Key challenge: New opportunities
What is the scope for developing new opportunities for
food, energy and resource delivery from the marine
environment?
With ever increasing demands upon the marine environment and
traditional resources becoming over-exploited, it is essential that
new opportunities for the sustainable delivery of food, energy and
resources are investigated. There is a large variety of potential
new opportunities, ranging from the application of molecular
biological methods to new marine renewable energy production
methods. There are also many new opportunities for sustainable
delivery of food, energy and resources from the marine
environment.
The long-term objective of PML is the sustainability of the
marine ecosystem as a climate regulator; a source of food, water,
renewable energy, and livelihoods, and a contributor to human
health and prosperous human societies. In order to achieve this
aim, new avenues for the sustainable delivery of these commodities
will need to be explored.
One such emerging area of research is blue biotechnology. Blue
bioechnology is concerned with the application of molecular
biological methods to aquatic organisms and involves the use of
these organisms, and their derivatives, for purposes such as
increasing seafood supply and safety, controlling the proliferation
of noxious water-borne organisms, and developing new drugs. PML
will focus and build depth in a small number of biodiscovery areas,
exploring biotechnology opportunities beyond current microbial and
microalgal avenues of research.
PML also aims to gain a comprehensive understanding of the
socio-economic impacts of new uses of the marine environment, such
as marine protected areas and marine renewable energy generation as
they are implemented in UK waters and further afield. This will
include production of decision support software combining PML’s
ecological understanding, ecosystem modelling and socio-economic
expertise.
Relevant projects
- Integrated approach to
cost effective production of biodiesel from photosynthetic
microbes
- The isolation and
development of novel marine micro-algal strains for biofuel
production
- CCIF biorefinery carbon
capture and conversion into industrial feedstocks as direct
replacements for petrochemicals
- Optimising yield of
antioxidants and sunscreens in microalgae for sustainable
biosynthesis of ingredients (YASMIN)
This project focused on optimising the yield
of bioactives and understanding biosynthetic pathways and
interconversions. Results from experimental studies were
compared to those derived from mathematical models and used
to optimise the yield of bioactives in microalgae, for commercial
scale production of microlagae.
-
UK Energy Research Council
(UKERC) Energy and Environment Phase
II
To develop strategies for marine and
land-based energy production and greenhouse gas
(GHG) mitigation technologies, which limit environmental
impacts while safeguarding or even restoring the
ecosystem.