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| Algae bloom in Puget Sound near Edmonds (Photo credit: EcologyWA) |
It has been said many times that Algae are organisms useful in many ways in the transition towards a bio-economy and a report from Technical Research Centre of Finland (VTT) adds value to this.
The reports finds even in a cool climate as in Finland, algae might be used to produce bio-chemicals and biofuels, besides use in capture of industrial carbon dioxide emissions. Algae are not yet profitably cultivated for energy production purposes but many countries are working on this as they see value in the research.
The cultivation is challenging especially in cool climate where there is little daylight in winter as Algae need warmth to grow. In the Finnish climate it makes sense to link algae cultivation to industrial operations where residual heat is available to heat algae cultivation ponds or reactors. Energy is also needed for harvesting and water extraction. In the program ‘SWEET’, VTT collaborated with Kemira to develop chemical means for enhancing the harvesting and drying stage.
Read more here...
Read more here...