What’s so great about pond scum? Read the details of this latest blog and find out! Pond scum may just be the answer to America’s pollution woes! How come? Pond scum is a great source of another alternative plant-based fuel, biodiesel. Biodiesel is made from vegetable oil, not just from a specific plant, but from any plant, even ones that aren’t major food crops. The main plants found in pond scum are called algae. Why are algae a great source of biodiesel? To begin with, algae are tiny, one-celled plants. Because of their super small size, algae can be grown almost anywhere—even inside a building! That’s really important because there is only so much cropland, and most of it is needed to grow food. Plus algae need very few nutrients to grow, unlike other larger plants. On top of that, they grow super fast. 

How do scientists make biodiesel from algae? To start the process off, colonies of algae are grown in plastic bags. The next step is to limit the nitrogen the algae receive. Nitrogen is an essential nutrient for plants. When algae don’t receive enough nitrogen, they respond by creating extra fats because they think a famine is coming. These fats are used to make biodiesel. To harvest the oils, the algae are broken open and the fats are separated from the rest of the cells and collected. A special chemical reactor makes biodiesel from the algae fats. The biodiesel is then used to run diesel motors in cars, trucks, and other machinery. Not bad for a little green, single-cell plant.