Transparent sea squirt (Ciona intestinalis)

robert99

robert99

On the boat
Joined
Jan 24, 2016
Reaction score
266
Location
Beyond The Furthest point of Navigation
Swedish research into using the transparent sea squirt (Ciona intestinalis) as a bioenergy source and to take up nitrogen and phosphor from the oceans Vegans now have to contemplate about using electricity!
Research to make biogas from sea squirts gains funding
Biogas från havet kan ge energi - DN.SE

More details at http://www.nordicinnovation.org/Doc...ect/Algae activities in Sweden_Eva Albers.pdf
of this and other marine research as biomass

and Patent CA2778152A1 - A system to produce feedstock for biogas production

So we've come to the time when we harvest living creatures for electricity.
 
It's frustrating that with all the myriad ways most humans exploit animals already, they still manage to think of new ones.

I'd like to see vegetative waste we try to get rid of right now (some of the leaves which fall in Autumn, some of the inedible crop residue) be digested for biogas instead. I know some crop residue must be left on the field to protect against erosion, but much of it could be digested and the non-cellulose residue left after digestion could be returned to the land, I think. I believe the main problem with this is that inedible plant residue is mostly cellulose, which is hard for many organisms to break down.
 
Yeah, we have already Preem's HVO biodiesel made of 100% slaughterhouse waste - HVO Diesel 100- even though they keep pushing that HVO diesel is "partly" made with waste from the lumber/forestry/timber industries.

Did not think of the Matrix - this is a cruder version
 
Last edited:
It's sad that people have such a disconnect from other animals as living, feeling beings that they would even consider this in the first place.
 
I did a bit of googling. Evidently this particular species of sea squirt is considered invasive in many places- like zebra mussels, they get carried around by ships and form colonies when they get the chance. Sometimes they grow so thickly that they cause problems, and they would have been removed anyway. But the article sounds almost like they're being "planted" and "harvested"... not very bright IF this IS actually being done, seeing as they cause problems.

They're interesting animals in their own way. Their nervous systems are very simple, and the adult form stays in one place without moving around, but their larvae can swim and look like little tadpoles. Strangest of all, they're more closely related to vertebrates like fish than to jellyfish, clams, or other animals with very simple nervous systems.
 
Marin Biogas | Vår idé is the people doing the research.
The project started in 2010 to cleanse the Baltic of excess nitrogen and phosphor that causes an enormous dead zone. That it also can be used for biogas was an extra. The idea was to sell the biogas for vehicles but it also can be used for electricity production.
Acoording to the website, they use the same cultivation method as for blue mussels which can be seen here -http://www.seafish.org/media/401784/ropemussel_cultivation.pdf Which is ropes suspended in the ocean from large rafts or "long lines". The amount needed though to make a difference to the Baltic must be mind-boggling!
 
Top Bottom