MAX FACTS
hydroponic news, tips and trivia
Scientists Make Fuel from Algae
German scientists have developed a new catalytic process that permits the
effective conversion of biopetroleum from microalgae into diesel fuels. A team
from the Technische Universitaet Muenchen has been testing fuels made
from microalgae as an alternative to biofuels processed from conventional oilcontaining crops. Using a new nickel-based catalyst has allowed the scientists
to produce useful fuel products from algae for the first time.
Team leader Johannes A. Lercher said the new algae-based products had a
number of advantages over currently available biofuels, particularly because
“their use for fuel production does not compete with food production."
(Source: sciencedaily.com)
MAXFACTS
hydroponic news, tips and trivia
Ancient Peruvian
Popcorn Discovered
Ancient corncobs found at two mound sites on Peru's arid
northern coast indicate that ancient Peruvians were eating
popcorn much earlier than previously reported—even before
they began using pottery.
The corncobs were between 3,000- and 6,700-years-old,
according to a new paper in the Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences, and indicate that although corn was still
not an important part of their diet, the ancient inhabitants of
Peru did consume it in several ways, including popcorn and
flour corn.
Dolores Piperno, curator of New World archaeology at the
Smithsonian's National Museum