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Grøn Dyst 2016

111 44 Nordic Algae M.S.B Andersen, M. Decara, D.L.L. Kristensen, E.E. Mørkedal and O. Schmeltzer DTU Diploma, Process and Innovation, Technical University of Denmark INTRODUCTION The purpose of this paper is to show the benefits of harvesting seaweed in a new and optimised way. In Denmark there is a growing market for seaweed. Restaurants and health shops are using the very nutritious seaweed more and more. The seaweed even contains the 5th sense of taste called umami which opens up for a whole new level of cooking. The discovery of the more than 10.000 types of seaweed makes a lot of new opportunities when cooking. The seaweed can replace many of the vegetables presented in the middle layer of the food pyramid. Even in the forage-industry seaweed is used to bring nutrition into the forage. THE CHALLENGE The challenge about seaweed production is the harvest methods. The few people who produce seaweed in Denmark harvest by hand which takes a lot of time and sometimes it leaves the farmers with no more time to harvest the seaweed before the season ends. The consequence is a small production that cannot satisfy the demand. The demand is currently so big that the companies import seaweed from Ireland, Island and parts of Asia. This means that there is a big market for the seaweed, but it also means there is a lot of import which means a lot of expensive transportation that emits a lot of CO2. THE SOLUTION To examine this problem Nordic Algae has developed a new and automatically working harvesting machine. The machine will be harvesting the seaweed which grows on some special made lines that measures 200 meters. The machine will have a harvesting speed of 2.5 km/h, which means it can harvest a hectare (the maritime fields will be made of 5 ⋅ 200 m lines) in 24 minutes. This means that Nordic Algae can become one of the biggest suppliers on the Danish market within a few years if everything goes according to planned. And in perspective of 10 years export to Asia is a possibility due to expanded production. The maritime fields are for free in Denmark and there is no need for chemicals and pesticides. This makes the production organic which has positive implications on the ocean environment since the algae cleans the water, absorbs CO2 and makes new natural reefs for fish and other sea life. The bigger the seaweed production is the more CO2 can be neutralized. FOOD AND HEALTH FREE STYLE CONCEPT BACHELOR LEVEL COURSE / PROJECT


Grøn Dyst 2016
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