This week we have some highlights from Aleor sharing some of the successes they have been involved in. At Aleor we have just completed some experiments on the culture of palmaria seaweed in a free-floating system. The experiment was investigating the bioremediation capacity of palmaria seaweed to consume elements such as nitrates present in the water. Yes, it is amazing that these seaweeds can naturally capture nutrients present in water by their photosynthesis process. In our hatchery, we set up a culture system for palmaria called free-floating. This method consists of maintaining and letting small clumps of algae grow vegetatively.

Picture of the cultivation of palmaria seaweed in tanks (crédit : ALEOR) 

For the system design we set up 6 culture tanks, all containing the same amounts of algae. All the tanks were supplied with seawater by a pump, and only 3 tanks were supplemented with nutrients. This allows us to compare the absorption of elements against their availability. Samples of seaweed were taken at different times of the week and then sent to project partners at the University of Caen for analysis.

Diagram of tank culture at left 3 tanks supplemented, on the right 3 tanks with only seawater (Crédit : Stéphanie Lemesle, Université de Caen) 

Diagram of tank culture at left 3 tanks supplemented, on the right 3 tanks with only seawater (Crédit : Stéphanie Lemesle, Université de Caen) 

Also, every two weeks, seaweed in each tank were weighed to determine the BFW (biomass fresh weight). This enables us to correlate the results of absorption of the elements with the growth of the biomass of the algae. The University of Caen also collects seaweed measurements using a PAM fluorimeter, to monitor the development of the photosynthetic (chlorophyll) activity of algae. The Pulse-Amplitude-Modulation (PAM) fluorimeter is a high sensitivity instrument, enabling analysis of chlorophyll concentrations as low as 1 μg/l.

On the first and last day of the experiment, algae samples were collected and dried. These seaweed samples are being sent to University of Portsmouth for tissue analysis (investigating the levels of nitrogen, phosphate, and carbon content).

Aleor will renew these experiments using new species of seaweed very soon!!! Stay tuned so you don’t miss a thing!

Merci Inès (Société Aleor)

Pictures taken during the measurements with de PAM fluorimeter (Crédit : ALEOR) 

Pictures taken during the measurements with de PAM fluorimeter (Crédit : ALEOR) 

Drying of seaweed samples (Crédit : ALEOR) 

Drying of seaweed samples (Crédit : ALEOR) 

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