Developments in seaweed biofuels

A new system has been developed by researchers at the Bio Architecture Lab in California that can convert fronds of brown seaweed into biofuel, creating new potential for biofuel feedstocks.

The microbe-based system can produce a variety of products, and may be used for more than just ethanol production. It genetically engineers bacteria to break down a previously inaccessible sugar in seaweed called alginate, and by changing components, other biofuels, such as butanol, could be created.

Scientists will now explore how economically feasible the process will be, as well as how environmentally attractive it is.

Early reports suggest that 60 billion gallons of alternative biofuel could be extracted from seaweed at just three per cent of the world's coastlines. Commercial growth of brown seaweed is already occurring in many countries, with four seaweed farms in operation in Chile.

According to Chris Somerville, director of the Energy Biosciences Institute, who wasn't involved in the study: "There is a lot of biomass in the ocean, and so far people haven't really found ways to substantially exploit it."

Posted by Joseph Hutton