Marine biomass research in Florida. [Gracilaria tikvahiae, Ulva Lactuca]

Conference · Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1983 · Soil Crop Sci. Soc. Fla., Proc.; (United States)

OSTI ID:6860018

Ryther, J H

The red alga Gracilaria tikvahiae may be grown outdoors year-round in central Florida with yields averaging 35.5 g dry weight/sq. m/day, greater than the most productive terrestrial plants. This occurs when the plants are grown in suspended culture, with vigorous aeration and an exchange of 25 or more culture volumes of enriched seawater per day. A culture system was designed in which Gracilaria, stocked at a density of 2 kg wet weight/sq.m, grows to double its biomass in one to two weeks; it is then harvested to its starting density, and anaerobically digested to methane. The biomass is soaked for 6 hours in the digester residue, storing enough nutrients for two week's growth in unenriched seawater. The methane is combusted for energy and the waste gas is fed to the culture to provide mixing of CO/sub 2/ eliminating the need for aeration and seawater exchange. The green alga Ulva lactuca, unlike Gracilaria, uses bicarbonate as a photosynthesis carbon source, and can be grown at high pH, with little or no free CO/sub 2/. It can therefore produce higher yields than Gracilaria in low water exchange conditions. It is also more efficiently converted to methane than is Gracilaria, but cannot tolerate Florida's summer temperatures so cannot be grown year-round. Attempts are being made to locate or produce through selective breeding, a high-temperature tolerant strain of Ulva. 21 references.

• Research Organization: Univ. of Florida, Gainesville
• OSTI ID: 6860018
• Report Number(s): CONF-8210267-
• Journal Information: Soil Crop Sci. Soc. Fla., Proc.; (United States), Vol. 42; Conference: Annual meeting Soil and Crop Science Society of Florida, Tallahassee, FL, USA, 20 Oct 1982
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

09 BIOMASS FUELS
ALGAE
ANAEROBIC DIGESTION
CULTIVATION TECHNIQUES
FLORIDA
RESEARCH PROGRAMS
METHANE
PRODUCTION
ULVA
AERATION
AQUACULTURE
BIOMASS PLANTATIONS
CARBON DIOXIDE
FIELD TESTS
NUTRIENTS
PLANT GROWTH
SEAS
SEAWATER
ALKANES
BIOCONVERSION
CARBON COMPOUNDS
CARBON OXIDES
CHALCOGENIDES
DIGESTION
FEDERAL REGION IV
GROWTH
HYDROCARBONS
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
MANAGEMENT
NORTH AMERICA
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PLANTS
PROCESSING
SURFACE WATERS
TESTING
USA
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTE PROCESSING
WATER
090122* - Hydrocarbon Fuels- Preparation from Wastes or Biomass- (1976-1989)
140504 - Solar Energy Conversion- Biomass Production & Conversion- (-1989)