Norwegian researchers producing biocrude from kelp

October 23, 2014 |

In Norway, the sea has long been a source of the country’s riches, whether from cod, farmed salmon or oil. Now one researcher from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) researcher hopes to add seaweed to this list as he refines a way to produce “biocrude” from common kelp.

Using small quartz tube “reactors” – which look like tiny sealed straws – researchers heated the reactor containing a slurry made from the kelp biomass and water to 350 degrees C at a very high rate of 585 degrees C per minute.

The technique, called fast hydrothermal liquefaction, gave him a bio-oil yield of 79%. That means that 79 % of the kelp biomass in the reactors was converted to bio-oil. A similar study in the UK using the same species of kelp yielded just 19%. The secret is the rapid heating.

 

Category: Research

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