Ever thought of what use would be that green scum in the river or on that pond which you saw last time? Many of us know that
it is green algae and because it is green, it would even be photosynthetic ,so a source of primary energy. When I was child my mom would tell me that these form the food for fishes. But now I know that it is far more important than just being fish food.
About 2 billions years ago, cyanobacteria – oxygen-producing photosynthetic prokaryotes that used to be called blue-green algae – were responsible for launching the process that increased the concentration of atmospheric oxygen from less than 1 percent to about 20 percent today, making possible the evolution of humans and other animals. Even today algae contributes a good share of total oxygen content on the earth.
Algae is another candidate for bio-fuel production. It is estimated that algae fixes five times more carbon than any other bio-fuel plant like maize.Further, algae grows pretty fast so don't be shocked to see that 'useless' scum now being sold out in market as seeds for your ponds. Algae, if
cultivated in sulphur deficient waters can produce hydrogen which is again a clean fuel.
In any aquaculture venture, feed costs around 60% of the total expense but cultivating algae can cut down this cost. An aquatic pteridophyte
Azolla, which is also thought to be a weed in aquaculture practices, harbours blue green algea
Anabaena which nitrifies the nitrogen in the surrounding waters and this fixed nitrogen is made available in
Azolla.This
Azolla needs to cultivated in one of the ponds in which some fishes can also be cultured. This
Azolla is fertilised with potassium fertiliser which is cheaper than nitrogen ferilizer.
Azolla grows very fast and needs to be harvested every week. This harvested
Azolla can be fed as such to grass carp or can be used as an ingredient in formulated feeds. This gives great results in fish growth.This can also be used as fertilizer in agricultural fields.
Seaweeds(type of algae) are an important source of food, especially in Asia; They are excellent sources of many vitamins including: A, Thiamine, Riboflavin,
vitamin B6, niacin and Vitamin C. They are rich in iodine, potassium>, iron, magnesium and calcium. Algae is commercially cultivated as a nutritional supplement. One of the most popular microalgal species is
Spirulina (
Arthrospira platensis), which is a Cyanobacteria (known as blue-green algae), and has been hailed by some as a superfood. Other algal species cultivated for their nutritional value include;
Chlorella (a green algae), and
Dunaliella> (
Dunaliella salina), which is high in beta-carotene and is used in vitamin C supplements. So my mom now knows that these scums are eaten by humans too.
Algae in pollution control. Algae are known to absorb heavy metals like Cadmium and hence clean the water from such dangerous toxins. Algae can be used to capture nutrient run off from the agricultural fields and these algae can subsequently be used as fertilisers.
Algae give us many commercial products like food grade pigments, agar-agar which is the only available base for microbiological culture, algins, carragenins, and many more such items.
The use of algae for bio-fuel is just in its infancy which needs to be developed further. I believe that there are many chapters hidden which would tellus the use of algae but we just need to explore them and use them for the benefit of mankind.