Marine Biomass Program - Annual Report for 1980

The Marine Biomass Program is an integrated research and development program that is directly involved in the development of integrated processes for the growing of a natural resource - in this instance, kelp - specifically for the production of methane as a substitute for natural gas.

Previous experimental data has shown that the concept of growing kelp in the open ocean is technically feasible and that methane can be derived by the anaerobic decomposition of this biomass. This report broadens upon this data base, emphasizing the economic as well as the biological and technical requirements that, when solved, will lead to processes for the conversion of kelp to methane that are competitive wit'h other sources of energy.