Japanese researchers have discovered a new type of phytoplankton that could be converted into petroleum.
The phytoplankton were found during a voyage in 2013 aboard the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology’s (JAMSTEC) research vessel Mirai in the Chuckchi and Beaufort Seas.
The original research showed that the phytoplankton could produce a specific component from petroleum.
Since then, scientists have determined that this particular phytoplankton can fabricate, assemble and stockpile the same material that’s in diesel fuel and gasoline.
Producing that fuel in bulk, though, would require a lot of work.
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