Journal article
Bioenergy potential of Ulva lactuca: Biomass yield, methane production and combustion
Aarhus University1
Danish Technological Institute2
Bioenergy and Biomass, Biosystems Division, Risø National Laboratory for Sustainable Energy, Technical University of Denmark3
Biosystems Division, Risø National Laboratory for Sustainable Energy, Technical University of Denmark4
Risø National Laboratory for Sustainable Energy, Technical University of Denmark5
The biomass production potential at temperate latitudes (56°N), and the quality of the biomass for energy production (anaerobic digestion to methane and direct combustion) were investigated for the green macroalgae, Ulva lactuca. The algae were cultivated in a land based facility demonstrating a production potential of 45 T (TS) ha−1 y−1.
Biogas production from fresh and macerated U. lactuca yielded up to 271 ml CH4 g−1 VS, which is in the range of the methane production from cattle manure and land based energy crops, such as grass-clover. Drying of the biomass resulted in a 5–9-fold increase in weight specific methane production compared to wet biomass.
Ash and alkali contents are the main challenges in the use of U. lactuca for direct combustion. Application of a bio-refinery concept could increase the economical value of the U. lactuca biomass as well as improve its suitability for production of bioenergy.
| Language: | English |
|---|---|
| Year: | 2011 |
| Pages: | 2595-2604 |
| ISSN: | 09608524 and 18732976 |
| Types: | Journal article |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.biortech.2010.10.010 |
| ORCIDs: | 0000-0002-7940-1338 , 0000-0001-5427-2026 and 0000-0002-8864-6716 |
Biofuels Biomass Conservation of Energy Resources Energy Transfer Methane Ulva
