Research on using seaweeds as bio fuel by using Vacuum Drying Method

Abstract

: Seaweeds carry out photosynthesis to convert inorganic carbon into organic substances, such as hydrocarbons or neutral lipids. And those resulting products can be used as biofuel. The CO 2 fixation ability of seaweeds is much greater than other plants on earth, but directly extracting lipids from seaweeds is quite inconvenient and extravagant. In this study, Vacuum drying method to dry seaweeds to biofuel directly was used which can save cost and energy compared with extract process. It has been tested at 60 °C, 70 °C and 80 °C, respectively under normal atmospheric pressure. The experimental results show that vacuum drying method can save cost and energy observably and the shortest time is also the lowest power cost.