The effective use of marine algae has been extensively anticipated as a renewable and sustainable resource because of global concern for the use of fossil resources and nuclear energy. In this study, therefore, we aim to develop elemental technologies for biorefinery of macroalgae involving 1) high rate methane fermentation in combination with effective pretreatment and marine microbial consortia with unique properties such as high salt tolerance and particular metabolism of algae-specific sugars, 2) production of more valuable products from algal sugars, and 3) recovery of valuable metals from fermentation residue.
