You are not logged in.
Florida issues health alert over toxic algae called 'red tide' that causes irritation and cough
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/arti … cough.html
United Airlines wants to turn algae into jet fuel
https://thehill.com/homenews/3901217-un … -jet-fuel/
United announced the $5 million investment in the biofuel company Viridos on Monday. Viridos specializes in bioengineering microalgae into algae oil, which could one day be scaled to produce sustainable aviation fuel, aka SAF.
Offline
Like button can go here
Microalgae – The Future of Superfoods?
https://scitechdaily.com/microalgae-the … uperfoods/
Biotech crops widely used, consumers still wary of GM wheat
https://www.manitobacooperator.ca/crops … -gm-wheat/
Big oil firms touted algae as climate solution. Now all have pulled funding
https://www.theguardian.com/environment … exxonmobil
The Next Generation of Biofuels Could Come From These Five Crops
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovati … 180965099/
Researchers are currently developing biofuels from these abundant species, which require relatively little land, water and fertilizer
Is Algae Worse than Corn for Biofuels?
https://www.scientificamerican.com/arti … al-impact/
Algae production consumes more energy, has higher greenhouse gas emissions and uses more water than other biofuel sources, like corn, switch grass and canola, Clarens and his colleagues found by using a statistical model to compare growth data of algae with conventional crops.
Algae production consumes more energy, has higher greenhouse gas emissions and uses more water than other biofuel sources, like corn, switch grass and canola
Insiders aren’t surprised as ExxonMobil, the last remaining proponent of green algae
Offline
Like button can go here
Algae Fuel Company That Exxon Once Bankrolled Finds New Funders
https://financialpost.com/pmn/business- … ew-funders
Industrial Decarbonization
https://www.viridos.com/technology
Viridos’ vision is to provide scalable algae biofuels through higher algae oil productivity and advanced agronomy.
Lichens are in danger of losing the evolutionary race with climate change
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2 … 075122.htm
The algae part of many common lichens can’t adapt to temperature change as fast as the Earth is warming
Offline
Like button can go here
The Omega System or Omega Project from 2009-2012
The consists of large flexible plastic tubes floating in seawater with freshwater algae growing in wastewater. The algae use energy from the sun, carbon dioxide and nutrients from the wastewater to produce biomass
'Offshore Membrane Enclosures for Growing Algae (OMEGA) is an innovative method to grow algae, clean wastewater, capture carbon dioxide and to ultimately produce biofuel without competing with agriculture for water, fertilizer or land.'
https://www.nasa.gov/centers/ames/resea … index.html
NASA’s OMEGA system consists of large flexible plastic tubes, called photobioreactors. Floating in seawater, the photobioreactors contain freshwater algae growing in wastewater. These algae are among the fastest-growing plants on Earth.
https://scitechdaily.com/nasa-explores- … ion-fuels/
OMEGA Project Accomplishments:
(NASA OMEGA project: Jan 2010 – May 2012)
Demonstrated controlled microalgae growth on wastewater in floating PBRs.
Operated 100, 200, 1,600, and 3,200-liter PBR systems for repeated algal growth cycles.
Showed that forward osmosis could be potentially coupled with OMEGA to enhance both biomass production and wastewater treatment.
Showed efficient uptake of CO2 using gas exchange column.
Developed protocols for harvesting algae and controlling grazers.
Determined impact of biofouling.
Offline
Like button can go here
Farms Feeds for Cattle and Even Algae as far away as the South Pole has plastic contamination
Seaweed saviour? Marine algae touted as fix for cattle burps
https://www.albertafarmexpress.ca/news/ … tle-burps/
How algae is soaking up microplastics and carrying them into our food
https://inews.co.uk/news/environment/al … od-2299653
Microplastics are travelling all the way along the aquatic food chain, starting with algae and ending up on our dinner plates
Algae fuel, algal biofuel, or algal oil is an alternative to liquid fossil fuels that uses algae as its source of energy-rich oils. Also, algae fuels are an alternative to commonly known biofuel sources, such as corn and sugarcane.When made from seaweed (macroalgae) it can be known as seaweed fuel or seaweed oil.
Algae can be converted into various types of fuels, depending on the production technologies and the part of the cells used. The lipid, or oily part of the algae biomass can be extracted and converted into biodiesel through a process similar to that used for any other vegetable oil, or converted in a refinery into "drop-in" replacements for petroleum-based fuels. Alternatively or following lipid extraction, the carbohydrate content of algae can be fermented into bioethanol or butanol fuel.
https://web.archive.org/web/20090218225 … eID=135399
Trials of using algae as biofuel were carried out by Lufthansa and Virgin Atlantic as early as 2008, although there is little evidence that using algae is a reasonable source for jet biofuels. By 2015, cultivation of fatty acid methyl esters and alkenones from the algae, Isochrysis, was under research as a possible jet biofuel feedstock.
https://web.archive.org/web/20080229004 … 261214.stm
,
https://www.whoi.edu/oceanus/feature/je … from-algae
Reindeer moss, or C ladonia rangiferina, is a fruticose lichen that is a staple food of reindeer and caribou. Two problems often encountered with eating lichens is that they usually contain mildly toxic secondary compounds, and that lichen polysaccharides are generally indigestible to humans.
Ethnolichenology is the study of the relationship between lichens and people. Lichens have and are being used for many different purposes by human cultures across the world. The most common human use of lichens is for painting dye, but they have also been used for medicine, food.
Many human cultures have discovered preparation techniques to overcome these problems. Wila (Bryoria fremontii), an edible lichen that is an important traditional food for some indigenous peoples in North America, a dark brown, horsehair lichen known to the Native American Indian culture that grows hanging from trees in western North America, and northern Europe and Asia. It grows abundantly in some areas, an important traditional food for a few First Nations in North America. Recent analytics within the field have identified 15 kinds of edible lichen, which have been mostly found in China. Due to its rubbery consistency, individuals within China fry, boil, and pressure-cook edible lichens. Further, edible lichens can be made into beverages such as tea. In the past Iceland moss (Cetraria islandica) was an important human food in northern Europe and Scandinavia, and was cooked in many different ways, such as bread, porridge, pudding, soup, or salad.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/a … 3918300388
Last edited by Mars_B4_Moon (2023-04-28 08:05:03)
Offline
Like button can go here
Algae used for new materials and energy
https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/pr … /102279874
Lichens we consume, lichens we admire
https://biodiversity.utexas.edu/news/en … -we-admire
Because lichens are very slow growers, most folks that practice lichen dyeing do what is called “salvage botany” for gathering the lichens to avoid damaging colonies. For example, they may harvest lichens from fallen tree branches or lichens that have been dislodged from growing surfaces by weather events.
Many lichens contain acids that hold what are called “precursors of colors,” meaning that a fixative is not necessary to achieve the desired color result. Colors for lichen-based dyes are quite stunning. From purple, to pink, to mustard yellow. Red is one of the rarest colors. Getting green requires the careful addition of a toxic modifier called copper sulfate, not a process for the novice! Fibers that take the dye best are cellulose fibers such as cotton and linen. Animal fibers like wool also work. These dyed fibers are then used for things like clothing, rugs, and textile art.
When it comes to eating or drinking a lichen, some can be consumed although great care must be taken due to food safety issues and potent toxins that many lichens have.
Just a few of the edible lichen species include Bryoria fremontii, “Icelandic lichen” (Cetraria islandica), “Rock Tripe” (Umbulicaria), Parmelia (known in Telugu as “rathapu” or “rock flower), and Lungwort" or "lung lichen" (Lobaria pulmonaria).
The most popular of the edible lichens is the "Caribou lichen," which are actually a number of terricolous (ground-growing) species, with the majority belonging to the genera Cetraria and Cladonia. This lichen is popular because it has less harmful acid. It’s called the Caribou lichen because it is a crucial component of the Caribou diet. Their stomachs are able to tolerate this lichen’s acid in ways ours are not. It is not uncommon for hunters like the Inuit to extract and consume the lichen from the Caribou stomach. They consider it a warm post-hunt delicacy.
Cooks that want to leach the acid from this lichen can do it without having to pass into a Caribou’s belly. After several washes, the lichen soaks overnight in water. The cook then boils it lightly with some baking soda. Once dried, it can be ground and used as a bread extender. One recipe combines it with wheat flour to make a pizza!
Historically, describing lichen use in human cuisine could fill pages. These here are just a few examples. In the mid 18th century, Europe suffered frosts and a drought that caused a famine. During this time, people used lichens as a food source. The Turks sometimes made jelly from the Oakmoss lichen (Evernia prunastri). Egyptians also imported this lichen to use for bread baking. Some Napalese ethnic groups steam lichens for curries, pickles, soups and a traditional dish called Sargyangma. This is a type of sausage with pork, pork blood, eggs, rice and spices. The Japanese have harvested Umbilicaria, known as “iwatake,” at least as far back as the 17th century. Many indigenous peoples in North America have been cooking with countless species of lichen for centuries.
Because lichens have carbohydrates, they’ve been useful for alcohol production. Long ago, Siberian monks integrated the lung lichen in beer brewing at their monastery. In the 1800’s for about half a century, Sweden led the world in lichen alcohol production in a drink called “lichen brandy.” It was viewed as an alternative to grain alcohol. Lichen brandy was a big hit, and it was also used in the making of Akvavit, a traditional caraway-flavored spirit.
And let’s not overlook the use of lichens in cosmetics and perfumes! Today the major perfume lichens are Oakmoss and Treemoss (Pseudevernia furfuracea). Lichen extracts are fixatives and provide what is called “base notes” in a perfume, where floral essences supply the “top notes.” In perfumery, base notes are less volatile, evaporate slowly and so are not perceived until some time after application.
What animal eats lichens?
Lichens are eaten by many small invertebrates, including species of bristletails (Thysanura), springtails (Collembola), termites (Isoptera), psocids or barklice (Psocoptera), grasshoppers (Orthoptera), snails and slugs (Mollusca), web-spinners (Embioptera), butterflies and moths (Lepidoptera) and mites (Acari).
What eats lichen in the Arctic tundra?
In the Arctic, lichens are important in the winter diets of reindeer and caribou.
Lichens are one of the ingredients celebrated in a book The Boreal Feast: A Culinary Journey Through the North.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/193 … real-feast
Last edited by Mars_B4_Moon (2023-05-12 03:29:44)
Offline
Like button can go here
"They grew the microalgae under artificial light"
Algae biofuels still a no-go, new research confirms
https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/fo … h-confirms
Offline
Like button can go here
Conservation experts want to protect UK's lichen and temperate rainforests
Offline
Like button can go here
Resistance of the Lichen Buellia frigida to Simulated Space Conditions during the Preflight Tests for BIOMEX—Viability Assay and Morphological Stability
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4554929/
This lichen is an endemic, crustose lichen species that frequently colonizes rocky habitats of maritime and continental Antarctica
another topic
Antarctica as a Mars Analogue
https://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php?id=9798
Last edited by Mars_B4_Moon (2023-11-01 08:42:48)
Offline
Like button can go here
Biofuel and Foods
Isis sugar mill plans to use wastewater to grow algae for human food and fuel
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-11-13/ … /103083672
Offline
Like button can go here
a way to make fuel and also it can offer help to monitor air and pollution within a large biodome
Reindeer can chew food in their sleep
https://www.snexplores.org/article/rein … food-sleep
Yorkshire moors home to various fungi and lichen you can see throughout the winter
https://www.harrogateadvertiser.co.uk/n … er-4522103
Dedicated to the conservation of lichens in Wales
https://wales-lichens.org.uk/species-ac … a-lucifuga
Caloplaca lucifuga
Algal biofuels
https://www.rsb.org.uk/biologist-featur … wiMScuIl0=
What downsides are there to a low pressure dome over a Mars base?
https://space.stackexchange.com/questio … -base?rq=1
Last edited by Mars_B4_Moon (2024-02-19 06:15:36)
Offline
Like button can go here
US government to award $18.8m for algae biomass research
https://www.bioenergy-news.com/news/us- … -research/
Offline
Like button can go here
Toxic algae blooms hit Inland Empire lakes, threaten people and pets
https://www.sbsun.com/2024/05/17/toxic- … -and-pets/
Offline
Like button can go here