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Increasing biomass production yields is a critical challenge for macroalgae biorefineries. The continuous tumbling and mixing of free‐floating algae through water or airflow has been shown to increase the productivity of algae in land‐based cultivation systems. This approach has not been tested thoroughly in offshore cultivation. We report, here, a field feasibility study on the increase in green macroalga Ulva sp. growth rates in offshore cages, achieved by the combined effect of tumbling and mixing of the algae using influxes of water and air. The experimental system was tested in a shallow coastal area in central Israel, in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. A maximum daily growth rate of 19.2%, areal productivity of 33.72 g dry weight (DW) day−1 m−2, and volumetric yields of 37.78 g DW day−1 m−3, together with 38.47 ± 0.01% ash and 5.28% protein content on a dry matter basis were achieved in the cages with intensified cultivation in the first week of May 2017. Our study shows that cultivation with tumbling and mixing of biomass with air, and water exchange with the environment is a feasible method to increase Ulva sp. biomass productivity offshore. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

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Coal fired power stations are among factors mostly polluting atmosphere by greenhouse gases, especially by CO2. Strong efforts are done to reduce this pollution, increasing the generation efficiency by gasification of coal, development of super -critical power units and so on. For the existing power station good results may be achieved by simultaneous optimization of the operation condition including proper choice of the fired coal. An analysis of data collected in IEC, where more than 60% of electricity is generated in coal fired units, makes it possible to explore dependence of greenhouse gases emissions (CO2, SO2, NOx,) on the fired coals composition and operation condition. As a tool for the above data analysis computer technique, created in IEC, was used. The technique is based on a modular numerical model including elements corresponding to furnace, boiler, turbine and the whole power unit. It permits to reveal the influence of the coal composition on the boiler and the whole unit performance, as well as on the pollutant emissions. The technique application permitted to separate impact of the two factors: the coal composition and operation conditions on specific emissions of the pollutants. The main result of the study is that the optimization of operation condition while proper choice of the coal provides decrease of pollutants emissions. 2. Bioconversion of CO2 emitted by power stations by intensive photosynthesis is one of the mostly efficient ways for carbon emissions mitigation, especially in countries with high solar activity. Agricultural projects based on CO2 enrichment by flue gases -greenhouses, water ponds for macro and micro algae growing, forests, citrus orchards and other biological systems, if placed in the neighborhood of the coal-fired power stations with high content of CO2 in the flue gases, can be profitable also because of use of cheap low-potential heat and the station infrastructure. Efforts for removal of pollutant components of the flue gases will be compensated by high CO2 content. First steps in this direction have been done by IEC in collaboration with MATI Lev-ha-Galil, Hishtil Nurseries, ARO and IOLR, with support of the R&D Division of the Ministry of the National Infrastructure and showed feasibility of the proposal.