnetic field and nanoparticles of iron oxide with diameters in the 5 to 100 nm range, have been used for selective magnetic bio separations. Super paramagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPION) are applied for drug delivery and gene transfection.

Know About Biotechnology and Its Branches

Biotechnology is the field of applied biology that uses various micro organisms and living processes in engineering, medicine, technology and other to get the required results. Biotechnology is mainly applied in four different fields which includes health care, crop production, agriculture and non food uses of crops and other products.

Following are the important branches of biotechnology:
Bio informatics:
Bio informatics is the branch of biotechnology which uses computation methods to solve the biological problems and makes the rapid organization and analysis of biological data possible. It can also be referred as computational biology and it plays an important role in various areas such as functional genomics, structural genomics and forms a key component in the biotechnology and other pharmaceutical sectors.

Red Biotechnology:
This is the branch of biotechnology which has its applications in medical processes, some of the examples are designing the organisms to produce antibiotics and engineering of genetic cures through genetic manipulation.

White Biotechnology:
It is the biotechnology applied to industrial processes and it is also known as industrial biotechnology. It is the field in which the organisms are designed to produce useful chemical, using of enzymes to produce chemicals or to destroy hazardous chemicals. White biotechnology consumes less resources than traditional processes used to produce industrial goods.

Green Biotechnology:
Green biotechnology is applied to agricultural processes, and green biotechnology produces more environmental solutions than traditional methods. An example of green biotechnology is selection and domestication of plants via micro propagation.

Apart from the above said branches, there is also another branch which involves, investment and economic out put of all these types of applied bio technologies and is termed as bio economy.