Duckweed: The Next Super-Resource

By Bronson Fong

Mentor

• Glenn Sebring, a self-made entrepreneur , has lived in the south his entire life. While he was born in Picayune in the year 1971, Mr. Sebring has spent the majority of his life in Pearl River, Louisiana. From ages 12-19, Mr. Sebring held a job at Levis Chevrolet, balancing school and work. He graduated from Pearl River High School in 1990 and went on to go to SouthEastern Louisiana University. There, he obtained a bachelor in management and a minor finance. To finance his education, he took up hay farming in 1992, capitalizing on the hole in the market for “luxury” grain. After finishing college, he promptly opened up his own construction business, building buildings such as the Home Depot on Northshore Blvd. As his construction business grew, so did his hay business. Before he knew it, he had contracts from horse tracks all over the nation and some parts of Canada. He currently supplies the hay for Louisiana Horse tracks, Fairgrounds and Evangeline Downs. He married his wife Rosie in 1999 and the two had their first child, Breanna, in 2004. While he remains busy, Mr. Sebring is always looking to foster new startups and aid in any way possible.

The Current State of America

• Unemployment Rate• 22.4 Million Households on food stamps (Cox)• Gas Prices• Droughts• Fossil Fuels• The Environment

Purpose of This Project

• Decrease gas prices• Alleviate the reliance on corn and wheat• Provide stable employment to Louisianans• Foster an intelligent green movement• Utilize waste products in society• Establish a new economic sector

Duckweed- The Answer to all Problems

• Reproduction Rate

• Energy

• Nutritional Content

• Locations it grows in

The Basics of Duckweed

• Physical Description

• Types of Reproduction

• Indeterminate Growth

Nutritional Content

• In its dry state:– 40% Protein– 10% Fiber– 5% Fat– 30% Carbohydrates– 15% Ash

Compare to Corn, Hay, and Alfalfa

Locations it Grows In

• Basics• Continents• Types of water• Water Depth• Nutrient Levels• Temperature (6-33˚C)• Louisiana

Duckweed as a PestKudzu Ways to Kill Duckweed

• Aerating• Herbicides• Fish• Carotene Inhibitors• Dredging

Collecting Duckweed

• Skimmers• Mechanized Surface Debris Collectors• Nets• Corralling

Ethanol

• History• Government• Food• The Poor• Corn and Sugar Cane– Land– Waste– Genetic Makeup

Process of Creating Ethanol

Collect and Strain Blend Cook

Enyzmes Regulate Fermentation

Regulate Distillation Collection

Creating Methane

• Anaerobic Digester• Bacteria that break things down (Cellulose, Carbs)• Acidogenic Bacteria (Sugar and Amino Acids)• Acetogenic Bacteria (Organic Acids)• Methanogens (Acetic Acid, Hydrogen, Ammonia,

and Carbon Dioxide)• Collection• Current Infrastructure

Animal Feed

• Human Consumption• Vitamin and Protein Content• Cattle, Fish, Chicken• Hay and Corn• Transportation• Dual uses

Cleaning

• Converts solid waste to biomass• Grows well in contaminated environments• Mutual relationship with animal farms• Aquaponics

Other Green Energies

• Wind Energy• Solar Energy• Fertilizer and Natural Gas• Natural Resources

Obstructions

• Infrastructure• Trial and Error• High Water Content• Collection• Landscape• Environmentalist• Government

Conclusion

• Jobs• Environment• Economics• Resurgence of Innovation• Business Capital• Energy Independence

Works Consulted• Ackerman, James, Lois Ackerman, Farad Taheripour, and Chris Hurt. Potential Impact of a

Partial Waiver of the Ethanol Blending Rules. Purdue University. 16 Aug 2012. Web. 2 Dec 2012.

• Apfel, Amelia. How Does Duckweed Reproduce?. Ehow. n.d. Web. 2 Dec 2012. • Badgett, Becca. Controlling Duckweed- How to Kill Duckweed. Gardeningknowhow. n.d.

Web. 2 Dec 2012. • Bengtson, Ron. “Carbon Neutral.” Americanenergyindependence. n.d. n.pag. Web. 21 Oct

2012.

• “Common Duckweed.” Texas A&M. n.d. Web. 2 Dec 2012. • Cox, Jeff. “Record 46 Million Americans on Food Stamps.” Finance.yahoo.com. CNBC. 4

Sept 2012. Web. 2 Dec 2012

• Donaldson, Gary. Duckweed. Aquaponics HQ. 30 May 2009. Web. 2 Dec 2012 • Israel. Water and Enviromental Development Organization. Duckweed Wastewater Treatment

and Reuse for Fodder. Israel: WEDO, 2000. Print. • Iqbal, Sascha. “Duckweed Aquaculture: Potentials, Possibilities, and Limitations for Combined

Wastewater Treatment and Animal Feed Production in Developing Countries.” SANDEC Report 6.99 (1999): 1-91. Print.

Works Consulted• Leng, R, J Stambolie, and R Bell. Duckweed - a potential high-protein feed resource for

domestic animals and fish. Centre for Duckweed Research & Development University of New England. 1 April 1995. Web. 2 Dec 2012.

• McDonald, Kay. “Paying more for food? Blame the ethanol mandate.” CNN.com/US. Cable

• News Network. Turner Broadcasting System. 20 Aug 2012. Web. 2 Dec 2012. • Michael, Todd. “Duckweed Genome Sequencing Has Global Implications.” News.Rutgers.

n.pag. 8 July 2008. Web. 21 Oct 2012.

• Moss, Marsha. Economics And Feed Value of Integrating Duckweed Production and Swine Production. A Thesis in Animal Science, Texas Tech. Texas Tech: Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. 1999. Web. 21 Oct. 2012.

• • Sculthorpe, Cyril. The Biology of Aquatic Vascular Plants. New York: Palgrave Macmillan,

1967. Web. 21 Oct. 2012. • Sheh-May Tam, et al. "Intergeneric and infrafamilial phylogeny of subfamily Monsteroideae

(Araceae) revealed by chloroplast.” American Journal of Botany 91.3(2003): 490-498. Print.

• Walsh, Daniel. “Duckweed a possible solution to energy needs, researchers say.”

PressofAtlanticCity. N.pag. 3 May 2010. Web. 21 Oct 2012.

Any Questions