海藻可能成为新型绿色能源

As world leaders prepare to gather in France for the 2015 United Nations Conference on Climate Change next week, global warming -- and how to stop it -- is a hot topic. To limit climate change, experts say that we need to reach carbon neutrality by the end of this century at the latest. To achieve that goal, our dependence ¹ on fossil fuels must be reversed. But what energy source will take its place? Researchers from Concordia University in Montreal just might have the answer: algae ². , ,In a study published in the journal Technology, a team led by Concordia engineering professor Muthukumaran Packirisamy describe their invention: a power cell that harnesses electrical energy from the photosynthesis ³ and respiration ⁴ of blue-green algae., ,Why plants? Because the energy is already there. , ,"Both photosynthesis and respiration, which take place in plants cells, involve electron transfer chains. By trapping the electrons released by blue-green algae during photosynthesis and respiration, we can harness the electrical energy they produce naturally," says Packirisamy. , ,Why blue-green algae? Because it's everywhere. , ,Also known as cyanobacteria, blue-green algae are the most prosperous microorganisms on earth, evolutionarily speaking. They occupy a broad range of habitats across all latitudes ⁵. And they've been here forever: the planet's early fauna ⁶ and flora ⁷ owe their makeup ⁸ to cyanobacteria, which produced the oxygen that ultimately allowed higher life forms to flourish. , ,"By taking advantage of a process that is constantly occurring all over the world, we've created a new and scalable technology that could lead to cheaper ways of generating carbon-free energy," says Packirisamy. , ,He notes that the invention is still in its early stages. "We have a lot of work to do in terms of scaling the power cell to make the project commercial."