Evening star., 1953-07-15
Tiny Plants May Fill World
Needs for Food and Eneroy

that of several other institutions
here and abroad.
Huge Annual Crop.
The pilot plant results suggest
strongly that it will be possible
to harvest more than II tons of
dried chlorela an acre annually
when certain technical difficult
ties are overcome. Protein pro-
duction possibilities were partic-
ularly attractive. In most agri-
cultural plants the portion USE
full as food-seeds, fruits, leaves,
etc.-are less than half the total
dry weight. The rest is stalk,
wood or root.
Now, the experiments have
shown, the algae, which can be
entirely consumed, contain over
so per cent protein, or more
than is contained in the edible
portion of most other plants.
This protein contains the 10
amino acids now considered es-
Sential for human nutrition and
these are in the form of mole
cules easy to digest.
The dried algae could be fed
to animals to produce meat, but
with this procedure much would
be wasted and the plant protein
itself: is directly available to
humans.
Solar Energy Transformed.
Looking into the future" re-
ports DR.. John S. Burlew. who
has directed the experiment,
during the growth of algae solar
energy is transformed into latent
chemical energy which can be
released later by burning the
plant material. All forms of
energy that man uses are derived
ultimately from the sun. Our
coal and oil represent storage
of solar energy from photosyn-
thesis during an earlier stage of
the earth's history. An algal
energy converter might be used
to take their place after they
have been exhausted.
ut is not yet possible to have
a definite answer to the queS-
ton Of how large an area would
be required to grow enough algae
to meet all the food and energy
requirements Of the expected
worlds seven billions in the year
2050. when the estimated per
capita energy requirement (for
food, power, heat and all other
needs) will be $50 million cal
cries a day.
"A preliminary estimate of
the area required can be made
if we assume an arbitrary value
for the conversion of energy
from algae into electricity. The
area required would be slightly
over an acre per capita of II
million square miles for a world
population of seven billions. This
area, about 19 per cent of the
land surface of the earth, is
small enough so that one may
think seriously of algal culture
as a means of utilizing solar
energy on a day-to-day basis"
Industrial By
The algae also, DR.. Burlew
says, will probably yield many
valuable Industrial by-products.
especially oils and acids for the
chemical industry. An especially
interesting possibility is that
some of these materials may be
used as starting points for the
synthesis of cortisone.
The value of chlorela as food
has been indicated in several ex-
perlments. Rat-feeding tests in
England showed that it had a
protein value equivalent to that
of yeast. the highest known to
date. Some of the pilot plant
product has been used in chick
feeding experiments, with very
encouraging results. Chlorela
soup was made the main article
of diet in q Venezuelan leper
colony. The patients seemed con-
siderably improved as a result
Of it.
The food has a vegetable like
flavor. sort of a cross between
that of lima beans and raw
pumpkins. There is little ques-
ton. the Carnegie experimenters
believe, that good cooks could
make very appetizing dishes from
it.