Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

I need some help finding a way to use algae for carbon dioxide bioremediation.

I also was looking at bioremediation of oil spills using bacteria.

Any help in deciding would be great.

Hi!
This is a very cool environmental project that you are thinking about! So this website offers some very helpful information on types of algae and how bioremediation is currently being implemented.

http://bioremediate.com/whatis.html
http://www.bioremediate.com/algae2.html

If you are interested in a bit of an advanced science paper, this is not a full pdf but you can at least get the name and some ideas on topics you should look up:

http://wwwlib.murdoch.edu.au/adt/pubfil ... 1Front.pdf

I think that choosing algae in areas like former salt marshes, would be interesting to study for carbon dioxide bioremediation in order to have an ecological impact on perhaps rebuilding certain areas.

Good luck!

Thanks so much for that info!

Is bioremediation and biofixation the same, is fixation and biofixation the same? I am kind of confused.

Hello,

Biofixation, fixation, and bioremediation all have very similar meanings, but all three ARE different from one another...

Bioremediation is just anything that uses live organisms (usually bacteria, fungi, etc.) or enzymes to restore the natural environment that has been affected by some kind of contaminant(s)...For example, this includes the cleanup of oil spills by using bacteria/enzymes, strengthening soil by adding nitrates, etc.
(Here's an article that you can browse through for more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bioremediation)
Biofixation is the same thing except it refers to the use of organisms(usually plants or other photosynthetic organisms) for the sole purpose of removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere...photosynthetic organsims do this by using carbon dioxide for photosynthesis which is their source of energy and thereby reduces CO2 levels and helps lessen the effects of global warming...
Fixation is the same thing as biofixation except it doesn't refer to the exclusive use of organisms but any other method used to remove carbon dioxide also falls under fixation (example = chemical, mechanical etc.)...So in other words, biofixation is a subcategory,or specific type, of fixation...

Hope that helped!!
Feel free to post if you have additional questions/clarifications...