A pattern for biofuels
Issued: Mon, 12 Mar 2012 15:00:00 GMT
Dr Martin Bees, a Reader in Applied Mathematics, is currently researching the use of mathematical models of the swimming behaviour of algae as an engineering design tool in biofuel production.
'There has been a lot of recent interest in looking at algae as a means to produce biofuel,' he explains. 'The way in which algae swim and react to certain stimuli create intricate patterns called "bioconvection patterns". As the patterns have an effect on the capabilities of each individual organism to produce a product, it is important to understand and manipulate the structures.'
In the biofuels industry, about a third of the cost of producing fuel is in harvesting the algae, which involves getting rid of the water that the algae live in. Dr Bees, who manages the Algae Biofuels and Biofluids Laboratory at the University, explains: 'We're investigating whether we can use some of the swimming behaviour of the algae in order to harvest the cells, or at least pre-concentrate them. And so, we aim to examine some very real problems that can be described in engineering and mathematical terms. In addition, by applying mathematical principles to predict the behaviour of the algae, it may be possible to discover how to increase product yield, aiding the effort to use algae as a green energy source.'
Dr Bees explains: 'I look for well-defined problems that we can try and give a precise answer to. For example, we investigate theoretically and experimentally how the cells drift and diffuse in a prescribed flow. Furthermore, we also aim to predict how cells will behave using mechanistically-based theoretical descriptions, which we continuously refine with new experimental information.'
Find out more
- Dr Martin Bees, School of Mathematics and Statistics
- Algae Biofuels and Biofluids Laboratory, University of Glasgow
- Mathematics Research at the University of Glasgow