A group of eight Italian biodiesel producers annouced Wednesday that they are working to produce biodiesel from seaweed instead of cereal crops like rapeseed and corn.
Led by Italy’s Union of Biodiesel Producers, the US$14 million Mambo project hopes to reach commercial viability within five years.
The group expects to perfect the oil production process in two years and begin building a plant. The project is working with researchers at the University of Florence who are experimenting with seawead that can be grown in seawater-filled plastic tubes and fed carbon dioxide (CO2) captured from power plants.
The program is generating much interest, as biofuels made from food sources have received severe criticism in the last year for contributing to the rise of global food prices.
"The initiative aims to substitute or integrate the raw material used today (cereals) with another which does not compete with crop cultivation," said Pier Giuseppe Polla, vice-president of Italy’s Union of Biodiesel Producer.
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