Biofuels have been considered as one of the great alternatives to solving the energy problem for transportation fuels. Corn used for ethanol unfortunately competes with a staple foodstuff, and requires significant amounts of land area. Ethanol must also be blended with gasoline before it can be used for a transportation fuel.

Our idea seeks to change this by using algae, which grow at a very high rate and can be beneficial removing carbon dioxide from the air and unwanted nutrients from polluted waters, and converting it into butanol. Butanol has a higher energy content per gallon than ethanol, and can be used directly in gasoline engines, making it a better choice.

Through the process we are designing we hope to create a more sensible path toward green transportation fuels in the future.