Sustainable feedstocks are solutions to growing energy demands. Enteromorpha flexuosa was collected (December 2017) at the Bayshore Live Oak Park, Charlotte County, FL, USA. Enteromorpha flexuosa was oven dried and fermented 544 g dry weight. We used α- and β-amylase to break down starch and dextrin. After distillation, 35 mL of distillate were produced and corresponded to 6.4% of the dry weight. Ethanol was measured at 8.8% v/v and methanol at 0.05% v/v using gas chromatography. Ethanol was the most abundant at 99.2% and the rest was made up of methanol. Marine algae are good sources of biomass for biofuel production and should be explored further.
Keywords: bioethanol, Entrermorpha flexuosa, marine algae, biofuel, Florida, seaweed
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