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Algaculture

Alternative Small-Organism Cultivation

Algaculture is a form of aquaculture involving the farming of species of algae. Most algae intentionally cultivated are microalgae, though macroalgae such as seaweed are also grown commercially despite being harder to cultivate at scale. Commercial and industrial algae cultivation serves uses including nutraceuticals, food colorants, food, fertilizers, bioplastics, animal feed, pharmaceuticals, algal fuel and pollution control. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

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Practice Class
Aquaculture and biomass cultivation 1
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Associated With

Source Algaculture (Wikipedia)
Source Algaculture (Wikipedia)
Source Algaculture (Wikipedia)

In Discipline

Sources
1. Algaculture (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia Foundation
  • Lead section, paragraph 1
    Algaculture is a form of aquaculture involving the farming of species of algae.
  • Lead section, paragraph 3, uses passage
    Commercial and industrial algae cultivation has numerous uses, including production of nutraceuticals such as omega-3 fatty acids (as algal oil) or natural food colorants and dyes, food, fertilizers, bioplastics, chemical feedstock (raw material), protein-rich animal/aquaculture feed, pharmaceuticals, and algal fuel, and can also be used as a means of pollution control and natural carbon sequestration.
  • Lead section, macroalgae passage
    Macroalgae, commonly known as seaweed, also have many commercial and industrial uses, but due to their size and the specific requirements of the environment in which they need to grow, they do not lend themselves as readily to cultivation.
  • Open system cultivation section
    An open system of algae cultivation involves the growth of algae in shallow water streams which could originate from a natural system or artificially prepared.
  • Methods section, seaweed farming passage
    Seaweed farming has frequently been developed to improve economic conditions and to reduce fishing pressure.
  • Methods section, Open system cultivation, contamination passage
    Open ponds are highly vulnerable to contamination by other microorganisms, such as other algal species or bacteria.
  • Methods section, Seaweed farming, opening sentence
    Seaweed farming or kelp farming is the practice of cultivating and harvesting seaweed.
  • Pollution control section, fertilizer runoff passage
    Algae cultivation is under study for uranium/plutonium sequestration and purifying fertilizer runoff.
  • Pollution control section, sewage passage
    Untreated sewage can supply additional nutrients, thus turning two pollutants into valuable commodities.
  • Photobioreactors section, closed system passage
    Because PBR systems are closed, the cultivator must provide all nutrients, including CO2.
  • Food section, spirulina passage
    Spirulina (Arthrospira platensis) is a blue-green microalgae with a long history as a food source in East Africa and pre-colonial Mexico.
  • Harvesting section, harvest methods passage
    Algae can be harvested using microscreens, by centrifugation, by flocculation and by froth flotation.
  • Open system cultivation section, raceway pond passage
    They are one of the most common and economic methods of large-scale algae cultivation.
  • Associated With: Agricultural Runoff, Article body, fertilizer runoff sentence
    Algae cultivation is under study for uranium/plutonium sequestration and purifying fertilizer runoff.
  • Part Of: Aquaculture, Lead section, paragraph 1, first sentence
    Algaculture is a form of aquaculture involving the farming of species of algae.
  • Associated With: Nutrient Cycling, Fertilizer section, opening sentence
    For centuries seaweed has been used as fertilizer.
  • Associated With: Agricultural Carbon Sequestration, Carbon sequestration section, deep ocean passage
    Seaweed reaches the deep ocean sequester carbon and prevent it from exchanging with the atmosphere over millennia.
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