GUWAHATI, Dec 29 – In a significant development that may have far-reaching impacts in tackling fuel scarcity and global warming, the Gauhati University (GU) Biotechnology Department has discovered the best strain of indigenous algae, which is the most voracious carbon-dioxide absorber.
The discovery has been made by the GU Department in its bid to find out an effective solution to global warming and climate change and to produce bio-fuel in the process under a bio-refinery approach. The algae strain has been registered with the Gene Bank under the accession number – KC 792552.1.
Disclosing this, Prof M C Kalita and his Senior Research Scholar Dr Jayanta Talukdar told this correspondent that the project is carried out since 2007 with the support from the Tezpur-based Defence Research Laboratory (DRL), the Union Department of Biotechnology and the Government of Assam. In the project, Prof Bhabesh Chandra Goswami, H C Das, Prof Anup Kumar Talukdar are engaged as Co-Investigators, besides Prof Kalita as the Principal Investigator and Rengonee Das as the Junior Research Scholar
Under the project, a low cost photo bio-reactor (PBR) system was developed for improved bio-mass production. This part of the project was completed in October this year.
Work on the part of the project that involves design and development of a mass cultivation system for selected oleaginous micro-algae of NE India for renewable diesel production is going on and it is expected to be completed by next year.
In this part of the project, a demonstration model for outdoor mass cultivation and bio-mass production system using an indigenously designed and developed integrated raceway pond system and low cost PBRs were also developed. The GU Department has already done the analyses of the product for streamlining the potential bio-fuel production process.
