CAN kelp kick you off to space? A group of young Filipino space-exploration proponents believes so.
So much so these youth organized as Orbital Exploration (OrbX) is seeking funding from the government and spacefaring stakeholders abroad.
“We are looking at the Philippine government, NASA [National Aeronautics and Space Administration] and ESA [European Space Administration],” OrbX Co-Founder Dexter P. Baño Jr. told the BusinessMirror.
Baño said they are also considering Russia, which has become a good friend of the Philippines, to ask for research support.
Using software, the biofuel produced from algae would be tested on jet propulsions from small rocket models to bigger ones, he said.
The aim of the research is to establish a particular ratio between rocket weight and the amount of algal fuel that provides rocket thrust, Baño explained.
Original, potential
Algal energy could revolutionize space exploration in the near future, according to Enzo Victor, another OrbX co-founder.
“If proven that biofuel from algae can boost a spacecraft, I believe we can bring a new age of space exploration,” he said.
As a renewable and environment-friendly source of energy, algae as fuel use can influence the downward movement of space, aviation and land-transport fuel prices, according to OrbX Co-Founder Paulo Sairel Don.
Aside from being a renewable and environment-friendly energy source, algae also offers a number of benefits, Victor explained. He added that because an alga is a food source for small fishes and other aquatic animals, it’s an indirect source of human food.
Algae also benefit marine biodiversity, Baño said. “Cultivating algae and protecting a particular endangered fish species in an area can prevent its extinction,” he added.
Leading to innovations
According to Victor, domestic priorities have placed in the backburner research on the potential of algae to thrust rockets into space.
“And if some people venture into a research like this, either they don’t get support or they get ignored,” he added.
Many talented Filipinos have made remarkable contributions in various fields of science and technology, noted Victor. Hence, OrbX believes the Philippine government should support research on these areas.
“By supporting Filipino scientists in conducting a research like this, the government will attract more talented and passionate individuals to pursue theirs, which may lead to more innovations and inventions,” Don said.
There’s an Internet buzz that fuel from algae has been proven to fly commercial and military aircraft. The buzz points to a Boeing 737 that took off from Houston with 50 percent of its fuel algae-based.
Algal fuel may also eventually take its share of the land and aviation transportations market, which is currently dominated by fossil fuels, according to Victor.
Interest of the country
The Filipino is gifted with talent in various scientific and technical fields, Baño noted. In fact, a number of Filipino experts in science and technology are employed overseas in different advanced fields, like aerospace, he added.
Baño also expressed loss over talented Filipinos who have chosen to leave the country and work abroad due to lack of opportunity and support in order to share their talents here.
He lauded the Balik Scientist Program of the Department of Science and Technology, which encourages Filipino scientists and experts in various technical fields working overseas to return home and share their expertise within the country.
Vroom, vroom
Algae require adequate sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide only to grow and generate energy, Baño said. It can grow and thrive in both salt and fresh waters.
Carbon dioxide is more abundant in fresh water, he explained, especially in populated areas where garbage is directly or indirectly thrown into rivers and other bodies of water.
Countries with high carbon emission have a higher chance to produce more algae, Baño explained.
The ethanol produced from algae is more efficient than the ethanol converted from corn, he added.
“Eighty percent of algae can be converted into methane,” Baño said.
Unlike petroleum oil that only a few countries gifted with reserves can produce, algae can enable any country to produce fuel, Baño said.
“The Philippines has a high carbon emission,” he said.
The energy from algae could be converted into methane or kerosene, depending on the process of conversion, Baño explained.
If proven capable of providing rockets with required power to travel into space, production of algal fuel may generate jobs across the globe for cultivating algae, he added.
Eventual goal
VICTOR admits that OrbX is still at its “infancy stage, and we have a lot to contribute.”
“But it is an investment for the future of the Filipino people.”
He emphasized that the Philippines and the rest of the world should be prepared for the worst scenario that could compromise the planet as habitat for mankind.
“I think it’s about time we go deeper into the skills and talents of our great Filipino ingenuity,” Victor said. “It’s about time the Filipino takes advantage of his gifts and skills.”
The research on the potential of algae as fuel source for space vehicles also aims to create awareness on biofuels as greener and renewable sources of energy, Baño said.
Don had long expected that the worst scenario of global warming, which could leave the planet inhabitable, would prompt mankind to look for a new home outside the planet Earth.
Mankind’s curiosity may also eventually lead to its colonization of space, he added.
“With this research, we also want to create an awareness that Filipinos must think bigger and outside the box,” Baño said. “We really need scientists and innovators here in the Philippines.”
The research on algae biofuel’s potential to power rockets is a pioneering work by an all-Filipino group of space exploration exponents, Baño noted.
Research conclusions
The group is confident research conclusions would point to algae as 100-percent fueling rockets for spacecrafts.
But if that’s impossible, a rocket 50- percent driven by fuel from algae will be a successful research just the same, Baño said.
“This is a Filipino contribution to space exploration,” he said. “It’s time we explore the boundaries of science and technology because the possibilities are really limitless. If we can contribute to the space industry, then why not?”
Baño emphasized the Philippines needs Filipino talent to advance itself from being a Third-world country to a First-world country.
“Our goal is to make the Philippines part of the mission of other countries’ spacefaring,” Baño said.
The OrbX is a nonprofit group of young Filipino space exploration advocates.
The group is composed of, among others, a math wizard, a physicist, an electrical engineer, a space engineer and a astrophysics student.
Image credits: Oliver Samson