Growth of marine macroalgae Ectocarpus sp. on various textile substrates

ABSTRACT

Marine macroalgae are cultivated for diverse applications, from biofuel and biogas to biofiltering, from food to cosmetics or pharmaceuticals. Since macroalgae cultivation does not compete with land-based food crops for the necessary arable land or fresh water, it can increase the possibilities of sustainably harvested biomass. New technologies permit even land-based growing of marine macroalgae, besides the more common coastal or offshore cultivation. All these technologies, however, raise the question of how to provide ideal cultivation conditions, especially for adherent macroalgae, and of how to harvest them economically and sustainably. While some reports about growing marine macroalgae on diverse textile materials, such as polyester ropes or polypropylene nets, can be found in the literature, we report here for the first time on the growth of a marine macroalga on knitted fabrics. In our study, Ectocarpus sp. was cultivated in shallow rectangular cultivation vessels on knitted fabrics of various materials and structures revealing a significant influence of both parameters. Undesired changes of the pH value in the cultivation system as well as foam generation were attributed to textile auxiliaries. Considering all these influences, the best-suited knitted fabrics were identified as open-pore structures from hairy yarns made partly or completely from natural fibres.

GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

KEYWORDS:

• Marine macroalgae
• knitted fabrics
• Ectocarpus sp
• cultivation
• harvesting

Acknowledgment

The project was funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy in the scope of the ZIM project ZF4036107.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The project was funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy [Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie] in the scope of the ZIM project ZF4036107.