{"id":1816,"date":"2021-04-01T10:45:00","date_gmt":"2021-04-01T17:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/move-over-corn-and-soybeans-the-next-biofuel-source-could-be-giant-sea-kelp\/"},"modified":"2024-08-26T18:22:14","modified_gmt":"2024-08-27T01:22:14","slug":"next-biofuel-source-giant-sea-kelp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/next-biofuel-source-giant-sea-kelp\/","title":{"rendered":"Move over, corn and soybeans: The next biofuel source could be giant sea kelp"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n    \n            \n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--article-hero \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--article-hero\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n<div class=\"inner-wrapper\">\n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--image\">\n\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n              \n      <img\n                            data-src=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/04\/story-3442-768x432.jpg\"\n          data-srcset=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/04\/story-3442-768x432.jpg 768w\"          data-sizes=\"(min-width:1200px) 75vw, (min-width:768px) 83vw, 100vw\"          class=\"lazyload\"\n        \n                  alt=\"Move over, corn and soybeans: The next biofuel source could be giant sea kelp\"\n        \n        \n                                      \/>\n\n    \n    \n  \n  \n\n<\/div>\n  \n      <div class=\"image-caption\">\n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  Giant kelp (<em>Macrocystis pyrifera<\/em>) is a potential energy crop. <span class=\"attribution\">(<a class=\"source\" href=\"https:\/\/flic.kr\/p\/NgRKXR\">Linking Tourism &#038; Conservation\/Flickr<\/a>, <a class=\"license\" href=\"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/\">CC BY<\/a>)<\/span>\n\n\n<\/div>\n    <\/div>\n  \n  <div class=\"text-wrapper\">\n          <nav aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\" class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n        <ul>\n                      <li><a href=\"\/news\/stories\/\">News<\/a><\/li>\n                      <li><a href=\"\/news\/stories\/\/?category=faculty\">Faculty<\/a><\/li>\n                  <\/ul>\n      <\/nav>\n    \n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--page-title\">\n\n    \n  <h1>Move over, corn and soybeans: The next biofuel source could be giant sea kelp<\/h1>\n\n\n<\/div>\n    \n          <div class=\"subtitle\">\n            \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  A new underwater farming technique could make giant sea kelp a viable and sustainable source of biofuel. <strong>[3\u00bd min read]<\/strong>\n\n\n<\/div>\n      <\/div>\n    \n           <strong class=\"author-field\"><span >By<\/span><a href=\"mailto:communication@dornsife.usc.edu\">Diane Kim, Ignacio Navarrete, Jessica Dutton<\/a><\/strong>\n    \n          <span class=\"post-date-field\">April 1, 2021<\/span>\n      <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--social-share \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--social-share\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n  <div class=\"content-wrapper\">\n    <span class=\"a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list\" style=\"line-height: 32px;\">\n      <span class=\"title\">\n        Share\n      <\/span>\n                        <a class=\"a2a_button_copy_link\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/#copy_link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"Link\">\n            <span class=\"a2a_svg a2a_s__default a2a_s_copy_link\">\n              <svg height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 19 19\" width=\"19\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"m7.43475275 9.52380952-2.17490843 2.26076008c-1.08745421 1.058837-1.68841575 2.518315-1.68841575 4.0350275 0 1.5167124.60096154 2.9475732 1.68841575 4.0350274 1.058837 1.0874543 2.51831502 1.6884158 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xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"m8.14285714 9.42857143c-.17142857 0-.34285714 0-.51428571.08571428l7.28571427 6.34285719c.3428572.2571428.6857143.2571428.9428572 0l7.2857142-6.34285719c-.0857142-.08571428-.2571428-.08571428-.4285714-.08571428zm-1.28571428 1.11428567v.1714286 8.5714286c0 .6857143.6 1.2857143 1.28571428 1.2857143h14.57142856c.6857143 0 1.2857143-.6 1.2857143-1.2857143v-8.5714286c0-.0857143 0-.0857143 0-.1714286l-7.2 6.3428572c-.7714286.6857143-1.8857143.6857143-2.6571429 0z\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" transform=\"translate(-6 -9)\"\/><\/svg>\n            <\/span>\n            <span class=\"a2a_label visually-hidden\">Email<\/span>\n          <\/a>\n                  <\/span>\n  <\/div>\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n \n\n\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--rich-text \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--rich-text\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n      \n<div class=\"f--field f--wysiwyg\">\n\n    \n  <p><em>The <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/us\/topics\/research-brief-83231\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Research Brief<\/a> is a short take about interesting academic work.<\/em><\/p>\n<h3 style=\"clear: both;\">The big idea<\/h3>\n<p>Giant kelp, the world\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nps.gov\/articles\/giant-kelp.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">largest species of marine algae<\/a>, is an attractive source for making biofuels. In a recent study, we tested a <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.rser.2021.110747\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">novel strategy for growing kelp<\/a> that could make it possible to produce it continuously on a large scale. The key idea is moving kelp stocks daily up to near-surface waters for sunlight and down to darker waters for nutrients.<\/p>\n<p>Unlike today\u2019s energy crops, such as corn and soybeans, growing kelp doesn\u2019t require land, fresh water or fertilizer. And giant kelp can grow over a foot per day under ideal conditions.<\/p>\n<p>Kelp typically grows in shallow zones near the coast, and thrives only where sunlight and nutrients are both plentiful. There\u2019s the challenge: The ocean\u2019s sunlit layer extends down <a href=\"https:\/\/oceanservice.noaa.gov\/facts\/light_travel.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">about 665 feet (200 meters) or less below the surface<\/a>, but this zone often dosen\u2019t contain enough nutrients to support kelp growth.<\/p>\n<p>Much of the open ocean surface is nutrient-poor year-round. In coastal areas, <a href=\"https:\/\/oceanservice.noaa.gov\/education\/tutorial_currents\/03coastal4.html#:%7E:text=Seasonal%20upwelling%20and%20downwelling%20also,in%20upwelling%20along%20the%20coast.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">upwelling<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 deep water rising to the surface, bringing nutrients\u00a0\u2014 is seasonal. Deeper waters, on the other hand, are rich in nutrients but lack sunlight.<\/p>\n<p>Our study demonstrated that kelp withstood daily changes in water pressure as we cycled it between depths of 30 feet (9 meters) and 262 feet (80 meters). Our cultivated kelp acquired enough nutrients from the deeper, dark environment to generate four times more growth than kelp that we transplanted to a native coastal kelp habitat.<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"video-embed\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/IBsxRQt2tPE?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0\" width=\"440\" height=\"260\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<h5><\/h5>\n<\/div>\n<h3>Why it matters<\/h3>\n<p>Making biofuels from terrestrial crops such as corn and soybeans competes with other uses for farmland and fresh water. Using <a href=\"https:\/\/www.energy.gov\/sites\/prod\/files\/2019\/03\/f61\/Chapter%205.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">plants from the ocean<\/a> can be more sustainable, efficient and scalable.<\/p>\n<p>Marine biomass can be converted into different forms of energy, including ethanol, to replace the corn-derived additive that currently is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eia.gov\/tools\/faqs\/faq.php?id=27&amp;t=10\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">blended into gasoline in the U.S.<\/a> Perhaps the most appealing end-product is bio-crude\u00a0\u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/greenchemicalsblog.com\/2018\/06\/27\/study-bio-crude-potential-in-the-usa\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">oil derived from organic materials<\/a>. Bio-crude is produced through a process called hydrothermal liquefaction, which <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Qs0QZJ0rea0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">uses temperature and pressure<\/a> to convert materials like algae into oils.<\/p>\n<p>These oils can be processed in existing refineries into bio-based fuels for trucks and planes. It\u2019s not practical yet to run these long-distance transportation modes on electricity because they would <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/why-arent-there-electric-airplanes-yet-103955\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">require enormous batteries<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>By our calculations, producing enough kelp to power the entire U.S. transportation sector would require using just a small fraction of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gc.noaa.gov\/documents\/2011\/012711_gcil_maritime_eez_map.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 the ocean area out to 200 nautical miles from the coastline.<\/p>\n<h3>How we do our work<\/h3>\n<p>Our work is a collaboration between the <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\">USC Wrigley Institute<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.marinebiomass.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Marine BioEnergy Inc.<\/a>, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy\u2019s ARPA-E <a href=\"https:\/\/arpa-e.energy.gov\/technologies\/programs\/mariner\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">MARINER (Macroalgae Research Inspiring Novel Energy Resources)<\/a> program. The research team includes biologists, oceanographers and engineers, working with scuba divers, vessel operators, research technicians and students.<\/p>\n<p>We tested kelp\u2019s biological response to depth cycling by attaching it to an open ocean structure we call the \u201ckelp elevator,\u201d designed by the team\u2019s engineers. The elevator is anchored near the USC Wrigley Marine Science Center on California\u2019s Catalina Island. A solar-powered winch raises and lowers it daily to cycle the kelp between deep and shallow water.<\/p>\n<p>We depth-cycled 35 juvenile kelp plants for three months and planted a second set at a nearby healthy kelp bed for comparison. To our knowledge, this was the first attempt to study the biological effects of physical depth cycling on kelp. Prior studies focused on artificially <a href=\"https:\/\/arpa-e.energy.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/Techno-Economic%20Feasibility%20Analysis%20of%20Offshore%20Seaweed%20Farming%20for%20Bioenergy%20and%20Biobased%20Products-2008.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">pumping deep nutrient-rich water to the surface<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"news-image-full\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/389654\/original\/file-20210315-15-v092p8.jpg\" alt=\"Scuba diver next to structure in open ocean water with kelp attached to it.\" \/><\/p>\n<p>A diver at the \u2018kelp elevator.\u2019 (Maurice Roper, <a class=\"license\" href=\"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nd\/4.0\/\">CC BY-ND<\/a>)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h3>What\u2019s next<\/h3>\n<p>Our results suggest that depth cycling is a biologically viable cultivation strategy. Now we want to analyze factors that can increase yields, including timing, water depth and kelp genetics.<\/p>\n<p>Many unknowns need further study, including processes for permitting and regulating kelp farms, and the possibility that raising kelp on a large scale could have unintended ecological consequences. But we believe marine biomass energy has great potential to help meet 21st-century sustainability challenges.<\/p>\n<p>[<em>Over 100,000 readers rely on The Conversation\u2019s newsletter to understand the world.<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/us\/newsletters\/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&amp;utm_medium=inline-link&amp;utm_campaign=newsletter-text&amp;utm_content=100Ksignup\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Sign up today<\/a>.]<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;\" src=\"https:\/\/counter.theconversation.com\/content\/156728\/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic\" alt=\"The Conversation\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" \/><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https:\/\/theconversation.com\/republishing-guidelines --><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/profiles\/diane-kim-1215615\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Diane Kim<\/a>, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies and Senior Scientist, USC Wrigley Institute, <em><a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/institutions\/usc-dornsife-college-of-letters-arts-and-sciences-2669\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences<\/a><\/em>; <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/profiles\/ignacio-navarrete-1219528\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Ignacio Navarrete<\/a>, Postdoctoral Scholar and Research Associate, USC Wrigley Institute for Environmental Studies, <em><a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/institutions\/usc-dornsife-college-of-letters-arts-and-sciences-2669\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences<\/a><\/em>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/profiles\/jessica-dutton-1219530\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Jessica Dutton<\/a>, Associate Director for Research, USC Wrigley Institute for Environmental Studies \/ Adjunct Assistant Professor (Research), USC Environmental Studies Program, <em><a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/institutions\/usc-dornsife-college-of-letters-arts-and-sciences-2669\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p>This article is republished from <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/move-over-corn-and-soybeans-the-next-biofuel-source-could-be-giant-sea-kelp-156728\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">original article<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n  \n        \n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--article-related-stories \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--article-related-stories\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n  <div class=\"inner-wrapper\">\n    \n                  <article>\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--cta-title\">\n\n    \n  <h3>\n          <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/kelp-elevator-and-sustainable-seaweed-biofuel\/\" \n                        class=\"\" \n      >\u2018Kelp elevator\u2019 study shows promise for producing biofuel from giant seaweed<\/a>\n      <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n        <\/article>\n              <article>\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--cta-title\">\n\n    \n  <h3>\n          <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/fabijanski-synthetic-jet-fuel-from-seeds\/\" \n                        class=\"\" \n      >Alumnus is revolutionizing the jet fuel industry with biofuel made from oilseed<\/a>\n      <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n        <\/article>\n              <article>\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--cta-title\">\n\n    \n  <h3>\n          <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/power-of-aquaculture\/\" \n                        class=\"\" \n      >Stronger mussels? USC joins AltaSea in opening a new lab to harness the power of aquaculture<\/a>\n      <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n        <\/article>\n            <\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A new underwater farming technique could make giant sea kelp a viable and sustainable source of biofuel. <strong>[3\u00bd min read]<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":52,"featured_media":1819,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,15],"tags":[83,476],"class_list":["post-1816","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-faculty","category-sustainability","tag-the-conversation","tag-usc-wrigley-institute"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Move over, corn and soybeans: The next biofuel source could be giant sea kelp<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A new underwater farming technique could make giant sea kelp a viable and sustainable source of biofuel. [3\u00bd min read]\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/next-biofuel-source-giant-sea-kelp\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Move over, corn and soybeans: The next biofuel source could be giant sea kelp The next biofuel source could be giant sea kelp\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A new underwater farming technique could make giant sea kelp a viable and sustainable source of biofuel. [3\u00bd min read]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/next-biofuel-source-giant-sea-kelp\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"USC Dornsife News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/uscdornsife\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-04-01T17:45:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-08-27T01:22:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/04\/story-3442.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"520\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Margaret Crable\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@uscdornsife\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@uscdornsife\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/next-biofuel-source-giant-sea-kelp\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/next-biofuel-source-giant-sea-kelp\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Margaret Crable\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/079941d34348eaa3a2f145191f66290c\"},\"headline\":\"Move over, corn and soybeans: The next biofuel source could be giant sea kelp\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-04-01T17:45:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-08-27T01:22:14+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/next-biofuel-source-giant-sea-kelp\/\"},\"wordCount\":14,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/next-biofuel-source-giant-sea-kelp\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/04\/story-3442.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"the conversation\",\"usc wrigley institute\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Faculty\",\"Sustainability\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/next-biofuel-source-giant-sea-kelp\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/next-biofuel-source-giant-sea-kelp\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/next-biofuel-source-giant-sea-kelp\/\",\"name\":\"Move over, corn and soybeans: The next biofuel source could be giant sea kelp The next biofuel source could be giant sea kelp\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/next-biofuel-source-giant-sea-kelp\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/next-biofuel-source-giant-sea-kelp\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/04\/story-3442.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-04-01T17:45:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-08-27T01:22:14+00:00\",\"description\":\"A new underwater farming technique could make giant sea kelp a viable and sustainable source of biofuel. 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