Texas Student's Biofuel Breakthrough: Algae Produces 77% More Oil with Vitamin-Salt Combo

Arya Hirsave, a seventh-grader from Canyon Vista Middle School in Austin, Texas, made a groundbreaking discovery in her science project. She found that by combining vitamins and salt, microalgae can produce 77% more biofuel oil in just five days.

Hirsave's interest in renewable energy began during a class on biomass, where she learned about the potential of algae as a source of fuel. She chose to focus on increasing the growth and oil production of microalgae, rather than simply asking if they could produce biofuel.

In her experiment, Hirsave tested four types of microalgae: Chlorella vulgaris, Chlorella pyrenoidosa, Nannochloropsis, and Tetraselmis chuii. She found that adding vitamins B and C stimulated photosynthesis and increased growth by 6-7%, but also discovered that adding salt to freshwater algae reduced their growth while increasing lipid production.

The key to Hirsave's success was a five-day treatment that combined the two strategies: three days of vitamin treatment followed by two days of high-salt stress. This sequence allowed the algae to continue growing while increasing lipid production by 77%.