First test of tropical seaweed farming for biofuels production begins off Puerto Rico
Charles Rotter
WOODS HOLE, Mass. and La Parguera, P.R. – A team of researchers led by Loretta Roberson of the Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, has installed the first seaweed farm in Puerto Rico and U.S. tropical waters.
The research array furthers the design and development of a system for offshore cultivation of tropical seaweeds to support large-scale production of biomass for biofuels and other valuable bioproducts.
“Puerto Rico has stable warm temperatures and ample sunlight year-round, as well as a wide range of exposure to prevailing winds and waves. These conditions make its southern coastline an ideal test bed for exploring how environmental conditions influence the biological, physiological, and chemical properties of cultivated macroalgae, as well as the impact of seaweed farms on the surrounding environment,” says Roberson, the lead principal investigator on this research effort. Additional farms are being tested in Florida and Belize to assess scalability.
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2021/05/14/first-test-of-tropical-seaweed-farming-for-biofuels-production-begins-off-puerto-rico/