University of Greenwich researchers find challenges with macroalgae in the UK

In the UK, researchers at the University of Greenwich have published a study that takes a critical view to opportunities for macroalgae production for biofuels in the British Isles, in particular for the MacroBioCrude processing pipeline for the sustainable manufacture of liquid hydrocarbon fuels from seaweed in the UK.

The production of biofuel from seaweed is economically, energetically and technically challenging at scale. Any successful process appears to require both a method of preserving the seaweed for continuous feedstock availability and a method exploiting the entire biomass. Ensiling and gasification offer a potential solution to these two requirements. However there is need for more data particularly at a commercial scale