ROMAN baths have a reputation for their restorative health properties, but could now be the key to unlocking commercial scale production of biofuel from algae.
Researchers from Bath University have been studying algae found in the town’s Roman baths to find ways to make the production of biodiesel from algae commercially viable.
Biodiesel can be produced by extracting the oil from the algae cell, with certain types of algae having a higher oil content.
But although research has already been carried out into creating biofuel from algae over the past 20 years, limitations have prevented the technology being used on a large scale.
PhD student Holly Smith-Baedorf is working on the project. She said: “Algae are usually happiest growing at temperatures around 25C, and that can limit the places in which it can be cultivated on a large scale.
“Areas where these ideal conditions are available also usually make good arable areas and are therefore needed for food production.
“In an ideal world we would like to grow algae in desert areas where there are huge expanses of land that don’t have other uses, but the temperatures in these zones are too high for algae to flourish.”
The algae growing in the hot water of the Roman baths is perfect for the research.
The protected environment in the baths gives an ideal environment in which adaptation can take place. The King’s Bath is 46C and the Great Bath is 39C; both have remained constant for many years.
The temperature of the Roman baths is created by rain falling in the Mendip Hills, and running down through limestone at 10,000-14,000ft (3,000-4,200m) below ground, where thermal temperatures can reach nearly 100C.
Pressure builds up and pushes the water up through faults in the limestone, surfacing at about 250,000 gallons a day in the Roman baths.