A simple model termed ECOPATH is presented which estimates mean annual biomass, production, and consumption for components of an ecosystem. To use the model, the ecosystem must be partitioned into groups of similar species and provide for these species groups, estimates of production to biomass, diet, and food consumption. The ECOPATH model is applied to an ecosystem at French Frigate Shoals in...

A statistical design approach has been used to optimize the production of biomass by Cunninghamella sp. 2A1, evaluated based on lipidless biomass. A 2 3 full factorial central composite design (CCD) was chosen to study the combined effects of three factors; ammonium tartrate, peptone and glucose concentrations. The p-value for each factor was <0.05 suggesting that these factors have significant...

Photoinduced biohydrogen production systems, coupling saccharaides biomass such as sucrose, maltose, cellobiose, cellulose, or saccharides mixture hydrolysis by enzymes and glucose dehydrogenase (GDH), and hydrogen production with platinum colloid as a catalyst using the visible light-induced photosensitization of Mg chlorophyll-a (Mg Chl-a) from higher green plant or artificial chlorophyll ana...

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) is a group of biopolymers that are extensively researched for such purpose due to the biocompatibility with mammal tissue and similar properties with conventional plastic. However, commercialization of PHA is impended by its high total production cost, which half of it are from the cost of pure carbon source feedstock. Thus, cheap and sustainable feedstocks are pref...

This paper reviews the current refuel valorization facilities as well as the future importance of biorefineries. A biorefinery is a facility that integrates biomass conversion processes and equipment to produce fuels, power, and chemicals from biomass. Biorefineries combine the necessary technologies of the biorenewable raw materials with those of chemical intermediates and final products. Char...

BACKGROUND The growing concern regarding the use of agricultural land for the production of biomass for food/feed or energy is dictating the search for alternative biomass sources. Photosynthetic microorganisms grown on marginal or deserted land present a promising alternative to the cultivation of energy plants and thereby may dampen the 'food or fuel' dispute. Microalgae offer diverse utiliza...

A central question at the interface of food-web and climate change research is how secondary production, or the formation of heterotroph biomass over time, will respond to rising temperatures. The metabolic theory of ecology (MTE) hypothesizes the temperature-invariance of secondary production, driven by matched and opposed forces that reduce biomass of heterotrophs while increasing their bioma...

Wood represents a promising source of lignocellulosic biomass for the production of bio-based renewables, especially biofuels. However, woody feedstocks must be improved to become competitive against petroleum. We created a collection of Populus trees consisting of 40 genetically engineered lines to modify and to better understand wood biomass properties. A total of 65 traits were measured in t...

BACKGROUND Algal biofilm technology is recently supposed to be a promising method to produce algal biomass as the feedstock for the production of biofuels. However, the carrier materials currently used to form algal biofilm are either difficult to be obtained at a low price or undurable. Commercialization of the biofilm technology for algal biomass production extremely requires new and inexpens...