#sea algae

[homedecorthings]

Blue Ochtodes, a beautiful marine algae.

[sciencealert]

TIL that chalk is actually tiny protists called foraminifera mixed with the corpses of sea algae. 😮 📷: PLOS Biology http://ift.tt/29SIFm8

[kiat-korea]

The world’s first sea algae bio-ethanol plant

Seeing that demand for bio-ethanol is likely to keep on increasing, Korea has built a full-scale commercial bio-ethanol plant using sea algae as its base material.

In initial trials, the production yield of sea algae bio-ethanol was 20% of the base material, indicating sufficient economic feasibility to replace grain-based bio-ethanol.

Sea algae has many advantages over grain for bio-ethanol production. First, it’s non-edible so does not impact the food consumption markets for grain. It’s cheap to grow and harvest thanks to being grown in large ocean spaces, and it can capture up to 7 times more carbon dioxide than grain, making the farming very eco-friendly. And one particular algae, red sea algae, contains far more carbohydrate compared to corn. 

In addition to bio-energy, long-term plans for sea algae usage include bio-chemicals, foods and medicines.