Salty Biodiesel Crops May Be Grown at the Beach

University of Delaware researchers are interested in developing a type of mallow, the seashore mallow, for biodiesel and ethanol production: And unlike soybeans and corn, which require annual plantings on valuable farmland to feed the growing appetite for biofuels, the pink-flowered seashore mallow is both a perennial and a halophyte, or salt-tolerant plant, that can grow in areas where other crops can’t. “You don’t have to divert land that is presently used for producing food and feed to the process of making biodiesel,” said Gallagher, who runs UD’s Halophyte Biotechnology Center with his wife and fellow researcher, Denise Seliskar.

Coastal intrusion of seawater is important in many parts of the world, with more than 20 countries actively studying saltwater food crops. But the idea to use some of these crops as a fuel source is a more recent development. As it happens, seashore mallow comes from the same plant family as cotton, and has an oil content similar to soybeans and cottonseed.

... With the threat of sea water encroaching on farmland and coastal aquifers in response to global warming, Gallagher believes the seashore mallow could help preserve the economic value of arable land transitioning to marsh land. READ MORE