Journal of Fundamentals of Renewable Energy and Applications
Open Access
ISSN: 2090-4541
+44 1300 500008
ISSN: 2090-4541
+44 1300 500008
Silvia Tedesco
Scientific Tracks Abstracts: J Fundam Renewable Energy Appl
Seaweeds (macroalgae) have been recently attracting more and more interest as a third generation feedstock for bioenergy
and biofuels. However, several barriers impede the deployment of competitive seaweed-derived energy. The high cost
associated to seaweed farming and harvesting as well as their seasonal availability and biochemical composition currently
make macroalgae exploitation too expensive for energy production only. Recent studies have indicated a possible solution may
lay in seaweed integrated biorefinery, in which a bioenergy and/or biofuel production step ends an extractions cascade of highvalue
chemicals. This results in the double benefit of producing renewable energy while adopting a zero waste approach, as
fostered by recent EU societal challenges. This study investigates the biogas potential of residues from Ulva spp. seaweed after
biorefinery extractions, which resulted close to raw un-extracted seaweed.
Silvia Tedesco is a Lecturer and Researcher at Dublin City University. She finished her IRCSET sponsored PhD in 2013, and currently is Co-principal Investigator
of two research grants on biogas generation, funded by Enterprise Ireland and SFI. Her research interests involve seaweed-based biorefinery, biogas production,
biomethane upgrade and CHP generation.