Biotech Updates

University of Greenwich Studies Biofuel from Macroalgae

May 4, 2016
http://www.biofuelsdigest.com/bdigest/2016/04/27/university-of-greenwich-researchers-find-challenges-with-macroalgae-in-the-uk/

Researchers at the University of Greenwich have conducted a study that views opportunities for macroalgae production for biofuels in the British Isles. Specifically, they studied the processing pipeline for the sustainable production of biofuels from seaweed.

The production of biofuel from seaweed was economically, energetically and technically challenging at scale. Any successful process appears to require both a method of preserving the seaweed for continuous feedstock availability as well as a method that uses the entire biomass. Ensiling and gasification of the seaweeds offer a potential solution to these two requirements. However, there is need for more data before it can be applied at a commercial scale.