大型緑藻アオサ類による高効率バイオマス生産(<特集>水生・海洋バイオマスの生産および燃料への転換技術の開発現状と展望)
スポンサーリンク
概要
- 論文の詳細を見る
Recently, algae have frequently been proposed as useful for both fixing CO_2 and producing bioenergy. A new tank culture system for macroalgal biomass production was designed and, based on this system, a commercial-scale plant for production of seaweed biomass for human food was first built in Muroto, Kochi Prefecture, Japan in 2004. The plant is now operating within balanced budget financing since 2009. This plant applies a new "germling cluster method" for dense tank culture of seaweed in free-floating form. A continuous supply of deep seawater provides constant temperature and inorganic nutrient richness, with a low risk of contamination. The tanks are placed in multistep series, saving enegy input to the system. As a result, actual biomass production of edible green laver, Ulva prolifera, has constantly yielded 3 t-dry per year in the total tank volume of 487 m^3 in the plant. This productivity equates to 17g-dry biomass m^<-2> day^<-1>. To realize more intensive algal biomass culture, Ulva strains with a very high daily growth rate of more than 100% have been isolated, compared with 40% in U. prolifera. The use of these strains and rearrangement of the multistep tank series may increase the productivity up to 50 g-dry m^<-2> day^<-1>.
- 2012-11-20