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7pm natural light + house light
ties of 32%-4% white light and 100% UV consistently but somewhere between day 12 and day 17 the amount of dissolved oxygen started to increase. An explanation for this could be the organisms eating the algae had died and were no longer interfering with the process of photosynthesis. A similar process may have occurred in the tin foil wrapped tubes (receiving 0% of light) because they also were producing oxygen, but through the process of respiration because they had no light to perform the process of photosynthesis. In tubes exposed to 100% - 59% white light, the dissolved oxygen decreased throughout the 21 days. This is possibly because whatever was interfering with the algae (possible organisms or dying leaves) did not die/continued to interfere, causing a consistent decrease in dissolved oxygen . Approximately 75% of the oxygen of Earth’s atmosphere is the by-product of photosynthetic algae and cyanobacteria (3). Its many resources and uses make algae very important in many aspects of our lives. We have concluded from our experiments that algae grows best in 100% light, but still produces a viable amount of oxygen when only exposed to 4.01% all the way to 100% and UV light. Our results found that 100% white light and 4% white on day 7 only differed 6.4 mg/L of dissolved oxygen. The less light they receive, the less photosynthesis occurs, but it still occurs. If we can figure out how to maximize the growth of algae with further experiments with light intensity and growth conditions, we will be able to harness it and maximize all possible uses with the least light energy required, leading to a better environment.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We thank Mr. Maxwell, Mr. De, The Pingry School, the Pingry Maintenance Staff, and The Biology Department for all of their assistance in making this project possible.
LITERATURE CITED
1.“Algae.” Wikipedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Feb. 2013. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algae>. 2.Patil, Vishwanath, Khanh-Quang Tran, and Hans Ragnar Giselrod. “Towards Sustainable Production of Biofuels from Microalgae.” International Journal of Molecular Sciences (2008): 1188-95. Print. 3.“Algae” Microbe Beta World, American Society for Microbiology <http://www.microbeworld.org/ types-of-microbes/protista/algae>
By Jennifer Guo (V)
ABSTRACT
The search for renewable energy sources has occupied much of research for the past few years. One of these new energy sources currently being tested is Biophotovoltaics, which utilizes the process of photosynthesis in plants to generate electricity. In my project, I attempted to replicate the moss table, which is a concept product using Biophotovoltaics. The goal of my project was to discover whether photosynthesizing moss is actually able to generate electricity. The results demonstrate that moss is able to generate electricity, and factors which affect the amount of electricity generated are the amount of water and amount/type of lighting.
INTRODUCTION
Biophotovoltaic devices (BPVs) are a new form of sustainable energy, currently undergoing research. Sustainable energy research is very important at the moment because the availability of fossil fuels is being quickly depleted. Biophotovoltaics utilizes the photosynthesis of living organisms to generate electricity. This project is modeled after the concept of moss tables, and utilizes the following process: when moss undergoes photosynthesis, it releases organic compounds into the soil, like carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids. The bacteria in the soil break down these organic compounds, and give off electrons as a by-product. Electrodes in the moss pot then capture the electrons and put them to use (1). This research regarding Biophotovoltaics is important because it offers the possibility of a novel sustainable energy source. If it is possible to generate electricity from moss, then it is also likely that Biophotovoltaics can be done with other photosynthetic organisms. Grass and algae are two ex-
