UNIVERSITY scientists looking at the feasibility of using seaweed that washes up on Manx beaches as biogas have been speaking about their research.
As the Isle of Man Examiner revealed last month, the feasibility study is exploring the ecological and social potential for seaweed to provide an alternative gas supply source.
Dr Chris Greenwell of Durham University said about 500,000 tonnes of seaweed would be needed to produce about a 10th of the island’s gas demand.
‘When we got more involved with the island and started talking to the borough engineers about how much they cleaned off the beaches we realised Douglas beach wasn’t far off that,’ he said. ‘They conservatively estimate they might have about 400,000 tonnes a year.’
Growth will be assessed in four areas around the island’s coastline.
Sociological and technological feasibility studies will also be carried out by Durham University Business School researchers to address public acceptability and stakeholder perceptions towards this technology.
It will include interviews, questionnaires and focus groups as well as ‘more novel quantitative experimentally based methods’.
Dr John Bothwell said seaweed was the ‘foundation of coastal life’, adding: ‘The removal of seaweed from Douglas beach is about the least damaging way to get some benefit from seaweed biomass without affecting the environment.
‘However there’s definitely potential to scale up the amount of biomass that’s being turned into bioenergy.’
He said cultivating very large amounts of seaweed offshore might affect existing marine life, for better or worse.
Research team members gave a presentation to a public meeting at the Manx Legion Club, in Douglas, last week.
Douglas councillor Chris Thomas said that as money was spent dealing with seaweed on Douglas beach, sewage processing, and as gas was imported to generate electricity, seaweed anaerobic digestion was ‘an interesting place-based opportunity for local economic development’.
He said there was potential for a viable cluster of firms which used seaweed for gas, food, biomedical etc to be encouraged in the island because the sector was ‘not already tied up by large, established firms’.
‘Now we should plan from the bottom-up better integrated sewerage, electricity, waste management and gas processes next time the island needs to invest in these utilities, making use of the island’s own seaweed and other resources if possible and viable.’
For more details go to www.dur.ac.uk/dei/biofuelsresearch/isleofman/
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