Plant fuels that could power a jet
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0:00 - 0:03What I'm going to do is, I'm going to explain to you
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0:03 - 0:05an extreme green concept
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0:05 - 0:08that was developed at NASA's Glenn Research Center
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0:08 - 0:10in Cleveland, Ohio.
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0:10 - 0:12But before I do that, we have to go over
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0:12 - 0:14the definition of what green is,
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0:14 - 0:17'cause a lot of us have a
different definition of it. -
0:17 - 0:19Green. The product is created through
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0:19 - 0:21environmentally and socially conscious means.
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0:21 - 0:25There's plenty of things that
are being called green now. -
0:25 - 0:26What does it actually mean?
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0:26 - 0:30We use three metrics to determine green.
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0:30 - 0:33The first metric is: Is it sustainable?
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0:33 - 0:37Which means, are you preserving
what you are doing for future use -
0:37 - 0:39or for future generations?
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0:39 - 0:43Is it alternative? Is it different
than what is being used today, -
0:43 - 0:46or does it have a lower carbon footprint
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0:46 - 0:48than what's used conventionally?
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0:48 - 0:51And three: Is it renewable?
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0:51 - 0:55Does it come from Earth's
natural replenishing resources, -
0:55 - 0:58such as sun, wind and water?
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0:58 - 1:02Now, my task at NASA is to develop
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1:02 - 1:05the next generation of aviation fuels.
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1:05 - 1:08Extreme green. Why aviation?
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1:08 - 1:11The field of aviation uses more fuel than just about
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1:11 - 1:16every other combined. We need to find an alternative.
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1:16 - 1:19Also it's a national aeronautics directive.
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1:19 - 1:22One of the national aeronautics goals is to develop
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1:22 - 1:24the next generation of fuels, biofuels,
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1:24 - 1:28using domestic and safe, friendly resources.
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1:28 - 1:31Now, combating that challenge
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1:31 - 1:34we have to also meet the big three metric —
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1:34 - 1:38Actually, extreme green for us is all three together;
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1:38 - 1:40that's why you see the plus
there. I was told to say that. -
1:40 - 1:45So it has to be the big three at
GRC. That's another metric. -
1:45 - 1:51Ninety-seven percent of the
world's water is saltwater. -
1:51 - 1:55How about we use that?
Combine that with number three. -
1:55 - 1:58Do not use arable land.
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1:58 - 2:00Because crops are already growing on that land
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2:00 - 2:03that's very scarce around the world.
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2:03 - 2:06Number two: Don't compete with food crops.
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2:06 - 2:10That's already a well established
entity, they don't need another entry. -
2:10 - 2:14And lastly the most precious resource we have on this Earth
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2:14 - 2:19is fresh water. Don't use fresh water.
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2:19 - 2:22If 97.5 percent of the world's water is saltwater,
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2:22 - 2:252.5 percent is fresh water. Less than a half percent
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2:25 - 2:27of that is accessible for human use.
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2:27 - 2:31But 60 percent of the population
lives within that one percent. -
2:31 - 2:36So, combating my problem was, now I have to be extreme green
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2:36 - 2:38and meet the big three. Ladies and gentlemen,
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2:38 - 2:42welcome to the GreenLab Research Facility.
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2:42 - 2:45This is a facility dedicated to the next generation
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2:45 - 2:48of aviation fuels using halophytes.
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2:48 - 2:51A halophyte is a salt-tolerating plant.
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2:51 - 2:55Most plants don't like salt, but halophytes tolerate salt.
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2:55 - 2:58We also are using weeds
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2:58 - 3:01and we are also using algae.
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3:01 - 3:03The good thing about our lab is, we've had
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3:03 - 3:063,600 visitors in the last two years.
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3:06 - 3:08Why do you think that's so?
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3:08 - 3:12Because we are on to something special.
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3:12 - 3:15So, in the lower you see the GreenLab obviously,
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3:15 - 3:17and on the right hand side you'll see algae.
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3:17 - 3:20If you are into the business of the next generation
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3:20 - 3:22of aviation fuels, algae is a viable option,
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3:22 - 3:24there's a lot of funding right now,
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3:24 - 3:26and we have an algae to fuels program.
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3:26 - 3:28There's two types of algae growing.
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3:28 - 3:31One is a closed photobioreactor that you see here,
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3:31 - 3:35and what you see on the other side is our species —
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3:35 - 3:39we are currently using a species
called Scenedesmus dimorphus. -
3:39 - 3:43Our job at NASA is to take the
experimental and computational -
3:43 - 3:48and make a better mixing for
the closed photobioreactors. -
3:48 - 3:50Now the problems with closed photobioreactors are:
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3:50 - 3:53They are quite expensive, they are automated,
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3:53 - 3:56and it's very difficult to get them in large scale.
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3:56 - 3:57So on large scale what do they use?
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3:57 - 4:01We use open pond systems. Now, around the world
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4:01 - 4:04they are growing algae, with this racetrack design
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4:04 - 4:07that you see here. Looks like an oval with
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4:07 - 4:09a paddle wheel and mixes really well,
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4:09 - 4:13but when it gets around the last turn,
which I call turn four — it's stagnant. -
4:13 - 4:15We actually have a solution for that.
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4:15 - 4:18In the GreenLab in our open pond system
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4:18 - 4:21we use something that happens in nature: waves.
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4:21 - 4:25We actually use wave technology
on our open pond systems. -
4:25 - 4:29We have 95 percent mixing
and our lipid content is higher -
4:29 - 4:32than a closed photobioreactor system,
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4:32 - 4:34which we think is significant.
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4:34 - 4:38There is a drawback to algae,
however: It's very expensive. -
4:38 - 4:43Is there a way to produce algae inexpensively?
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4:43 - 4:45And the answer is: yes.
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4:45 - 4:48We do the same thing we do with halophytes,
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4:48 - 4:52and that is: climatic adaptation.
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4:52 - 4:55In our GreenLab we have six primary ecosystems
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4:55 - 4:59that range from freshwater all the way to saltwater.
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4:59 - 5:03What we do: We take a potential species, we start at freshwater,
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5:03 - 5:05we add a little bit more salt, when the second tank here
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5:05 - 5:07will be the same ecosystem as Brazil —
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5:07 - 5:11right next to the sugar cane
fields you can have our plants — -
5:11 - 5:15the next tank represents Africa, the next tank represents Arizona,
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5:15 - 5:17the next tank represents Florida,
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5:17 - 5:21and the next tank represents
California or the open ocean. -
5:21 - 5:25What we are trying to do is to
come up with a single species -
5:25 - 5:31that can survive anywhere in the
world, where there's barren desert. -
5:31 - 5:33We are being very successful so far.
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5:33 - 5:36Now, here's one of the problems.
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5:36 - 5:41If you are a farmer, you need five things
to be successful: You need seeds, -
5:41 - 5:45you need soil, you need water and you need sun,
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5:45 - 5:49and the last thing that you need is fertilizer.
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5:49 - 5:52Most people use chemical fertilizers. But guess what?
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5:52 - 5:55We do not use chemical fertilizer.
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5:55 - 6:00Wait a second! I just saw lots of greenery in
your GreenLab. You have to use fertilizer. -
6:00 - 6:04Believe it or not, in our analysis
of our saltwater ecosystems -
6:04 - 6:0880 percent of what we need are in these tanks themselves.
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6:08 - 6:12The 20 percent that's missing
is nitrogen and phosphorous. -
6:12 - 6:14We have a natural solution: fish.
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6:14 - 6:18No we don't cut up the fish and put them in there.
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6:18 - 6:22Fish waste is what we use. As a matter of fact
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6:22 - 6:26we use freshwater mollies, that we've
used our climatic adaptation technique -
6:26 - 6:29from freshwater all the way to seawater.
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6:29 - 6:36Freshwater mollies: cheap, they love to make babies,
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6:36 - 6:38and they love to go to the bathroom.
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6:38 - 6:40And the more they go to the
bathroom, the more fertilizer we get, -
6:40 - 6:43the better off we are, believe it or not.
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6:43 - 6:48It should be noted that we use sand as our soil,
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6:48 - 6:52regular beach sand. Fossilized coral.
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6:52 - 6:56So a lot of people ask me, "How did you get started?"
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6:56 - 7:01Well, we got started in what we
call the indoor biofuels lab. -
7:01 - 7:05It's a seedling lab. We have 26
different species of halophytes, -
7:05 - 7:09and five are winners. What we do here is —
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7:09 - 7:12actually it should be called a death lab, 'cause we try to
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7:12 - 7:14kill the seedlings, make them rough —
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7:14 - 7:16and then we come to the GreenLab.
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7:16 - 7:18What you see in the lower corner
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7:18 - 7:20is a wastewater treatment plant experiment
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7:20 - 7:24that we are growing, a macro-algae
that I'll talk about in a minute. -
7:24 - 7:28And lastly, it's me actually working
in the lab to prove to you I do work, -
7:28 - 7:32I don't just talk about what I do.
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7:32 - 7:35Here's the plant species. Salicornia virginica.
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7:35 - 7:39It's a wonderful plant. I love that plant.
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7:39 - 7:42Everywhere we go we see it. It's
all over the place, from Maine -
7:42 - 7:45all the way to California. We love that plant.
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7:45 - 7:50Second is Salicornia bigelovii. Very difficult to get around the world.
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7:50 - 7:52It is the highest lipid content that we have,
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7:52 - 7:56but it has a shortcoming: It's short.
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7:56 - 8:01Now you take europaea, which is the
largest or the tallest plant that we have. -
8:01 - 8:03And what we are trying to do
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8:03 - 8:07with natural selection or adaptive
biology — combine all three -
8:07 - 8:12to make a high-growth, high-lipid plant.
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8:12 - 8:19Next, when a hurricane decimated the
Delaware Bay — soybean fields gone — -
8:19 - 8:22we came up with an idea: Can you have a plant
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8:22 - 8:27that has a land reclamation positive
in Delaware? And the answer is yes. -
8:27 - 8:31It's called seashore mallow. Kosteletzkya virginica —
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8:31 - 8:34say that five times fast if you can.
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8:34 - 8:42This is a 100 percent usable plant.
The seeds: biofuels. The rest: cattle feed. -
8:42 - 8:45It's there for 10 years; it's working very well.
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8:45 - 8:48Now we get to Chaetomorpha.
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8:48 - 8:52This is a macro-algae that loves
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8:52 - 8:54excess nutrients. If you are in the aquarium industry
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8:54 - 8:57you know we use it to clean up dirty tanks.
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8:57 - 9:01This species is so significant to us.
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9:01 - 9:05The properties are very close to plastic.
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9:05 - 9:10We are trying right now to convert this macro-algae into a bioplastic.
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9:10 - 9:15If we are successful, we will revolutionize the plastics industry.
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9:15 - 9:19So, we have a seed to fuel program.
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9:19 - 9:22We have to do something with
this biomass that we have. -
9:22 - 9:26And so we do G.C. extraction, lipid optimization, so on and so forth,
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9:26 - 9:30because our goal really is to come up with
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9:30 - 9:34the next generation of aviation fuels,
aviation specifics, so on and so forth. -
9:34 - 9:38So far we talked about water and fuel,
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9:38 - 9:45but along the way we found out
something interesting about Salicornia: -
9:45 - 9:49It's a food product.
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9:49 - 9:51So we talk about ideas worth spreading, right?
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9:51 - 9:58How about this: In sub-Saharan
Africa, next to the sea, saltwater, -
9:58 - 10:03barren desert, how about we take that plant,
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10:03 - 10:08plant it, half use for food, half use for fuel.
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10:08 - 10:12We can make that happen, inexpensively.
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10:12 - 10:15You can see there's a greenhouse in Germany
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10:15 - 10:17that sells it as a health food product.
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10:17 - 10:22This is harvested, and in the middle here
is a shrimp dish, and it's being pickled. -
10:22 - 10:27So I have to tell you a joke. Salicornia is known as sea beans,
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10:27 - 10:30saltwater asparagus and pickle weed.
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10:30 - 10:33So we are pickling pickle weed in the middle.
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10:33 - 10:36Oh, I thought it was funny. (Laughter)
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10:36 - 10:39And at the bottom is seaman's mustard. It does make sense,
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10:39 - 10:42this is a logical snack. You have mustard,
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10:42 - 10:45you are a seaman, you see the
halophyte, you mix it together, -
10:45 - 10:47it's a great snack with some crackers.
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10:47 - 10:54And last, garlic with Salicornia, which is what I like.
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10:54 - 10:59So, water, fuel and food.
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10:59 - 11:03None of this is possible without the GreenLab team.
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11:03 - 11:08Just like the Miami Heat has the big three,
we have the big three at NASA GRC. -
11:08 - 11:13That's myself, professor Bob Hendricks, who's our fearless leader, and Dr. Arnon Chait.
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11:13 - 11:18The backbone of the GreenLab is students.
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11:18 - 11:21Over the last two years we've had 35 different students
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11:21 - 11:25from around the world working at GreenLab.
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11:25 - 11:29As a matter fact my division chief says a lot, "You have a green university."
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11:29 - 11:32I say, "I'm okay with that, 'cause we are nurturing
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11:32 - 11:37the next generation of extreme
green thinkers, which is significant." -
11:37 - 11:42So, in first summary I presented to you what we think
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11:42 - 11:48is a global solution for food, fuel and water.
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11:48 - 11:51There's something missing to be complete.
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11:51 - 11:56Clearly we use electricity.
We have a solution for you — -
11:56 - 11:59We're using clean energy sources here.
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11:59 - 12:03So, we have two wind turbines
connected to the GreenLab, -
12:03 - 12:07we have four or five more hopefully coming soon.
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12:07 - 12:11We are also using something that is quite interesting —
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12:11 - 12:15there is a solar array field at
NASA's Glenn Research Center, -
12:15 - 12:18hasn't been used for 15 years.
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12:18 - 12:21Along with some of my electrical
engineering colleagues, -
12:21 - 12:23we realized that they are still viable,
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12:23 - 12:26so we are refurbishing them right now.
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12:26 - 12:31In about 30 days or so they'll be
connected to the GreenLab. -
12:31 - 12:34And the reason why you see red, red and yellow, is
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12:34 - 12:37a lot of people think NASA employees
don't work on Saturday — -
12:37 - 12:40This is a picture taken on Saturday.
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12:40 - 12:45There are no cars around, but you see my truck
in yellow. I work on Saturday. (Laughter) -
12:45 - 12:47This is a proof to you that I'm working.
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12:47 - 12:51'Cause we do what it takes to get the
job done, most people know that. -
12:51 - 12:53Here's a concept with this:
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12:53 - 12:59We are using the GreenLab for a micro-grid test bed
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12:59 - 13:03for the smart grid concept in Ohio.
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13:03 - 13:09We have the ability to do that,
and I think it's going to work. -
13:09 - 13:14So, GreenLab Research Facility.
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13:14 - 13:19A self-sustainable renewable energy ecosystem was presented today.
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13:19 - 13:25We really, really hope this concept catches on worldwide.
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13:25 - 13:34We think we have a solution for food, water, fuel and now energy. Complete.
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13:34 - 13:40It's extreme green, it's sustainable, alternative and renewable
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13:40 - 13:44and it meets the big three at GRC:
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13:44 - 13:49Don't use arable land, don't compete with food crops,
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13:49 - 13:52and most of all, don't use fresh water.
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13:52 - 13:57So I get a lot of questions about,
"What are you doing in that lab?" -
13:57 - 14:03And I usually say, "None of your business, that's what I'm doing in the lab." (Laughter)
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14:03 - 14:06And believe it or not, my number one goal
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14:06 - 14:09for working on this project is
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14:09 - 14:14I want to help save the world.
- Title:
- Plant fuels that could power a jet
- Speaker:
- Bilal Bomani
- Description:
-
Algae plus salt water equals … fuel? At TEDxNASA@SiliconValley, Bilal Bomani reveals a self-sustaining ecosystem that produces biofuels -- without wasting arable land or fresh water.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDTalks
- Duration:
- 14:26
Krystian Aparta edited English subtitles for Plant fuels that could power a jet | ||
Krystian Aparta edited English subtitles for Plant fuels that could power a jet | ||
Krystian Aparta edited English subtitles for Plant fuels that could power a jet | ||
Krystian Aparta edited English subtitles for Plant fuels that could power a jet | ||
Krystian Aparta edited English subtitles for Plant fuels that could power a jet | ||
Krystian Aparta edited English subtitles for Plant fuels that could power a jet | ||
Morton Bast edited English subtitles for Plant fuels that could power a jet | ||
tom carter approved English subtitles for Plant fuels that could power a jet |