Environmental perspectives on using cast seaweed for biogas production

Solrød Municipality, Denmark is working towards building a biogas plant utilizing locally available organic wastes including cast seaweed, which is collected each year, since the local inhabitants see this material as a nuisance. A preliminary study suggested favorable conditions for contstructing a mixed substrate biogas plant. Continuously fed reactor experiments showed that the intended mix of substrate including cast seaweed could be used as raw material for a biogas plant in thermophilic operation. The environmental analysis suggests existence of several positive benefits of utilizing cast seaweed in Solrød, among which are: Production of renewable energy, greenhouse gas reduction, nutrient recycling and odor reduction.