http://www.thenational.ae/uae/environment/uae-scientists-hope-to-transform-abu-dhabi-coastline-into-profitable-green-biofuel
Dr Mette Hedegaard Thomsen, Grzegorz Przemyslaw Brudecki and Reda Farzanah
November 2, 2013 Updated: November 2, 2013 17:18:00
All along the UAE’s 2,000 kilometres of coastline, sea grass and seaweed
grow. And while many might neglect or even fail to notice them, these
plants could just provide a useful future industry for Abu Dhabi.
These salt-water loving plants are packed with sugar, protein, and a
wide range of biologically active compounds. And just as corn can turned
into ethanol, they can be grown and converted into biofuels that can be
used in place of carbon-emitting fossil fuels.
Not only that, they have known medical properties and have been used as
traditional remedies for untold years. And they are productive – up to
10 times more so than land plants – as mini-factories for natural
sugars, proteins, and bioactive compounds that can be extracted and
turned into food supplements, medicines and other products.
Such bio-chemical refining is expected to become a very lucrative and
high demand industry in the coming years, providing Abu Dhabi with a new
range of export products.
To help capitalise on this dual potential, our research team at the
Masdar Institute is exploring whether these local plants can be used to
create fuel and chemicals that have economic value for the UAE.
We are gathering samples of locally-grown plants and examining their
chemical components and energy value to find out what they can be used for.
So far we have found three different types of sea grass, and more than
eight interesting seaweeds that have adapted to the UAE’s extreme
conditions – of which three thrive especially well.
The project also aims to discover ideal ways of extracting, isolating,
and analysing the materials found in the plant matter, and of optimising
biofuels processes to suit these new aquatic biomasses.
We hope our project will eventually provide the UAE with the information
and methodology it needs to turn its coastline into farms for native
aquatic plant life that will provide the country with new and diverse
revenue sources from the resulting biofuel and biochemicals. We then
intend to seek out industrial partners to put our findings to commercial
use.
We hope to be able to provide efficient chemical and biotech processes
to extract and convert biomass components into valuable, marketable
products.
It is our hope that in time, the UAE may see many otherwise unused miles
of coastland be turned into productive, profitable and green biofuel and
biochemical producing farmlands.
This could also help Abu Dhabi reduce its carbon footprint and improve
its environmental status, as cultivating sea grass and seaweed will help
remove carbon from the atmosphere and filter water while providing
vibrant and beneficial natural habitats.
Dr Mette Hedegaard Thomsen is an assistant professor of chemical
engineering at the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology. Grzegorz
Przemyslaw Brudecki is a post-doctoral researcher and Reda Farzanah is a
chemical engineering student, both working on the project.
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