The government has decided to fund experiments on turning two macroscopic algae into the raw materials for biofuel production, expanding sources from land plants to marine flora as prices for oil and grain continue to increase, Council of Agriculture (COA) officials said.
The two chosen subjects for the experiments are gracilaria and sargassum, they said, adding that both are rich in polysaccharide that can be transformed to ethanol (alcohol) to produce gasohol.
They said the "algal ethanol" can be an alternative ingredient for commercial gasohol once production capacity achieves sufficient economy of scale.
"Algae is not a choice that comes out of the blue," they said.
Researchers worldwide have long intended to apply lipid-laced algae to biofuel production but have been hampered by high extraction costs and low conversion rates.
According to the COA, gracilaria -- a genus of red algae -- has been widely farmed along the coast of Taiwan for decades, as it is a food source for humans as well as various species of farmed shellfish. The farming area of gracilaria was 253 hectares in 2006.
However, the officials said that demand for gracilaria dropped several years ago and COA researchers at the Fisheries Research Institute started studies to discover possible alternative uses.
"We have found that gracilaria contains compounds suitable for cosmetics, and now we hope we can prove it is also valuable for biofuel," a researcher said. "In the case of the sargassum, we chose it for its high output volume."
According to a previous study, sargassum has 10 times the output volume of gracilaria.
Aside from its other benefits the algae can also serve as an ecology-balancing agent as it absorbs carbon dioxide and prevents eutrophication in bodies of water, the officials said.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
UNKNOWN TRAJECTORY: The storm could move in four possible directions, with the fourth option considered the most threatening to Taiwan, meteorologist Lin De-en said A soon-to-be-formed tropical storm east of the Philippines could begin affecting Taiwan on Wednesday next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The storm, to be named Fung-wong (鳳凰), is forecast to approach Taiwan on Tuesday next week and could begin affecting the weather in Taiwan on Wednesday, CWA forecaster Huang En-hung (黃恩鴻) said, adding that its impact might be amplified by the combined effect with the northeast monsoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the system’s center was 2,800km southeast of Oluanbi (鵝鑾鼻). It was moving northwest at 18kph. Meteorologist Lin De-en (林得恩) on Facebook yesterday wrote that the would-be storm is surrounded by
RSS