https://www.ubcenvision.com/greenjoule/
Amount of funding awarded
377.57
Budget Report
View budget report.
How the program has supported you
Green Joule is a student team that focuses on researching ways of growing algae to extract carbohydrates and lipids to produce biofuels. This research is applied in the lab where experiments are modified to find the most efficient way to grow the algae and extract the oil while decreasing the production cost. It also studies how the algae can simultaneously be used to treat wastewater.
PAF funding has allowed the team to purchase the algae strain, Phaeodactylum tricornutum, which was chosen as our main research focus this year.
The funding was also used to purchase the equipment for building a tubular photobioreactor, from the arduino setup (for monitoring), the culture vessels to lipid extraction supplies.
Outcomes
21 students benefited from the project and were divided into four subteams: Growth, Extraction, Monitoring, Impact Analysis.
They learned how to collaborate within teams by sharing and implementing ideas equally. Conducting research allowed them to practice finding relevant information efficiently.
In the 2021-2022 school year, the members participated in MURC which provided them the opportunity to present their research to others from UBC. They spread awareness of how their work can help make a more sustainable future.
Being in Green Joule provides lab experience where students can replicate and/or modify the experiments they researched about to find the best conditions to get the highest yield. The team successfully proposed a possible solution at MURC.
Biofuels provide a renewable alternative to fossil fuels; therefore, reducing carbon emissions. The algae are also used simultaneously to treat wastewater. Overall, Green Joule is working towards making the entire production process less expensive.
