Aquapreneur » sustainable

Solazyme Delivers 100% Algal-Derived Renewable Jet Fuel to U.S. Navy

Admin — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 19:30:12 +0000

Solazyme, Inc. is helping the U.S. military move closer to powering its planes, ships, tanks and trucks on renewable fuel and has delivered of 1,500 gallons of 100% algae-based jet fuel for the U.S. Navy’s testing and certification program. The U.S. Navy has previously announced the objective to operate at least 50% of its fleet on clean, renewable fuel by 2020, and the delivery fulfills a contract awarded to Solazyme by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) in September 2009.

Solazyme, a renewable oil and green bioproducts company and leader in algal biotechnology, manufactured the world’s first 100% algal-based jet fuel through its proprietary fermentation process in collaboration with renewable jet fuel processing technology from Honeywell’s UOP. Solazyme’s renewable Solajet(TM)HRJ-5 is designed to meet all of the requirements for Naval renewable aviation fuel. In preliminary tests, it also meets the fuel requirements of the U.S. Air Force and meets the standards for commercial jet fuel.

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Algal Biomass Summit Releases Meeting Agenda

Admin — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 19:10:40 +0000

The 2010 Algae Biomass Summit recently released the event’s newly-expanded agenda featuring more than 70 speakers and seven new sessions. The 4th annual event will be held September 28-30 at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge in Phoenix, Arizona.

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“Jelloware” Drinking Cups from Seaweed Extract

Admin — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 21:06:31 +0000

Design company The Way We See The World has developed “Jelloware” drinking cups made from agar agar, a seaweed extract.

From their website: ”Jelloware re-imagines the concept of drinking, and imparts a new experience in the way it feels, tastes, smells, moves, and is even disposed of. The cups are made entirely out of agar agar and cast in different flavors, such as lemon-basil, ginger-mint, or rosemary-beet, each specifically designed to compliment a corresponding drink. Jelloware is meant to be thrown into the grass after it is used, as agar agar is a seaweed extract and actually nurtures the growth of plants.”

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Chitin in anti-aging formulations

Admin — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 12:14:14 +0000

Technical paper by author Yash Kamath: Skin aging leads to decline in its functions such as increase in trans-epidermal water loss (TEWL), decrease in the production of collagen,elastin and the extracellular matrix (ECM). The overall effect is the thinning of the skin, dryness, and wrinkling. The ECM acts as a material transport medium for the cellular entities like the keratinocytes in the epidermis and fibroblasts in the dermis. Environmental factors damage the skin chemically by generating reactive oxygen species (ROS) and free radicals.

The protection of skin from these insults requires a group of actives consisting of cell protectants, antioxidants, and immunomodulant compounds. In this technical paper the authors have found that the concoction of these ingredients in the form of an emulsion works much better when chitin nanocrystals (nanofibers) are added. A number of factors indicative of anti-aging effects, such as fibroblast proliferation, collagen increase, ATP production etc. are significantly improved by the addition of chitin. The effect is attributed to the biocompatibility of products of chitin breakdown. It can promote the synthesis of hyaluronic acid. Penetration of chitooligomers generate glucosamine and N-acetyl-glucosamine which are incorporated into the ECM by phosphorylation.

Source: “Cosmetic science in skin aging: Achieving the efficacy by the chitin nano-structured crystallites”, P. Morganti et al., SOFW-Journal, 136, 14-24 (2010)

Bayou La Batre Breaks Ground on Seafood By-Product Processing Facility

Admin — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 15:59:10 +0000

Members of the Gulf Coast Agricultural and Seafood Co-op, along with elected officials and guests, break ground today on an eco-friendly seafood by-product processing facility that will ultimately provide products for commercial application to the fertilizer, poultry and pharmaceutical industries. The facility will also create new jobs in Bayou La Batre, Ala.

In 2009, the U.S. Department of Commerce jointly awarded the Alabama Farmers Market Authority and the Mobile County Commission a $3.2 million grant to help pay for the facility. Total cost of the project due for completion in January 2011 is $6 million.

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Aker Biomarine’s Krill Fisheries Receives Marine Stewardship Council Certification

Admin — Wed, 26 May 2010 16:36:47 +0000

Aker BioMarine has today received confirmation that its krill fisheries will be certified by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), an independent, global, non-profit organization that works to promote the best choices in sustainable seafood.

In future purchases of Aker BioMarine’s Superba(tm) and Qrill(tm) products, consumers can be assured that their Omega-3 rich krill products are harvested in an environmentally sustainable way.

MSC’s fishery certification program contributes to the health of the world’s oceans by recognizing and rewarding sustainable fishing practices, influencing the choices people make when buying seafood and working with partners to transform the seafood market to a sustainable basis. The MSC certification is a visible demonstration of Aker BioMarine’s long term commitment to the environment.

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Euromares 2010, held recently in Spain — results in advancement of marine and maritime policies of the EU

Admin — Fri, 21 May 2010 19:12:04 +0000

The latest advances and emerging ideas in the field of marine research, maritime innovation and the evaluation of the marine medium were at the forefront of the debates in the conference Euromares 2010, held from 18 to 19 May in Guijon, Spain.

Some 200 scientists, managers, politicians, authorities related to research and planning of the marine medium, NGO, the maritime industry and leaders of the maritime industry of all the Member States of the European Union (EU) participated in the event.

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Research Shows Chemicals from Seaweed Can Kill Coral

Admin — Fri, 14 May 2010 17:23:28 +0000

Field studies have shown for the first time that several common species of seaweeds in both the Pacific and Caribbean Oceans can kill corals upon contact using chemical means.

While competition between seaweed and coral is just one of many factors affecting the decline of coral reefs worldwide, this chemical threat may provide a serious setback to efforts aimed at repopulating damaged reefs. Seaweeds are normally kept in check by herbivorous fish, but in many areas overfishing has reduced the populations of these plant-consumers, allowing seaweeds to overpopulate coral reefs.

A study documenting the chemical effects of seaweeds on corals was scheduled to be published May 10, 2010 in the early edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). The research was supported by the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, and the Teasely Endowments at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

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Aker BioMarine signs first agreement for Superba Krill in Asia

Admin — Tue, 04 May 2010 19:31:59 +0000

Aker BioMarine has signed a distributor agreement with Compson Trade Co., Ltd for the Taiwanese market. This is the first step into the Asian market for Superba Krill and a milestone for Aker BioMarine.

“We are proud to work with a company like Compson Trade, and they have so far impressed us with their ambitions, dedication and high level of competence”, says Matts Johansen, Executive Vice President in Aker BioMarine.

Compson Trade was founded 15 years ago by Charlie Wu, and has through it’s focus on marketing, innovation, quality and customer service, grown to the leading supplier of dietary and pharmaceutical material in Taiwan. Aker BioMarine’s Superba Krill will with its new agreement have the best possible position to have success in Tawian.

Algae as a source for electricity

Admin — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 20:06:21 +0000

In an electrifying first, Stanford scientists have plugged into algae cells and harnessed a tiny electrical current. They found it at the very source of energy production – photosynthesis, a plant’s method of converting sunlight to chemical energy. It may be a first step toward generating high-efficiency bioelectricity that doesn’t give off carbon dioxide as a byproduct, the researchers say.

“We believe we are the first to extract electrons out of living plant cells,” said WonHyoung Ryu, the lead author of the paper published in the March issue of Nano Letters. Ryu conducted the experiments while he was a research associate for mechanical engineering Professor Fritz Prinz.

The Stanford research team developed a unique, ultra-sharp nanoelectrode made of gold, specially designed for probing inside cells. They gently pushed it through the algal cell membranes, which sealed around it, and the cell stayed alive. From the photosynthesizing cells, the electrode collected electrons that had been energized by light and the researchers generated a tiny electrical current.

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