An exploratory study on the possibilities of microalgal biotechnology to obtain the essential 6Li isotope as fusion fuel

Biotechnology for Biofuels and Bioproducts

Research

Paloma Martínez-Alesón¹  Camino García-Balboa¹  Victoria López-Rodas¹  Eduardo Costas Costas¹  Marta Fernández Díaz² 

[1] School of Veterinary Medicine, Complutense University of Madrid, Av. Puerta de Hierro s/n, 28040, Madrid, Spain;Spanish Research Centre for Energy, Environment and Technology (CIEMAT), Av. Complutense 40, 28040, Madrid, Spain;

关键词: Fusion energy;    Microalgae;    Lithium;    Enrichment;    Metal uptake;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s13068-023-02394-0

 received in 2023-02-01, accepted in 2023-09-09,  发布年份 2023

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

Future energy supply needs to overcome two challenges: environmental impact and dependence on geopolitically unstable countries. A very promising alternative is based on lithium, an element for batteries, and whose isotope 6Li will be essential in nuclear fusion. The objective of this research has been to determine if it is possible to achieve isotopic fractionation of lithium through a process mediated by microalgae. For this purpose, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii was selected and grown in presence of 5 mg/L of lithium. Results revealed that this specie survives at the selected lithium concentration, discriminates isotopes and preferentially capture 6Li (6δ = 10.029 ± 3.307) through a process independent of the cellular growth. Concomitate recovered up 0.206 mg/L of lithium along a process of 21 days. The result of this study lets to affirm that Chlamydomonas reinhardtii might be used to obtain lithium enriched in the lighter isotope.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© BioMed Central Ltd., part of Springer Nature 2023

【 图 表 】

Fig. 3

13690_2023_1170_Article_IEq29.gif

13690_2023_1170_Article_IEq28.gif

Fig. 1