UK to Use Seaweed as Low Emission Fuel

by TFleming | December 19, 2008 at 02:26 pm

415 views | 14 Recommendations | 14 comments

A new project is underway in Britain that will use seaweed and other marine plant algae as a source for low emission fuel for automobiles. The Marine Scientists from Scotland are using these "Mari-fuels" in hopes that it will replace other forms of fuel that are more damaging to the environment. The £5 million study has been funded by the European Union is looking to exploit the abundant source of marine plant life along the coastal sections of the British Coastline.

The study holds great importance for Britain as it could help it achieve the emissions targets set by the EU. British government would be keening waiting for the outcome of the study as it sees fuels from plants an instrument to reduce or at least neutralize its carbon emissions. Britain wants 2.5 percent of all petrol and diesel to be produced from renewable sources like plants.
The biggest advantage of exploiting biofuels from marine plant algae is that it’s a completely natural process which requires almost no anthropogenic activity. They grow at a much greater rate as compared to the food crops, no environment degrading fertilizers are required and no deforestation. The seaweeds derive energy from ammonia produced as waste from farms of salmon fish. So it’s actually fuel from waste.

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Amy Judd

at 15:44 on December 19th, 2008

What a great idea - there is certainly enough seaweed washed up on England's beaches to use; the danger of course is that they would run out of seaweed on the beaches and then have to take it from the sea, which is not such a good idea.

NataliePOURVOUS

at 16:11 on December 19th, 2008

Picture taken on the island Gotland, Sweden, summer 2007 during sunset.

NataliePOURVOUS has contributed a photo to this story.

caito

at 19:10 on December 19th, 2008

Photo of a lady in Shenzhen, China sorting and drying seaweed along the ocean. Taken in the spring of 2008.

caito has contributed a photo to this story.

jmem0ly

at 08:16 on December 20th, 2008

Seaweed at Fossil Beach in Kodiak, AK

jmem0ly has contributed a photo to this story.

mezze

at 12:44 on December 20th, 2008

it's not about seaweed, it's about algae..

sleeperbloke

at 13:49 on December 20th, 2008

Seaweed, East Neuk, Fife, Scotland.

sleeperbloke has contributed a photo to this story.

montymintypie

at 16:24 on December 20th, 2008

Took this one afternoon... VERY windy, seaweed all washed up on the path. As I have an EOS 400D, I couldn't actually see how this was going to turn out, as it was too low to look through the viewfinder. However, it turned out just like I wanted it too.

montymintypie has contributed a photo to this story.

Pythiian1

at 18:51 on December 20th, 2008

It's a good idea, but what happens when the project starts to tap into the ocean's natural resource, which nurtures and feeds countless species?

Paschen

at 03:59 on December 21st, 2008

That is an interesting Idea. We eat it here.

justseaweed

at 12:42 on December 21st, 2008

Here on the Isle of Bute scotland we already export seaweed for bathing and detox www.justseaweed.com seaweed has many uses.

luis sainz

at 01:22 on December 22nd, 2008

Amazonic forest or "just" seaweed

luis sainz has contributed a photo to this story.

jo campos

at 11:33 on December 22nd, 2008

This is just a simple photo of some seaweed-covered rocks at Peralta, a beach in the Portuguese center west coast.
I am always fascinated by these "small worlds", deserted at first sight but revealing a tiny, surprisingly diverse, always busy population under a closer look.
Water being life, these small brooks created by the low tide are the support to a whole community of live beings, essential to the global life cycle, though small and humble they seem to be.

jo campos has contributed a photo to this story.