Biofuels & Bioenergy

Seaweeds (macroalgae) have been recently attracting more and more interest as a third generation feedstock for bioenergy and biofuels. However, several barriers impede the deployment of competitive seaweed-derived energy. The high cost associated to seaweed farming and harvesting as well as their seasonal availability and biochemical composition currently make macroalgae exploitation too expensive for energy production only. Recent studies have indicated a possible solution may lay in seaweed integrated biorefinery, in which a bioenergy and/or biofuel production step ends an extractions cascade of high-value chemicals. This results in the double benefit of producing renewable energy while adopting a zero waste approach, as fostered by recent EU societal challenges. This study investigates the biogas potential of residues from Ulva spp. seaweed after biorefinery extractions, which resulted close to raw un-extracted seaweed.